Voigtländer Nokton 23mm f/1.2 Aspherical 23mm

Voigtländer Nokton 23mm f/1.2 Aspherical 23mm

Voigtländer
44 Overall Score
vs
Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmarit H-ES12035 12-35mm

Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmarit H-ES12035 12-35mm

Panasonic
96 Overall Score

What Buyers Say

Voigtländer Nokton 23mm f/1.2 Aspherical 23mm

78 out of 100 medium confidence 23 reviews

The Voigtlander Nokton 23mm f/1.2 is a manual focus lens that delivers beautiful character, good sharpness, and excellent build quality. Users appreciate its compact size, fast aperture, and electronic coupling, though some note heavy vignetting and a lack of weather sealing. Overall, it is a solid choice for street photography and creative work, with a few trade-offs in clarity at wide apertures.

Pros
  • Beautiful image character and bokeh
  • Compact and lightweight design
  • Excellent build quality
  • Fast f/1.2 aperture
  • Electronic coupling with camera
Cons
  • Heavy vignetting at wide apertures
  • No weather sealing
  • Manual focus only (no autofocus)
  • Softness/glow at f/1.2
  • No image stabilization
👍 Image quality 7
👍 Build quality 5
👎 Vignetting 2
👎 Weather sealing 2
🤔 Manual focus 4
👍 Size and weight 4

Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmarit H-ES12035 12-35mm

92 out of 100 medium confidence 22 reviews

The Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 12-35mm f/2.8 lens is widely praised for its excellent optical performance, sturdy yet lightweight build, and fast autofocus. Users highlight its versatility as a workhorse zoom for both photo and video, with particular appreciation for the linear focus mode on compatible cameras. A few note the shallow depth of field is limited due to the Micro Four Thirds system, but overall sentiment is overwhelmingly positive.

Pros
  • Excellent optical performance
  • Sturdy yet lightweight build
  • Fast and reliable autofocus
  • Versatile zoom range
  • Linear focus mode for video
Cons
  • Limited shallow depth of field
  • Focus-by-wire system not linear
  • No built-in gear ring for cine use
  • Slight chromatic aberration in high contrast
👍 Optical performance 7
👍 Build quality 6
👍 Autofocus speed 5
👍 Versatility 4
👍 Video features 3
👎 Depth of field 2

Scores

Video Cinema
Voigtländer
40
Panasonic
98
Landscape
Voigtländer
35
Panasonic
95
Professional
Voigtländer
44
Panasonic
92
Portrait
Voigtländer
45
Panasonic
89
Travel
Voigtländer
39
Panasonic
86
Budget
Voigtländer
35
Panasonic
86
Street
Voigtländer
47
Panasonic
84
Wildlife Sports
Voigtländer
28
Panasonic
78
Macro
Voigtländer
60
Panasonic
76

Specifications

Voigtländer Nokton 23mm f/1.2 Aspherical 23mmPanasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmarit H-ES12035 12-35mm
Optics
Typeprimezoom
Focal Length Min23 mm12 mm
Focal Length Max23 mm35 mm
Elements1014
Groups69
Aspherical Elements14★
ED Elements2★1
Coating—Nano Surface Coating
Aperture
Max Aperturef/16f/2.8
Min Aperturef/1.2f/2.8
Constant✓✓
Diaphragm Blades12★7
Build
MountNikon ZMicro Four Thirds
FormatAPS-C★micro-four-thirds
Weather Sealed✗✓★
Weight0.22 kg★0.31 kg
Filter Thread46 mm58 mm
AF & Stabilization
AF Typemanual focus onlyAutofocus
Stabilization✗✓★
Stabilization Stops—5 stops★
Focus
Min Focus Distance180 mm150 mm★
Max Magnification1:4.9★0.21x

Pros & Cons

Voigtländer Nokton 23mm f/1.2 Aspherical 23mm

  • Strong macro (84th percentile)84th %ile
  • Strong build (82nd percentile)82nd %ile
  • Below average af (15th percentile)15th %ile
  • Below average user sentiment (32nd percentile)
  • Below average versatility (33rd percentile)
  • Below average stabilization (34th percentile)

Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmarit H-ES12035 12-35mm

  • Strong stabilization (96th percentile)96th %ile
  • Strong user sentiment (93rd percentile)93rd %ile
  • Strong aperture (88th percentile)88th %ile
  • Strong bokeh (87th percentile)87th %ile

Verdict

★ Winner: Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmarit H-ES12035 12-35mm

Scores 96 overall, wins 9 of 9 usage categories and 5 of 22 specs.

Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmarit H-ES12035 12-35mm Better at:

MacroBudgetStreetTravelPortraitLandscapeProfessionalVideo CinemaWildlife Sports