Voigtländer has confirmed a new wide-angle prime lens for Sony E-mount users, the Nokton 21mm f/1.4 Aspherical.
The lens, which has 13 elements spread across 11 groups, is said to be optimized for the sensors inside Sony's E-mount bodies, and features an imaging circle that satisfies both full-frame and APS-C sensors. That means it will work with the likes of the Sony A6400 and popular Sony A7 III, right up to the sports-focused Sony A9.
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The optic features electronic contacts at its rear that allow it to communicate with the camera body. Not only does this allows for data to be embedded within the Exif data of images, but by communicating distance information it also means that it work with the five-axis sensor-based stabilization system inside the camera, presumably to deliver more effective corrections.
The lens is limited to manual focus, although the use of a high-quality grease is said to provide smooth operation and adequate torque of the focusing ring. A floating mechanism has also been employed to keep image quality consistent over a range of focusing distances.
Stepless aperture adjustment
Voigtländer has also designed the lens with an impressive 12 blades to form the diaphragm, which should help to deliver nicely rounded bokeh. The aperture itself can also be closed and opened in a stepless manner, which, as Voigtländer points out, means it can be adjusted while shooting videos without the risk of operational sounds being picked up on recordings.
Other features include a minimum focusing distance of 25cm, and a 62mm thread on the front of the lens for mounting circular filters. The lens is also set to ship with a petal-shaped lens hood that can be reverse-mounted when not required.
Voigtländer is one of a number of third-party manufacturers that caters for users of Sony's Alpha bodies, and the company already offers a number of prime lenses for the system, including the Nokton 40mm f/1.2 Aspherical and Macro APO-LANTHAR 110mm f/2.5.
The lens is expected to go on sale in June with a price of 165,000 yen before tax. That works out to around $1,500 / £1,200 / AU$2,180 before tax, with pricing for regions outside Japan to be confirmed.
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