{"id":13052,"date":"2018-05-06T07:51:28","date_gmt":"2018-05-06T06:51:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/?p=13052"},"modified":"2026-03-24T13:29:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T12:29:36","slug":"comparison-voigtlander-40mm-1-2-and-35mm-1-7-5m-pcx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/comparison-voigtlander-40mm-1-2-and-35mm-1-7-5m-pcx\/","title":{"rendered":"Comparison: Voigtlander 40mm 1.2 and 35mm 1.7 + 5m PCX"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/h2>\n
\"comparison
Voigtlander 40mm 1.2 Nokton E and Voigtlander 35mm 1.7 Ultron VM with 5m Optosigma PCX filter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Many people are still looking for a small yet fast 35mm lens for their fullframe E-mount cameras (especially those who need AF). I have found what I am looking for in the Voigtlander 35mm 1.7 VM + 5m PCX filter, but many people don’t want to bother with this mod and prefer a native solution. So how does the modded 35mm compare to Voigtlander’s native 40mm 1.2 Nokton E?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Specifications<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
<\/td>Voigtlander 40mm 1.2 Nokton E<\/td>Voigtlander 35mm 1.7 Ultron VM + 5m PCX Optosigma + Fotodiox Adapter<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Diameter<\/td>70mm<\/td>58mm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Length<\/td>59mm<\/td>68mm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Filter Thread<\/td>58mm<\/td>52mm (with PCX setup)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Weight<\/td>410g<\/td>320g (with PCX setup and adapter)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Max. Magnification<\/td>1:6.2<\/td>1:10,6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Min. focus distance from sensor<\/td>35cm<\/td>50cm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Number of aperture blades<\/td>10 (straight)<\/td>10 (straight)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Elements\/ Groups<\/td>8\/6<\/td>10\/8 (incl. PCX filter)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Voigtlander 40mm 1.2 Nokton E<\/strong>, 1099$ new: amazon.com<\/a> | B&H<\/a> | ebay.com<\/a> | ebay.de<\/a> (advertisement\/affiliate links)<\/p>\n

Voigtlander 35mm 1.7 Ultron VM<\/strong>, 809$ new: amazon.com<\/a> | B&H<\/a> | ebay.com<\/a> | ebay.de<\/a> (advertisement\/affiliate links)<\/p>\n

Build quality\/Handling<\/h1>\n

Being from the same manufacturer there are many similarities, so I will mainly talk about the differences.<\/p>\n

Many people don’t like the knurled focus ring of the 35mm, personally I doesn’t bother me at all, but it seems I am the only one. Resistance of the focus ring is higher on the 40mm, but the reason might simply be that it is a new lens which hasn’t been used much yet. Focus throw is similar on both.<\/p>\n

The 35mm offers 1\/2 stop click stops while the 40mm offers 1\/3 stop click stops.<\/p>\n

The 40mm features electronic contacts, so you will have full Exif readout and the camera will know which focal length to use for IBIS.
\nYou can also declick the aperture for video usage.<\/p>\n

Vignetting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
<\/td>Voigtlander 40mm 1.2 Nokton E<\/td>Voigtlander 35mm 1.7 Ultron VM + 5m PCX Optosigma + Fotodiox Adapter<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
f\/1.2<\/td>3.2 EV<\/td>-<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
f\/1.4<\/td>2.6 EV<\/td>-<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
f\/1.7<\/td>2.1 EV<\/td>3.1 EV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
f\/2.0<\/td>2.0 EV<\/td>2.3 EV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
f\/2.8<\/td>1.7 EV<\/td>2.0 EV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
f\/4.0<\/td>1.5 EV<\/td>1.6 EV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
f\/5.6<\/td>1.4 EV<\/td> 1.6 EV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
f\/8.0<\/td>1.4 EV<\/td>1.6 EV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

These values are for the extreme corners of the A7rII (on the A7s vignetting is about ~0.3 EV less). Both lenses show comparably strong vignetting, no wonder given the small size.
\nStopped down to f\/2.0 the differences are not field relevant, but the difference of 1.0 EV at f\/1.7 is definetly visible.<\/p>\n

Sharpness Infinity<\/h2>\n

Center<\/em><\/p>\n