A poor man’s Voigtlander 50mm f1?

[Snoogly]

As much as I covet that lens I’m never going to buy it, so I am wondering about an alternative to take residence on my ZF.

I have a Voigtlander Z mount 65mm f2 macro, which I love, but weighs a tonne.

I have a Nikkor SC auto 55mm 1.2, which is nice, but too ghostly wide open.

Pondering the Nikkor 50mm 1.2 ai. Is it less ghostly than the 55mm wide open?

[aerobat]

Richard, a good match should be the Voigtländer 40mm 1.2 - it is currently out of stock in all shops I've checked though
Another option could be the new Voigtländer 55mm 1.2 for F mount which is chipped
Again something different I'd like to try is the Voigtländer Nokton Classic M mount (35mm or 40mm) on an adapter. They're both very compact and would fit the Zf nicely.
Not sure about the quality of adapted M mount lenses as they're not designed for digital. Has anyone here tried this?

[BruceSD]

I've got two Voigtlander M lenses (Voigtlander Heliar 50mm F/3.5; &  Voigtlander Nokton 75mm f1.5).  They fit nicely on my premium quality, "close focusing", Voigtlander M to Z adapter.

Both of these Voigtlander lenses are good, but neither is exceptional.  For my money,  if I'm going to shoot a manual focus lens on an adapter on my Nikon Z6 body, I prefer the rendering of my Zeiss Milvus lenses.

[Airy]

I have no experience with those Chinese alternatives, but I found this video interesting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Joo9028b-4w

[Gerhard2006]

Pondering the Nikkor 50mm 1.2 ai. Is it less ghostly than the 55mm wide open?
Yes I compared these lenses years ago and you’re right the 55 wide open had lots of flare compared to the 50 1.2. I picked up my AI version of the 50 mm F1 .2 in a pawnshop for $175. Even though I already had the AFD 50 1.4 I wondered if I really needed this new lens? But it has so much character and it’s dreamy at 1.2 and by F2 it is just gorgeous. Even though I tend to be a 35 mm shooter. It made me fall in love with that focal length all over again. The AI version also has a longer focus throw , which makes it easier to focus. The only downside is it has a seven blade aperture with straight blades and you’re out of focus highlights will show septagons  in the background. If you don’t have any out of focus highlights, you just have this creamy beautiful background. The AI version is also a lot cheaper than the AIS version. Pick one up you won’t regret it. Regards, Gerry.

[Frank Fremerey]

I would have chosen the 1.2/40 Voigtlander, but it is out of stock. Even the "rich man's" alternative was difficult to find.


I have used the Olympus OM lenses on a Novoflex adapter. The results are very pleasent, but these lenses do not speak to my Z-cameras, which I dislike.

[Airy]

Pondering the Nikkor 50mm 1.2 ai. Is it less ghostly than the 55mm wide open?
Yes I compared these lenses years ago and you’re right the 55 wide open had lots of flare compared to the 50 1.2. I picked up my AI version of the 50 mm F1 .2 in a pawnshop for $175. Even though I already had the AFD 50 1.4 I wondered if I really needed this new lens? But it has so much character and it’s dreamy at 1.2 and by F2 it is just gorgeous. Even though I tend to be a 35 mm shooter. It made me fall in love with that focal length all over again. The AI version also has a longer focus throw , which makes it easier to focus. The only downside is it has a seven blade aperture with straight blades and you’re out of focus highlights will show septagons  in the background. If you don’t have any out of focus highlights, you just have this creamy beautiful background. The AI version is also a lot cheaper than the AIS version. Pick one up you won’t regret it. Regards, Gerry.

The 50/1.2 AI happened to be my walkaround lens on Df...