Cosina-Voigtlander has officially announced the world’s fastest photographic lens: the Nokton 29mm f/0.8, which is designed for Micro Four Thirds cameras.
The new Voigtländer Super Nokton 29mm f/0.8 Aspherical lens. (Source: Cosina-Voigtlander.)
Designed exclusively for Micro Four Thirds cameras, the new lens joins the Nokton series of Micro Four Thirds, all of which have a maximum aperture of f/0.95. Focal lengths covered in this series include 10.5 mm, 17.5 mm, 25mm, 42.5mm and 60mm. The Voigtländer Super Nokton 29mm f/0.8 Aspherical, the brightest interchangeable lens for photography currently on the market.
The new lens covers a diagonal angle of view of 42.75 degrees, which is equivalent to 58mm in 35mm format. Its optical design contains 11 elements in seven groups and features a specially-developed GA (grinding aspherical surface) element made from a glass material with a high melting point that cannot be used with a glass mold aspherical surface. Twelve diaphragm blades close to create a circular aperture to ensure attractive bokeh at wide apertures. A clickless aperture mechanism makes it ideal for use when recording video. Manual focus is also available, and all-metal helicoid unit enables smooth and reliable focusing.
The minimum aperture is f/16 and the lens will focus to within 37 cm of subjects, delivering a maximum magnification ratio of 1:10. The new lens has a diameter of 72.3 mm and is 88.9 mm long. It weighs 703 grams and accepts 62 mm diameter filters. A moulded lens hood is permanently attached.
The new lens is scheduled for release in Japan in December 2020 at an ex-tax price of 225,000 Yen (around AU$2966).
