Voigtlander Nokton 42.5mm f/0.95 is without doubt one of most solid lenses I have ever tried on my OMD E-M5. Together with Nokton 25mm f/0.95 and 17.5mm f/0.95 it really shows how great lenses are supposed to be built. It’s a remarkable lens which put a lot of weight on your camera and shoulder – but at the same time it pays back in excellent image quality and reliability.
I’m no great photographer but know a good lens when I see one. I have already got Olympus 75mm f/1.8, 45mm f/1.8, 12mm f/2.0 and Panasonic 25mm f/1.4 – all worth their price and to be used daily. Voigtlander Nokton 42.5mm f/0.95 is in a different class since its manual focus and built like a tank. Image quality is nearly as good as the 75mm and easily outmatches the 45mm.
This is no way near a full review and its not supposed to be one. It’s just a quick note on how I think the 42.5mm handels and performs in my hands. So here is the pros and cons about this lens.
Pros:
+ Superior buildquality with no equal match besides Voigtlander 25mm and 17.5mm for Micro 4/3
+ Imagequality is great from f/2.0 to f/5.6
+ Comes with a lenshood (learn from it Olympus!)
+ Changing aperture and focus is very precise and supersoft
Cons:
– The price is really high (very high indeed)
– This is a seriously heavy lens – get a cameragrip if possible!
– A lot of chromatic aberration wide open (as expected)
– Lenshood is easily dropped because of the screw that holds it together