Introduction

I’ll say this right off the bat: this is my favorite lens in my kit right now, but I wouldn’t recommend it to most. Let me tell you why in just a bit.

I’m not going to bore you with the technical aspects or sharpness brick walls in this review, but let’s get the specs out of the way:

• Focal length: 50mm
• Aperture: f/1.5 - f/16
• Weight: 255g (brass version)
• Mount: Leica M-mount
• Minimum focus distance: 0.7m
• Filter thread: 43mm

Why I love it

It’s 50mm (yes, I’m counting that), sharp, f/1.5, compact, full of character and it handles and looks beautiful on the Nikon ZF paired with the Voigtländer VM-Z Close Focus Adapter.

I’ve had this lens for about a year and I took it to multiple places: Portugal, Norway, China and Japan. It worked great across different climates, from dry -10ºc in Norway to humid 35ºc in Japan. The brass body has real weight to it without being cumbersome and the focus ring feels smooth, precise and has the perfect resistance to it, no matter the weather (I did notice it harden slightly in very cold temperatures).

One thing worth mentioning, this lens paired with the ZF had a few photographers in the wild approach me to chat about it. This never really happened with any other combos, so it’s a funny fact I thought worth mentioning.

Samples images

Nikon ZF - Voigtländer 50mm Nokton 1.5 II MC

Nikon ZF - Voigtländer 50mm Nokton 1.5 II MC

Nikon ZF - Voigtländer 50mm Nokton 1.5 II MC

Nikon ZF - Voigtländer 50mm Nokton 1.5 II MC

Nikon ZF - Voigtländer 50mm Nokton 1.5 II MC

Nikon ZF - Voigtländer 50mm Nokton 1.5 II MC

On the Nikon ZF

The VM-Z Close Focus adapter is essential here, not because of its close focus ability, but for its precise infinity focus distance. With this adapter, this lens’s focus markings are exactly right, with infinity being exactly infinity.

Of course, with this lens’s closest focus distance being 0.7m (a common distance for a lot of Leica rangefinder lenses), the adapter comes in handy allowing you to focus at about 0.3m at its narrowest.

Photo at 0.7m - F/5.6 1/125th ISO 400

Photo at 0.3m - F/5.6 1/125th ISO 560

Many people on the internet praise and recommend the TTArtisan 6-bit adapter, but I wouldn’t recommend it, at least not for this lens. With this adapter, the focus goes way past infinity and you’ll lose some close focus distance. Yes, you do gain the green dot, but if you hope to build any sort of muscle memory or shoot at infinity a lot, this is a huge downside.

Manual focusing with focus peaking on the ZF is good, but not great. The EVF of the ZF is good enough, but not on par with cameras like the Leica SL series. Still, I find it super easy focusing with this lens with focus peaking set to RED with a strength of 2. I can easily nail focus even at f/1.5, especially if I zoom in (I set my record button to zoom in). In harder situations, I might set the EVF to B&W to help the red focus peaking stand out, but it’s seldom needed.

Image quality & character

Now THIS is where this lens really shines. Wide open at f/1.5, it vignettes quite a bit, we’re talking VERY noticeable corner darkening. But honestly? I love it. It adds character and draws your eye to the subject naturally. Most situations you’ll shoot f/1.5 are for focusing on a single subject. Anyway, you can easily fix that in your photo editor.

Nikon ZF - Voigtländer 50mm Nokton 1.5 II MC

Sharpness is great across the frame, even wide open. By f/2.8, it’s pretty sharp everywhere. The rendering has a vintage character and beautiful swirly bokeh, and colors that feel organic rather than clinical. Not everyone will like this (my girlfriend, for example) and that’s okay. It’s also not a lens for those seeking clinical perfection for commercial/editorial work. For me however, it’s what drew me to this lens in the first place.

The negatives

I praised the brass build quality earlier, but there’s a big flaw with my copy. The aperture ring got damaged. The aperture ring has an intermittent issue where it gets harder to rotate and slides out of place slightly. I don’t know how best to put it, but it feels like something broke on the left side of it. If I fiddle with it a bit I manage to get it locked in place again and it doesn’t happen for a while.

Unfortunately I missed the return window for my copy, so I’ll look for a shop that can fix it.

Now, I am not saying this is a recurring issue with this lens, and from what I can tell online, it doesn’t seem common, but it’s something I have to mention and warn people about. If you are about to buy this lens second hand, for example, double check the aperture ring.

Secondly, these Voigtländer Nokton lenses get dust in them quite easily. It happened to both my Nokton 50mm and my 35mm. I usually keep my lenses sealed in a pouch inside my bag and well stored at home, but it still happened.

Lastly, this lens is not what I’d call cheap (retails for about $699 USD), so having to spend upwards of $200 USD on the Voigtländer adapter is quite ridiculous. I bought mine used and that’s what I’d recommend most people do. This is not a dealbreaker if you are willing to put up with inaccurate focus scales on cheaper adapters, but it’s something to consider.

In the real world

I shot this lens extensively in Japan and China, mostly street/travel photography. I love the 50mm focal length and it’s what feels the most natural for what I shoot. Close enough to feel intimate and far enough to stay unintrusive.

Nikon ZF - Voigtländer 50mm Nokton 1.5 II MC

The manual focus does slow you down compared to autofocus, but I found that became a feature, not a bug. It forces you to be more intentional.

Nikon ZF - Voigtländer 50mm Nokton 1.5 II MC

Who is this for / who it isn’t for

If you like vintage rendering and all that comes with that (vignette, swirly bokeh, some softness wide open) and you don’t mind manual focus lenses, then this is a great option.

If you are looking for critical sharpness wide open, glass-like bokeh and auto-focus, you should look elsewhere.

Final thoughts

So, is this the best compact 50mm for the Nikon ZF? For me, yes. For most people, no. If you value character over convenience, manual focus as a meditative practice, and vintage rendering that makes digital files feel less sterile, then this lens delivers. The brass build, the satisfying focus ring, and even the way it attracts compliments from other photographers, it’s all part of the experience. But if you need autofocus, critical sharpness wide open, or perfect reliability (given my aperture ring issue), stick with Nikon’s native offerings. This lens isn’t trying to be perfect. It’s trying to be interesting. And for my travel photography, that’s exactly what I want.

Rating: 8/10 (Would be 9/10 if not for the aperture ring issue on my copy)

Alternatives to consider

Nikon Z 50mm f/1.8 S - Native AF, clinical sharpness, but way bigger and heavier

Nikon Z 40mm f/2 - Really compact, AF, also has somewhat of a vintage rendering, but slower and not 50mm

Voigtländer APO-Lanthar 50 mm F2.0 aspherical II Z-mount - Clinical sharperness, good manual focus features on Nikon Z cameras but way more expensive, less character, bigger and heavier