Voigtlander NOKTON 21mm f/1.4 Aspherical

This Voigtlander is a wide-angle prime for full-frame cameras. It comes in Leica M and Sony E versions, and both share one optical design. At 21mm, it suits street scenes, architecture and tight interiors. It can also place a person inside a wider setting.

The f/1.4 maximum aperture is this lens's standout specification. It lets you shoot in dim rooms and evening streets. In exchange, you focus by hand, and the lens offers no stabilization or sealing.

Voigtlander introduced the design in 2020, and it remains in production.

The Leica M version weighs 1 lb 0.9 oz (480 g). Its body measures about 2.74 in (69.5 mm) across and 2.74 in (69.7 mm) long, a modest package for a full-frame wide prime. A screw-in filter must match the 62mm thread.

The 21mm focal length takes in a wide view of a scene. You can frame a whole room, a building front or a street corner without stepping far back. Nearby objects also appear large, which gives foreground detail presence in the frame.

The f/1.4 aperture is the lens's defining strength. It admits about four times the light of an f/2.8 setting, so you can keep shutter speeds usable in dim interiors or at night. Focused close and wide open, it can also soften the background behind a near subject. The effect grows as you approach the closest focus distance.

Twelve aperture blades keep the opening close to round when you stop down. This helps out-of-focus highlights render smoothly rather than as hard-edged shapes, which matters with streetlights or candles at night. Stopping down also extends depth of field when you want a whole scene sharp.

Closest focus is 1.6 ft (50 cm). You can lean in on a table setting or a doorway and still fill the frame. Framing changes come from your feet, since the focal length is fixed.

Image stabilization is absent. At 21mm, small camera movements show up less than they would at longer focal lengths, so the omission hurts less here. Even so, rely on a fast shutter or support when the light drops.

Weather sealing is absent too, along with a fluorine coating. Keep the lens out of heavy rain, and clean the front element gently after dusty or sandy shoots. A wipe with a soft cloth handles most cleanup.

The Leica M version focuses internally, so the barrel keeps a constant length while you turn the ring. Nothing extends toward your subject as you focus close. Manual focusing stays forgiving at 21mm, because depth of field runs deep across most of a scene.

The design holds 13 elements in 11 groups. Two of them are aspherical, and on the Leica M version both are bi-aspherical. Specially shaped surfaces like these help correct optical faults such as distortion. Since distortion bends straight edges, that correction matters for building shots at a wide 21mm.