Voigtländer Nokton 35mmF1.2: Electronic Contacts, Full Specs, Press Release and Official Sneak Peek

We’ve shared hands on images of the new Voigtländer Nokton 35mm f/1.2 for Fujifilm X mount earlier today.

Now we spotted an official teaser to this lens at the Voigtländer website. It’s in German, so I’ll share first the google translated version and then the original one in German.

Also, a Polish distributor has shared the full specs and press release, so we share that one too here on FujiRumors (google translated via optyczne).

Also in German you can find the full press release at photoscala (images below).

PRESS RELEASE and SPECS (translated)

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The f/0.95 Lens Battle: Laowa Argus 33mmF0.95 vs Zhongyi Mitakon 35mmF0.95 vs 7Artisans 35mmF0.95

There is a vast offering of third party manual focus only Fujifilm X mount lenses. We share a selection of them down below.

Among the most popular ones, there are the ultra fast Laowa Argus 33mmF0.95, the Zhongyi Mitakon 35mmF0.95 and the vs 7Artisans 35mmF0.95.

Now Richard Wong compared them all on his youtube channel. As usual, I’ll provide a summary for you guys in case you don’t have time right now to watch at the 22 minutes long video.

Summary

Design and Built Quality

  • all manual focus only with no electronic contacts
  • all full metal construction
  • they all feel very solid
  • Mitakon and 7Artisans size and weight is similar. The Laowa is quite a bit bigger and heavier
  • The Laowa feels a bit front heavy on X-T3
  • Mitakon and 7Artisans, when you change focus distance, the high of these lenses will extend a bit. The size of the Laowa always remains the same
  • Only Laowa comes with lens hood, a metal lens hood. But the lens cap is of plastic
  • 7Artisans and Mitakon have a focus throw of 90 degrees, while the Laowa has a much longer focus throw of 270 degrees
  • Laowa focus ring feels smooth but also a bit tight. Changing from closes distance to infinity, it will be hard to do it quickly on the Laowa. Not a problem with the other lenses
  • 7Artisans has a quite loose focus ring, so it can be tricky to focus very precisely when shooting at f/.095
  • all these lenses have an de-clicked aperture ring, which he hates. Non of his videographer friends ever changes aperture while shooting a video. He’d prefer a clicked aperture ring
  • he prefers the design of the Laowa

Field of view

  • Laowa has the widest field of view (33 instead of 35)

Sharpness

  • Center at f/0.95: Laowa is clearly the sharpest, followed by Mitakon and the last is 7Artisans
  • at f/1.4 all lenses improve contrast
  • corner sharpness at f/0.95: all quite soft, but Laowa is the sharpest and borderline usable
  • corner sharpness at f/1.4 is reasonably sharp, while you must stop the Mitakon and 7Artisans down at f/2 to get similar results of the Laowa at f/1.4

Chromatic Aberration

  • at f/0.95: Laowa is the best with only a little bit of aberration, and much better than the other two lenses. Mitakon still keeps chromatic aberration at a decent level. 7Artisans has noticeably more chromatic aberration than the other two lenses
  • LoCA at f/0.95: serious color fringing on the 7Artisans. Laowa is best. Mitakon only marginally worst than the Laowa

Vignetting

  • at f/0.95, the Laowa is worst, followed by Mitakon and 7Artisans is best
  • it’s surprising, as the Laowa is the biggest lens

Bokeh

  • at f/0.95: Laowa has smoothest and most creamy bokeh, Mitakon a bit of halo, on 7Artisans pretty noticeable halo which makes it look more nervous
  • bokeh balls: Laowa pretty round a bit swirly in the corners. Mitakon relatively round in the center, but in corners a weird triangle shape. 7Artisans bokeh a bit similar to Mitakon but not quite as extreme and corners have oval shape bokeh with pointy end

Distortion

  • overall similar and noticeable barrel distortion

Focus distance

  • similar minimum focus distance of 35/37 cm
  • at close distance, Laowa has softest sharpness, Mitakon in the middle, and 7Artisans is the sharpest at close distance

Flare

  • All have quite some lens flare and contrast drops
  • lens flare looks quite different
  • 7Artisans is best with least amount of lens flare, but the Laowa has the best and very cinematic looking lens flare with lots of character thanks to a red lens flare

Sun Stars

  • from f/8 to f/11: Laowa most beautiful. Also 7Artisans has nice sun stars. Mitakon not quite as clean sun stars
  • You can stop down the Laowa only until f/11, while 7Artisans and Mitakon go until f/16
  • Mitakon and 7Artisans have quite a bit of ghosting when shooting at f/16, so while the sun star is a bit sharper compared to Laowa at f/16, the ghosting can become a bit distracting
  • Laowa and 7Artisans are a good choice

Coma + Focus Breathing

  • Laowa Coma is at acceptable level. 7Artisans has slightly more coma. Mitakon is the worst
  • Laowa and Mitakon similar focus breathing, 7Artisans more focus breathing

Final Thoughts

  • Each of the lenses has Pros and Cons
  • 7Artisans best value for money, Mitakon overall balanced design and reasonably well in most areas
  • Laowa is his favorite. It’s the sharpness of all and has lowest amount of chromatic aberration, making it most usable at f/0.95
  • Laowa renders best bokeh and lens flare
  • Laowa has way too long focus throw
  • He would pick the Laowa, even if it is larger and heavier

Where to get them

Some Third Party X Mount Options

Nitecore NP-W235 and NP-W126S Batteries Announced

Nitecore has announced their new Nitecore NP-W235 batteries for Fujifilm X-T4 and Fujifilm GFX100S and their NP-W126S batteries for X-T3 and other X series cameras (except the older X100 models).

Nitecore NP-W235 – Coming soon to AmazonUS and at Nitecore

  • Voltage: 7.2V
  • Capacity: 2,250mAh
  • Energy: 16.2Wh
  • Operating Temperature:
  • Charge: 0~55°C (32~131°F)
  • Discharge: -10~60°C (14~140°F)
  • Weight: 78.2g (2.76oz)
  • Compatible Models: X-T4, GFX100S
    (Please refer to the original battery compatibility for more compatible models)

Nitecore NP-W126S – Coming soon to AmazonUS and at Nitecore

  • Voltage: 7.4V
    Capacity: 1,140mAh
  • Energy: 8.4Wh
  • Operating Temperature:
  • Charge: 0~55°C (32~131°F)
  • Discharge: -10~60°C (14~140°F)
  • Weight: 51.5g (1.82oz)
  • Compatible Models:
    X-H1, X-Pro3, X-Pro2, X-Pro1, X-T3, X-T2, X-T1, X-T30, X-T20, X-T10, X-T100, X-E3, X-E2S, X-E2, X-E1, X-M1, X-A7, X-A5, X-A3, X-A2, X-A1, X-A10, X100F, X100V, X-S10, X-E4
    FinePix HS50EXR / HS30EXR / HS33EXR
    (Please refer to the original battery compatibility for more compatible models)

The Rise of Selfie Screens, The Myth of Them Being Better for Video and About Pleasing Youtubers instead of Customers

2020 Trend

These days everybody is making its list of the best and worst gear 2020, as well as best and worst trends of 2020.

And it’s on the latter one, the “trends”, that I would like to focus on today.

Because it is clear: one of the hot trends in the photography industry is putting selfie screens on cameras.

And guys, we have to talk about it!

I Am NOT a Selfie Screen Hater

To be clear: I do not hate selfie screens.

And in fact, during the various COVID-19 lockdowns, I often have to teach online and record my lessons, and the selfie screen is a true blessing!

A fully articulating screen is not the photography-evil of our times. It still works fine, it’s still flexible, and I have rather rapidly learned to accept it on my Fujifilm X-T4, sometimes even to love it (especially during my online lessons).

So, if you are one of those, who loves the fully articulating screen, I get it. Maybe I don’t love it as much as you do, but I could totally accept a selfie screen on cameras like the future Fujifilm X-H2 for example.

But….

But it’s getting a bit out of control, with selfie screens just popping up on so many cameras, that we have to talk about it.

And why is this happening?

Tony Northrup
“Selfie Screen? Pleasing Youtubers is Higher Priority than Pleasing Customers”
Vs.
Jonas Rask
“I have no count as to how many shots I missed becauseof the Selfie Screen”

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Photokina GAME OVER: Suspended “Until further Notice”

The Photokina team just announced that photokina has been “suspended until further notice”.

Originally, due to the Coronavirus outbreak, Photokina 2020 had been canceled and postponed to May 2022. But apparently there won’t be any photokina in 2022, and probably never again at this point.

I have been to photokina a few times (2016 report here – 2018 report here) and I always hugely enjoyed it. It’s sad to see this show ending. But to me, the error was made when they dropped their 2 years cycle and decided to take place every year in May. It was the wrong answer to a real problem.

Topaz

What is not yet suspended, but won’t last very long, is the following deal:

TOPAZ has just launched a one-time-only mega bundle deal which allows you to save 60%+ on all Topaz Products.

You’ll get DeNoise AI, Gigapixel AI, Sharpen AI, JPEG to RAW AI, Mask AI, Adjust AI, Topaz Studio 2, and Video Enhance AI for just $299 instead of $1,000.

If you are not into video, you can remove Video Enhance AI from the bundle and hence get it all for just $199!

And if you already own at least one if not more Topaz products already, you’ll only pay for what you don’t own – meaning you still get to take advantage of some serious savings and Topaz will extract what you already own.

Check out the Topaz Bundle deal here.

Press Release

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Fujinon XF 50mmF1.0 Review by Christopher Frost: “Easily the Sharpest Lens I Have Ever Tested at Apertures Brighter than f/1.2”

Christopher Frost has published his review about the brand new Fujinon XF50mmF1.0.

I will provide written summary below for those of you guys, who are in a hurry and don’t have the time to watch the video right now.

Full Frame Equivalency

  • The dimensions of the XF50mmF1.0 are very similar to the ones of the Full Frame Sony GM 85mmF1.4
  • the advantage of the Fujifilm optic is that the max. aperture of f/1.0 will mean that an enormous light intensity is hitting your camera sensor, leaving you with much faster shutter speeds than all other lenses
  • f/1.0 is twice as bright as f/1.4 and 66% brighter than f/1.2, so it really gives you a substantial advantage.
  • The XF50mmF1.0 is a dream lens not only for bokeh, but also for shooting indoors and in darker situations. It could be an incredible lens for wedding photography or video work.

Build Quality and Autofocus

  • build quality more or less second to none. Fantastic and professional feeling
  • lens is big and heavy
  • metallic and solid feeling
  • well weather sealed
  • aperture ring a bit too easy to change away from f/1.0
  • metallic focus ring turns extremely smoothly, but the way it works with the focus motor is pretty jerky, so using it is not the smoothest experience
  • very little focus breathing
  • internal microphone picks up sound of the focus motor
  • autofocus on X-T3 with firmware 3.00 (old firmware): autofocus works OK but is a bit unsure of itself hunting around a bit
  • autofocus on X-T3 with firmware 3.00 (new firmware): huge change. Focus is reasonably quickly and confidently even at f/1.0
  • DC AF motor is noisy

Image Quality

Sharpness

  • usually such fast lenses almost never have great image quality wide open
  • f/1.0: high resolution but low contrast. A little bit of purple fringing in high contrast edges. But he is really impressed by the great amount of detail being captured at f/1.0. You can add extra contrast in post. Sharpness remains all across the frame, but the far corner see some softness. But ever other lens he has tested at f/1.0 was significantly softer than the XF50mmF1.0
  • f/1.4: a lot more contrast in the center and reduced fringing
  • f/2.0: perfect image quality in the middle a little more detail in the corner
  • f/2.8 and beyond we can see excellent image quality in the corners, although not quite as perfect as the middle of the image
  • f/11 and f/16 image quality will soften again due to diffraction
  • OVERALL: Easily the sharpest lens he has ever tested at apertures brighter than f/1.2. It captures a very impressive amount of detail at f/1.0. For more contast stop down at f/1.4. For very sharp corners stop down at f/4. But at f/1.0 the lens is already sharp, which is very exciting to see

Distortion + Close up image quality + Flare

  • at f/1.0 just a little bit of pincushion distortion and vignetting is surprisingly moderate. He was expecting much more vignetting
  • af f/1.4 corners brighten a bit
  • at f/2 corners brighten a lot more
  • at f/1.0 close up quality is a bit softer than at normal distances, but still pretty usable. Stop down to see gradual improvements
  • despite the extreme nature of the lens, Fujifilm did fairly well to control flare, with flaring reduced to just a little green point when a bright light hits directly the image

Bokeh + LoCA

  • he really likes the look of it. Smooth, clean and all around gorgeous
  • if you really want to nitpick, then you could say it has slight cat eye shaped balls in the corners with very slight green outline
  • background looks wonderful
  • Longitudinal Chromatic Aberration is a bit noticable from f/1.0 to f/2.0. More or less all gone at f/2.8

Conclusions

  • the experience of using this lens was “out of this world”
  • it’s so cool to shoot at f/1.0 with autofocus
  • not a perfect lens, but unique, very powerful, decently sharp at f/1.0 and renders images with beatiful bokeh
  • $1,500 may be expensive, but Fujifilm achievement with this lens has matched the ambitions
  • he certainly recommends this lens.

This is basically another very positive review, after the one of ePhotozine, which we will link again down below.

  • read here – ePhotozine Fujinon XF50mm f/1.0 Review: “Top Tier Performance, Impressive Chromatic Aberration Performance… Magical!”

Fujinon XF50mmF1.0 Pre-Orders

Fringer EX-FX (Pro) II Smart Autofocus Adapter Firmware 1.90 Released

Fringer has released firmware 1.80 for the Fringer EF-FX Pro II and Fringer EF-FX II smart autofocus adapters.

Fringer EX-FX (Pro) II – Version 1.90

  1. Added following lenses to the tested and optimized lens list:
    – EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM
    – EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM + 1.4X
    – EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM + 2X
    – EF 70-210/3.5-4.5 USM
  2. Fixed PDAF issues for some lens of the following models: Lens didn’t get recognized by the adapter due to different lens firmware version.
    – Sigma 24-105/4 ART
  3. Fixed a compatibility issue with X-T3 firmware 4.0: under certain circumstances, contrast AF may fail. This issue may also affect other cameras like X-T4 and X-S10.
  4. Fixed camera freeze issue on cameras equipped with X-Trans IV CMOS. When
    – In bright environment,
    – Adapting telephoto, ultra-fast or macro lenses,
    – Aperture is NOT wide open,
    – Subject is far away from current focus point and is so blur that phase detection doesn’t work,

Auto focus may fail. Sometimes, especially when using AF-ON button or touch screen to AF, it may freeze the camera. Even the power switch doesn’t work. This problem has been fixed. Affected cameras include X-T3 (firmware 2.0 or later), X-T30, X-T4, X-Pro3, X-S10.

As the bug fixes are important, upgrading is highly suggested.

Please visit the Fringer website here to download the new firmware and its release notes. Follow the instructions in the release notes to upgrade your adapter.

Fujinon XF Wildlife Photography Lenses Needed, Base ISO 100, Firmware Wishes and More – FR-Readers Wishlist Corner

Here is another roundup of wishlist shared by the FR-community to me via email at fujirumor@gmail.com.

Previous Wishlist Episodes:

Because it touches the wish expressed by Michel, Willy and Kenneth, I invite you to check out also our big Fujinon XF wildlife photography survey and other long telephoto primes articles we have previously shared (list below).

Overall, there seems to be a strong wish by the FR-community for longer primes.

But we know the stellar Fujinon XF200mm f/2.0 did not sell well, and hence it’s obvious that Fujifilm is now a bit reluctant to invest further in long lenses.

But keep in mind, the XF200mmF2.0 comes with a 1.4x teleconverter designed specifically for this lens, which transforms the XF200mmF2 lens basically in a 280mmF2.8 lens. So, with 1 single lens, here is what you get:

  • XF 200mmF2.0 = full frame 280mmF2.8 (f/2.8 DOF equivalent)
  • XF 280mmF2.8 = full frame 420mmF4.2 (f/4.2 DOF equivalent)

If you want to, you can check out our previous “long telephoto primes” related articles.

I also got many wishes regarding future cameras, but since this roundup is already hefty enough, I will share the “camera-wishlist” at a later point.

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FR-readers Wishlist Corner

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