Voigtländer Nokton 58mm f/1.4 SL II

[Airy]

And that's a good idea. The only warning would be against shooting wide open close to minimum focusing distance (which is very short), in which case the lens gets soft even when in focus (see e.g. reply #37 by Fons). The "artistic" effect may be nice though. But even at minimum focusing distance, the lens gets sharp once stopped down.

[John Geerts]

The Voigtländer Nokton 58mm f/1.4  on the Nikon Z6  (however at f/16) 

[pluton]

Nice effect.  Beautiful color.  Always good to reminded that there is almost always more flare at the smallest apertures.

[John Geerts]

Thanks Keith.  Yes, especially when the light comes frontal and low.

[Akira]

Some images with the current SL IIS version.

The first two images were shot wide open, and the last two, at f2.0.

[Airy]

When the subject is close, f/2 is a safer bet than f/1.4, given the drop in sharpness close to MFD.
Subject separation works well esp. on the last shot, precisely because of the extra sharpness of the subject provided by stopping down, while the bokeh remains acceptably busy. I'd reserve f/1.4 for moody ambiental shots.

See also John's first two shots in this thread; again, IMHO, separation is better at f/2.

[richardHaw]

i noticed that this lens is kind of weak close-up

thats why i didnt buy it

for that price i got the Nikkor

[Akira]

When the subject is close, f/2 is a safer bet than f/1.4, given the drop in sharpness close to MFD.
Subject separation works well esp. on the last shot, precisely because of the extra sharpness of the subject provided by stopping down, while the bokeh remains acceptably busy. I'd reserve f/1.4 for moody ambiental shots.

See also John's first two shots in this thread; again, IMHO, separation is better at f/2.

I don't really mind the softness the Nokton shows when used for closer distances wide open.  But I agree that f2.0 is better for the separation at close to meddle distances.  I found the bokeh is a bit busy when shot at middle focus distances, which I think is rather common among the fast lenses of this design.  I rather prefer its character to the clinical and perfect rendition of the lenses of modern designs.

i noticed that this lens is kind of weak close-up

thats why i didnt buy it

for that price i got the Nikkor

I chose Nokton because the focal length is a bit longer and I don't really like the gear-like aperture shape of MF 50mm Nikkors stopped down by one or two stops.  The aperture of Nokon is round and smooth at any aperture values.

I also like the long focus throw of the current version which makes focusing easier.

[Airy]

i noticed that this lens is kind of weak close-up

thats why i didnt buy it

for that price i got the Nikkor

Not really weak. For one thing, it gets closer than the competition (1:5 or so), and IQ deteriorates, not surprizingly. Near MFD, it gets very sharp and clean by stopping down a little, so I found it quite usable for close-ups after all.

Initially, I was also a bit disappointed, but honestly, shooting a 40 cm distant subject at f/1.4 is a strange idea.

At longer distances, the full aperture becomes optically usable, and also makes more sense, delivering relatively clean, but low contrast pics. The full aperture remains a "special effect", a bit similar to the Nikkor 50/1.2 at 1.2-1.4 but less extreme, and objectively much better.

Like Akira, I also found the extra 8mm of focal length quite in line with my photographic habits.

[Akira]

Wide open.

[Nasos Kosmas]

Very nice Akira!
Wide open 

[Akira]

Very nice Akira!
Wide open 

Thank you, Nasos!  I'm more and more attracted to this lens.

[John Geerts]

Wide open.

Great shot in that light, subtle.

[Luc]

Nice one, Akira. Soft and subtle

[Akira]

Great shot in that light, subtle.

Nice one, Akira. Soft and subtle

Thank you, John and Luc!