Voigtlander lines up 35mm and 40mm as their NOKTON Classic series. The 40mm was released in concert with the R-D1 (first version). This lens was modeled after the non-aspherical Summilux. It produces bokeh just like some dropped cooking oil on the hot plate, and the way the light spreads when shot wide open is very similar to the Summilux. The R-D1 is the first digital rangefinder, but together with this interesting lens, the camera becomes even more attractive. With a digital camera, you can check the results produced by the countless L/M mount lenses immediately after shooting. This is so dangerous, and just like a powerful water absorption pump was installed in the "lens swamp." Every Voigtlander lenses is excellent in spite of the reasonable price. As soon as the NOKTON Classic 40mm was released, many R-D1 users got excited by the fact that it is modeled after the "non-aspherical SUMMILUX." It was this period when Voigtlander started to release a variety of lenses and their passion continues up to today.
Old story aside, this lens has an old lens character in that the depiction changes according to aperture, so it's so much fun to use. As mentioned above, it's similar to the non-aspherical Summilux. However, getting non-aspherical Summiluxs in perfect condition is often difficult because they have been used by many people for many years and many of them are very soft wide open (they became softer by overusing and aging). In fact, the last period Summilux is sharper wide open than the older Summilux as we know it. The picture shot by the NOKTON is similar to this last period Summilux (or, it's a little better). It utilizes the veil-like spherical aberration to create bokeh just like the one by a soft-focus lens. You can enjoy this soft focus together with the unique bokeh. Once you stop down two f-stops, the veil is gone and it becomes crisp clear. In short, you can enjoy a variety of expression by one lens. Good bargain, isn't it? This is an interesting lens because I need to focus on the "uselessness" character wide open. But, if you get a Leica M body, I want you to get a lens like this one. However, you may also want to know more... In such a case, this lens plays a role of an entrance to the labyrinth.
( Photo & Text : K )
Even though it's modeled after the non-aspherical Summilux, this is a modern lens, so it's not too difficult to use. I can see the light spread in the edges of the canvas. It's a soft depiction. The front bokeh is natural and not as peculiar as the back one.
The light spreads in the defocus area on the left, while it doesn't in the focused area on the right. This is a lens produced in the year 2000. It's an interesting market, indeed.
Shot at near the minimum focus distance and the distance between the focus area and the background was about 10m. The bokeh of the NOKTON Classic 40mm is like this in most cases. Maybe some people don't like it, but I think most Leica L/M users love it. I like the light spread of the shower head. This is a plain JPG output straight from the camera, and you can see the saturation is very low. But, I like this tranquility because the saturation of the real world is not as high as the one generated by conventional digital cameras.
