All hail the new speed king!

Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.1 + Leica M6, originally uploaded by benny ng.

Yup. The new Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.1 is finally out!

Due to geographic proximity, Chii Fei was the first to get it outside of Japan and I'm sure this lens will be a hot seller for sometime.

The initial impression was that it seems slightly smaller (but loads lighter) than Leica's Noctilux 50mm f/1.0, but bigger than Canon's 50mm f/1.2 LTM. I'm not sure what the form factor for the new Leica Noctilux 50mm f/0.95 ASPH will be like, but I doubt it will be as compact.

A screw on hood is supplied, together with a 58mm pinch cap. I would have prefered a push on cap like the Voigtlander Nokton 35mm f/1.2. However, the pinch cap can be used on the lens without the hood, which makes it slightly more compact. You win some, you lose some.

Overall built quality seems quite good. Focusing is smooth and aperture click stops are crispy. The black finishing is decent, like the lighter Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 LTM. The absence of an infinity lock is not an issue for a lens of this size. Besides, some folks absolutely hate it!

By the way, there's an even bigger vented hood available for those who like their gear to be visually imposing. I'm sure the hood will intrude into most of the cameras viewfinder, especially those with lifesize magnification.

Image quality is usually subjective, especially when there are legions of Leica diehards defending the reputation of the Noctilux in their collection. In any case, as a modern lens, this lens produce sharp and contrasty images of good resolution. Color film/slide users will surely like the output from this lens. Although I think the out of focus redition is great, but I shall not go into bokeh discussions. It's either you like it or you don't.

Being the only other fast 50mm rangefinder lens in production besides the Leica Noctilux and at only a fraction of the price, Cosina really have a winner on their hands. Whilst the Fujinon 50mm f/1.2 LTM, Zunow 50mm f/1.1 LTM and the Nikkor 5cm f/1.1 may not lose any value due to their cult/collector status, the desirability of the Canon 50mm f/1.2 LTM, Konica Hexanon 50mm f/1.2 M may be impacted with the availability of the new speed king.

Cheers,