In recent years, the 40 mm focal length has become quite popular, and many optics manufacturers have added lenses featuring it to their full-frame mirrorless camera lineups. The first signs of this trend were the launches of the Zeiss Batis 2/40 in September 2018, followed by the Sony FE 40 mm f/2.5 G and Nikon Z 2/40 in 2021.
Over the past two-plus years, however, the floodgates have well and truly opened. In 2024, we saw the Viltrox AF 40 mm f/2.5 Air, followed in August 2025 by the TTArtisan AF 40 mm f/2 ED ASPH. February 2026 brought as many as two new releases: the Voigtlander Septon 40 mm f/2 Aspherical and the 7Artisans AF 40 mm f/2.5 Lite. April 2026 saw yet another launch, this time from Panasonic, in the form of the Lumix S 40 mm f/2.
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It must be admitted, however, that Voigtlander is the manufacturer that has done the most to fuel the popularity of the 40 mm focal length. This type of lens has been part of its lineup for quite some time. The Septon 40 mm f/2 Aspherical, introduced in February 2026, had SLR and rangefinder predecessors with identical specifications in the Ultron series. We should also mention the faster Nokton models with a maximum aperture of f/1.2 and a 40 mm focal length, as well as the diminutive Heliar lenses with an f/2.8 aperture. The launch of the compact Septon 2/40, designed for use with full-frame mirrorless cameras, was therefore a fairly natural next step.
We were very curious to see how the new Voigtlander lens would perform in practice. We therefore contacted fdirect, the manufacturer's distributor in Poland, and they promptly supplied us with the lens for testing. Furthermore, we invite you to read the following chapters and find out how the Septon 2/40 fared in our testing procedures.
