Micro 4/3 shooters are a great bunch. They realize the value of a lightweight, portable rig while still demanding 4K recording with image quality that rivals much more expensive rigs. The list of viable Micro 4/3 cinema cameras continues to grow and show son sign of slowing down. One of the only drawbacks to shooting Micro 4/3 has been the crop factor when compared to Super 35 format. Micro 4/3 requires wider lenses to achieve a field of view similar to that of a Super 35 format sensor, therefor increasing the depth of field of a given shot. For example, if you wanted to shoot a scene with a 50mm lens on Super 35 format, but with Micro 4/3, you would need to jump to a 25mm lens. This wider focal length is going to increase your depth of field and give you less bokeh. Most shooters struggle to compensate for this by using faster lenses.
Here’s where the Voigtlander Nokton primes come in. Available in a 17.5mm, 25mm, and 42.5mm (equiv 35, 50, 75mm) – the Voigtlander Nokton lenses all feature an ultra fast f/0.95 maximum aperture. With such a fast aperture, you regain that ultra shallow depth of field that you would normally expect when shooting on a sensor larger than Micro 4/3. I’ve been a huge fan of these lenses ever since I was sporting my original Olympus E-P3. Their construction is rock solid – actually built in the same facility as the Zeiss ZF.2 and ZE primes – and the optics are great for the money.
The folks over at Planet5D have taken the time to do an in-depth review and comparison of the Voitglander Nokton primes – something I’ve been meaning to do for years now. Check out the full write-up on their site.
Matt, I’m confused, but then this is typically confusing. I understand that Micro 4/3 sensor size to 35mm full frame yields about a 2:1, so that the characteristics of a 50mm on full frame 35mm roughly equates to a 25mm on Micro 4/3. BUT shouldn’t we be talking about Micro 4/3 vs Super 35 motion format? As I understand it, APS-C and Super 35 are very similar in size and Micro 4/3 is a slightly smaller sensor than APS-5, so the lens equivalency between Micro 4/3 and Super 35 should be pretty close, like 25mm in Micro 4/3 should be about equivalent to 28mm or 30mm in Super 35. No?
Simple math is 42.5mm to full 35 is 85mm 😉
But by “full” you’re referring to 24×36 full frame still 35. In my opinion, the comparison between Super 35 and Micro 4/3 is more useful and that is a very different number, right?
I 100% agree Marty. This “full frame” nonsense is just marketing terminology spun by Canikon to make confused folks feel inadequate and to spend more money on their Canikon equipment.
A m4/3 lens is “full frame” too, for m4/3 cameras!
Not Marty,
Back to school…he is referring to ful frame not s35.
He says 17.5 and 25 and 42.5 is equivalent to 35,50,75.
He made simple mistake, RIGHT?