Voigtlaender Nokton Classic Lens 40 mm / F1.4

I recently acquired a slightly used Leica M-E (the last M9 variant with the CCD sensor), and was looking for a budget starter lens.I have tried the excellent Voigtlander Color Skopar 35mm F2.5 Pii lens. It is slightly sharper wide open in the center and has better corner performance at all apertures than the Nokton Classic 40mm F1.4. However, the maximum aperture of F2.5 on the Skopar was a bit slow for low light photography, which is why I decided to get the Nokton Classic 40mm F1.4.I had gotten used to 40mm field of view with a Panasonic 20mm on my Olympus Pen-F and Fuji 27mm f2.8 pancake on my Fuji X-M1. I find this to be a very practical focal length for everyday use.The Nokton Classic 40mm F1.4 is quirky and I certainly agree with Ken Rockwell's review of this lens. Having said that, the performance of this lens is excellent with the 18MP CCD sensor of the Leica M-E.One of the quirks, when using the optical viewfinder on rangefinder cameras like the Leica M series, there is a focus shift at F2.8 and F4 when focusing on near objects within 2 meters. This focus shift is not present at F1.4 and F2, and starts to go away at F5.6. I read about this in the Leica forums, and confirmed it is there in my copy of the lens. (This issue will not be seen when focusing with the EVF in mirrorless cameras.)Even though the lens is slightly soft wide open at F1.4, I was able to take very pleasing portraits of my wife at that aperture. It looks dreamy and the vignetting is pleasant. Stopping down to F2 makes it pretty sharp.I had to apply a couple of tweaks to make this lens work well on my Leica M-E. I found these solutions online in the rangefinder forums. (These tweaks are NOT required for mirrorless cameras, as the focusing is done using live-view.)This lens brings up 50mm frame lines automatically on Leica rangefinder cameras (except the CL). In order to bring up the 35mm frame lines, it was necessary to file the shoulder of a tab (pointed to by the red arrow in the picture) of the rear lens mount. I used a finger nail file to file off about 0.5 - 0.8 mm. It took just 2 - 3 minutes. Now, the 35mm frame lines appear automatically when mounted on my Leica M-E. (If you are attempting this, I recommend inserting the lens into a ziploc bag, and cutting a small opening on the ziploc bag for the tab that needs to be filed. This will prevent filings from falling on the rear part of the lens.)There is a slight back-focus issue on Leica M digital bodies. Evidently the Voigtlander Nokton Classic lenses are calibrated for Leica M film cameras, and therefore will back-focus slightly on the digital M cameras. To overcome this, I applied copper foil tape (2.6 mil = 66 micron total thickness) to the rangefinder cam of the rear of the lens. (The RF cam is the outer black cylinder that surrounds the rear lens element, as shown in the picture with the copper foil tape applied.) It was first necessary to clean the RF cam using a q-tip to remove any lubricant. The adhesive on the copper foil holds it pretty secure after running the flat tip of a screwdriver on the surface.The back-focus issue is now gone and I am a happy camper!Here is the link to the copper foil tape I used:https://www.amazon.com/Tape-Conductive-Thickness-Shielding-Electrical/dp/B07TZNX87T/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=apt+copper+foil+tape&qid=1619392451&sr=8-3

I have been using Voitlaender lines for some time. They have always served me well and I.M.O. they are getting better as time goes by.

I simply love this lens. I also own the new 40mm 1.2 sony mount and have tested it side by side to the 1.4 and while I know this sounds crazy...the difference is only slight. This lens performs beautifully!! Worth every penny and then some. Small, elegant, built like a fine machine.I have owned 3 of these (gave them to my kids) and bought new, I think there is a chance the newer the better.The iq and rendering just seems amazing in the one I just tested.I know some reviewers have given it bad marks on bokeh etc... however but man, when you slow down (or use the techart AF adapter) and get the focus just right this lens is simply amazing.

This lens has the ability to take some beautiful shots. The quality is pretty amazing for it only being $400.Another huge advantage to this lens is the fact that your getting it brand new. You don’t have to worry about using a lens from an older era which is pretty common for film cameras.I’ve only ran a few rolls of film with this lens so far, but I’m thoroughly enjoying it. I attached some of my test shots with it for reference

Ok. If you are buying this lens, you probably know that it's a cost-effective alternative to Leica glass. With that in mind, I have been shooting this lens a lot on my Sony A7ii using a basic Fotasy adaptor(which isn't too bad at all, and gets the job done for cheap.) The lens itself has a very cool appearance physically, which I like a lot! The shots also have a very unique look that I would say isn't really duplicated with other glass. I would consider this lens best for portraits.Sharpness: I'll admit, it is a tad soft wide open, but this sacrifice comes at the benefit of giving a beautiful subject separation. The focused subjects in the photos somehow have a 'pop' to them. from F1.4 to F2 It's not clinical sharp like Leica glass, or Canon L, or Sigma Art, but I'm ok with that. AT like F2.8 and above, it can get really sharp. I have some shots that have surprised me at the sharpness as aperture is stepped down.Color: Beautiful color, People have great skin tones, and I feel it shines best when used in warm natural light.Bokeh/Depth: Bokeh is a little busy at times, but I think this helps draw your eye to the subject. Also Bokeh in the corners wide open has a slight swirl to it, and gives an almost vintage lens look. Some people like this because it's not a very common feature in lenses nowadays. It's hard to explain, but people in the photos just stand out with a certain depth within the rest of the photo. This isn't my idea of your standard wide open subject sharpness/background blur, which is something I'm familiar with since I shoot a lot of wide aperture prime lenses, but it just has a very cool feel to the shots, and the photos give people a more lifelike appearance. This is where it impresses me the most.Vignette: It has slight darkness in the corners at wide-open apertures, but again, some people add vignetting during post-process anyway nowadays. It isn't necessarily a fault in my opinion.Fault: The main thing that I don't like about this lens is the focus distance, It's almost one meter, and this prevents some of those up close and personal detail shots. I do plan to buy either a close-focus adaptor which is an easy fix for this, or I will buy the new techart AF adaptor.Overall for the price, this lens is an amazing option for anyone's collection, from hobbyists, to full-fledged photographers. I think the photo/portrait 'look' that this lens puts out is a rare treat when it comes to lenses.