The Original 50mm f/1.5 Voigtlander Nokton, complete with umlaut!

The Landmark 50mm f/1.5 Voigtländer Nokton of 1951:
The fastest lens for the Voigtländer Prominent is an enduring classic

By Jason Schneider

In 1950 the venerable German lens and camera maker Voigtländer of Braunschweig launched the Prominent, a beautifully made interchangeable lens rangefinder 35 with a large diameter Synchro-Compur 1-1/500 sec plus B leaf shutter located behind the 3-lobed bayonet mount instead of the focal-plane shutters typically used in its competitors. Designed as a high-grade, lower cost alternative to the Leica and Contax, it featured MX sync via a standard PC socket, a built-in self-timer, and the original model had a detachable accessory shoe. Although it was never a roaring success in the marketplace and was widely criticized for its idiosyncratic control placement, notably a left-handed 270-degree-turn focusing knob where the rewind knob is usually found, it sold well enough to soldier on with minor revisions (such as a two-stroke film advance lever in place of a knob) until 1958. At that point it was substantially upgraded to the Prominent II which added a high-magnification Albada viewfinder with stationary bright frame lines for 35, 50, 100, and 150mm lenses, a fixed accessory shoe, and a more compact film advance lever. Sadly, the Prominent II was phased out only 2 years later so it’s fairly uncommon, and a great user collectible.

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Original Voigtländer Prominent with 50mm f/1.5 Nokton lens

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Voigtländer Prominent II with larger Albada viewfinder with fixed projected frame lines, 50mm f/1.5 Nokton lens


While the Voigtländer Prominent system was never as comprehensive as the Leica or Zeiss Contax accessory range, it did include a creditable line of lenses ranging from the ponderous 24mm f/5.8 Ultragon wide-angle to the sleek 150mm f/4.5 Super-Dynaron telephoto. But by far the most renowned and coveted lens for the Prominent was the 50mm f/1.5 Nokton introduced in 1951. An advanced 7-element 5-group Double Gauss design with an achromatized front group to enhance its performance, (especially at wide apertures), the Nokton was reputed to be the best 50mm f/1.5 lens of the immediate post-WWII era, surpassing the 50mm f/1.5 Leitz Summarit (which was based on a prewar Schneider design) and even edging out the renowned 50mm f/1.5 Zeiss Sonnar.

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Original 50mm f/1.5 Nokton optical diagram showing 7-element 5-group design

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Prominent with massive 24mm f/5.8 Ultragon lens on reflex housing

Voigtländer Vaporware? Was Voigtländer's vaunted 24mm f/5.8 Ultragon merely an enticing prototype that was never actually offered for sale. At least one noted expert has privately floated this idea, so I checked it out. The elusive lens debuted at the first Photokina in 1950 and it was fully functional according to those who handled it. It was also featured prominently (pun intended) in the original Prominent manual, but it's not mentioned at all in the Prominent II manual of 1958, suggesting that it was either discontinued by then, or never put on the market. Bottom line: If any Prominent fancier out there has one of these beauties or has knowledge of its whereabouts, please reply to this post or send me a message.

According to most reviewers and photojournalists at the time the Nokton’s performance wide open at f/1.5 was astonishing, and while I’ve never personally conducted a side-by-side comparison I did own a Prominent with a 50mmm f/1.5 Nokton back in the day and can attest to its impressive sharpness at f/1.5 and f/2 and its outstanding image quality, beautiful vintage rendition, and lovely bokeh. I regret that I never thought to adapt it to Leica mount to see how it compared to the original 50mm f/1.4 Leitz Summilux or the legendary 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor S.C in LTM mount, but I’m confident that the 50mm f/1.5 Nokton would have held its own even among such stellar competition.

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Rear view of 50mm f/1.5 Voigtländer Nokton showing 3-claw Prominent bayonet mount

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Adapter S for converting Prominent-mount lenses to Leica M-mount

If you’re motivated to join the small but passionate group of original German-made 50mm f/1.5 Voigtländer aficionados, it’s pretty easy to acquire a functional Voigtländer Prominent with aforesaid lens at one of the vintage camera shops or online auction sites. Pristine examples with full return privileges aren’t exactly cheap at about $400-$750, and an LTM- or M-mount adapter will set you back an additional $200-$300. Of course, you may wish to consider a more convenient alternative—acquiring a brand new Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Vintage Line Aspherical II, a lens that delivers even greater sharpness, detail, and color fidelity while retaining much of the vintage character of the iconic original. It’s your choice entirely, and choosing both is definitely a valid option as well!
 
Modern Photography, "The Camera Collector", July 1973, Jason Schneider.
I subscribed to the magazine. I have several lenses mentioned in that article, the 50/1.5 Nokton- have it in Prominent mount, and bought an S-Mount adapter for it.

Probably at F4, on the Nikon S2.





 
I love using my Nokton 50/1.5 with an adapter on M cameras. These shots were with the M9.

Nokton-%20%282%20of%209%29-4K.jpg


Nokton-%20%284%20of%209%29-X4.jpg


OlNokM9-26-X3.jpg



This one is with the M8:

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Nokton with Prominent (Kodak 200):

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The adapter for Prominent-S can be used with the Nokton 50/1.5 and the Ultron 50/2. I guess, it also works with the 50/3.5 Skopar.
 
Is separation common for this lens (more so than other typical lenses of that period)? The only one I have seen in person had separation in it (anecdotal for sure), and I did a quick internet scan and it seems to not be uncommon (I have heard it is common ). Regardless the Nokton is on my list of interesting lenses.
 
They must be special or collectors have gotten even crazier. There’s a 50mm f/1.5 Nokton black rim in LTM at a nearby camera shop. Price a bit over 6 grand! Even in Canuck bucks that isn’t peanuts. They also have a LTM Summilux 50mm that’s a couple gees cheaper.....

Perhaps I’ll have a big lottery win? :rolleyes:

www.camera-traders.com”
 
I've had three of these in Prominent mount. All good. No separation, but one of them had the non-reflective paint from the inner element come off. Easily opened, cleaned out, and paint replaced.
 
Hi! I have one of these, which I've realized is really worth shooting. I plan to get the M mount adapter as soon as one becomes available.

Does anyone here know of a way of mounting modern filters to this lens? My copy is complete with the original UV filter and Lens Hood. It says 49mm on the filter, but my 49mm-52mm step up ring wont screw into it. I have a 52mm 3 stop ND filter which would be lovely with the lens, to ensure I can shoot it wide open in brighter conditions, or when I want a slower shutter speed.

Any ideas? Thanks!
 
I always enjoy reading these Schneider write-ups, and then inevitably I zip over to a certain auction site to see how available they actually are. I admit I was immediately tempted by the Prominent II with its loonily bulbous reflected-frame viewfinder... but then I reminded myself that I already have more 35mm rangefinder cameras than I can actually use reasonably often, so I'm going to wait until the acquisitive fever subsides.

One question, though: can someone explain what "vintage character" or "vintage rendition" actually is? This is relevant to me because I do in fact own Schneider's suggested substitute, the [Cosina] Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Vintage Line Aspherical II. At least as it performs on my Pixii, it just seems pretty much like a regular modern lens to me, other than the fact that it loses contrast fairly drastically when shooting against bright backlighted windows and such. Is this all there is to it? Is the skookum fully-umlauted original Voigtlander original notably different in any way?
 
With regard to vintage character/vintage rendition, I will make an attempt at it. In general, the lens coating on the original Nokton for Prominent is not anywhere near as good as modern multi-coated lenses, even cheap ones. One of the effects of the 1950s coating is that flare is not as well controlled. Also, a lens design with no aspherical elements such as found on the Cosina lenses sometimes results in chromatic aberration/color fringing seen on the parts of the image away from the center of the frame. Lower contrast of the 1950s lenses is also pretty typical due to the above factors.
 
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I just checked my two lenses, a 35 and a 40 and they are both umlauted. I think it is common knowledge that Voigtländer lenses do not work without the umlaut. I believe that the motto at the factory is "Mann muß umlaut haben" and this is prominent on all the walls. Even in Japan. ;o)
 
i’m reviving this thread as I believe I own an early 1950s Vöigtlander Nokton 50 1.5 in Contax rangefinder mount that needs a CLA. I aquired it on a trade as it doesn’t have an identification ring and the shop owner said that made it difficult to sell. Preliminary results are wild and fun, but it has a fair amount of oil on the blades. Can anyone recommend a repair shop that is familiar with these lenses?
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It looks like a custom conversion, probably best used on a Nikon S-Mount camera. I picked up an adapter for using the Prominent mount lens on the Nikon/Contax: the focal length was close to the Nikon.

The front section simply unscrews- BUT watch for the sprint loaded ball bearing under the aperture ring. It will launch and never be seen again.
 
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