No real alternative to the 50mm LUX ASPH

[sanmich]

I just wonder how come VC nor Zeiss are offering a plain vanilla, good at all aperture, 0.7m MFD, 50mm lens?

The Nokton 1.5 is ltm and has a long MFD.
The sonnar is a character lens and has a long MFD.

Now I'm talking about a pretty regular lens configuration, not an exotic focal/ aperture.
Why VC or Zeiss are not giving Leica a fight on this one??

 

[BillBingham2]

da' Market.

B2 (;->

 

[helen.HH]

Oh Hello Michael
I just got another 1.5 nokton (replaced the one i foolishly sold)
It is one of my FAVorite 50's and I Don't need More Speed

Its just consistently Brilliant & Smoooooth
I alternate between that a 50 pre asph lux & 50 cron
A 50 Junkie I am !!!

 

[johannielscom]

What do you plan to use it for? The 0.7mtrs is nice, but necessary?

I shoot a character 1943 CZJ Sonnar 50/1.5 on my M3. 0.9mtrs is perfectly okay for the things I shoot (street and occasional portraits). Thought I'd better buy and use it, I tend to become unfocused myself from time to time so characters match here 😉

 

[ferider]

The traditional way of getting closer than 1m with an RF/50 is to either crop or use a tele.

We need a fast 50 with MFD < 1m since teles are uncool and cropping is not allowed .... 🙂

That being said, with my Nikkor 50/1.4 at 0.7m, and my DR at .5m MFD, I'm quite happy. And those lenses perform admirably at closest distance and wide open (in contrast to the Summilux pre-asph).

 

[peter_n]

da' Market.

You cannot buy a 50mm Summilux ASPH anywhere. The non-supply of this lens is one of the questions LUF members have tabled for the Leica brass at the upcoming meeting.

 

[DubilUC]

I think part of the reason is precisely that. There IS no alternative to the 50mm lux ASPH. This lens is an engineering marvel and surely a contender as the greatest lens ever made for the 35mm format. period. Part of the reason the others may not want to compete is that which other company can charge the sort of money leica commands for a lens? Would anyone pay over $2-3000 for a VC lens? VC and Zeiss these days seem to mostly position themselves as the guys who do 'classic' spherical lens designs with modern coatings at low-medium cost. By definition these designs are compromised at wide apertures and MFDs. Do they have the design and engineering talent and equipment on hand to try and match or better leica right now? Even if they did, would there be a viable market for their investment?

In any case, shooting wide open at MFD is literally the worst-case-scenario for any lens design. Even the mighty ASPH is going to be somewhat compromised in this situation compared to what its capable of. Noone interested in getting best technical quality out of their lens would ever choose willingly to shoot like this unless they absolutely had to. Is performance at this particular combination worth the HUGE premium you would have to pay for such a no-compromise lens? Or could you live with f2.0 or f2.8 at MFD? Depth of field is still razor thin, yet aberrations are reduced by orders of magnitude. And you might even get some meaningful information in the background! 😉

 

[maddoc]

You cannot buy a 50mm Summilux ASPH anywhere. The non-supply of this lens is one of the questions LUF members have tabled for the Leica brass at the upcoming meeting.

I visited some camera shops in Tokyo last weekend and found at least two brand new 50/1.4 ASPH in silver chrome ... 🙂

 

[sanmich]

I understand that full bore and minimum distance is a stretch, but is it a reason not to propose such a lens?
there are zillions of 50 1.4 in SLR realm. Are they that bad?

Helen, Roland,
I understand that there are solutions, but these are discontinued lenses, that need (for Nikkor and Nokton) some degree of hacking to go to 0.7m.
I just don't get why CV/Zeiss don't offer a modern 50 1.4.
Zeiss is selling a Planar 50 1.4 in Nikon mount that goes under 0.5m.
Why not in ZM mount??

 

[elshaneo]

There is certainly an alternative to the Leica 50mm Summilux ASPH, it's the Nikkor-S Millenium 50mm f/1.4, just get the proper Amedeo adapter for this lens to make it compatible with Leica M cameras, and it will also cost much cheaper overall 🙂

 

[ferider]

There is certainly an alternative to the Leica 50mm Summilux ASPH, it's the Nikkor-S Millenium 50mm f/1.4, just get the proper Amedeo adapter for this lens to make it compatible with Leica M cameras, and it will also cost much cheaper overall 🙂

Unless hand-modified, the Amedeo doesn't go to 0.7m either. Plus the Nikkor Millenium is a great lens, but has it's weaknesses, too.

I would think, sooner or later, we'll see a ZM 50/1.4 Planar. Michael is right, there is an obvious gap.

Roland.

 

[CK Dexter Haven]

It's a great lens, for sure. But, how many of your books have been shot with one? How many exhibitions you've seen? Is it really necessary?

 

[peter_n]

I visited some camera shops in Tokyo last weekend and found at least two brand new 50/1.4 ASPH in silver chrome ... 🙂

Yes, there are a number of reports that LUF members have wandered into a dealer and found the lens on a shelf. One member bemoaned the availability of a chrome one (somewhere) because he wanted black. Many don't have the time/don't live near a dealer and want to be able to order over the internet, a not unreasonable desire. For most, the lens is essentially unavailable.

 

[maddoc]

Yes, there are a number of reports that LUF members have wandered into a dealer and found the lens on a shelf. One member bemoaned the availability of a chrome one (somewhere) because he wanted black. Many don't have the time/don't live near a dealer and want to be able to order over the internet, a not unreasonable desire. For most, the lens is essentially unavailable.

I won't doubt that it is kinda difficult to get this lens.... my point was that with some luck and searching at other than the usual places one might get lucky. 🙂 Sure, it would be better (much better) if Leica could produce according to the demand.

 

[leicashot]

I highly recommend the Konica 50/1.2. 0.9M focus, super well built and crazy bokeh aberrations that are complimentary for portraits, emphasizing the background blur MUCH more than the smoother Summilux ASPH. The drop off from sharp to blur is much more dramatic wit the Konica and it's almost as sharp wide open.

 

[P. Lynn Miller]

The Nokton 50/1.5 that has been modified to focus to 0.7m is a real alternative to the 50 Lux ASPH. Performance is very good and LTM is not a factor, simply Loc-Tite a high-quality adapter onto it. Unfortunately it has been discontinued...

Maybe I should release the Nokton 50/1.5 Special...

 

[Voe]

The Nokton 50/1.5 that has been modified to focus to 0.7m is a real alternative to the 50 Lux ASPH. Performance is very good and LTM is not a factor, simply Loc-Tite a high-quality adapter onto it. Unfortunately it has been discontinued...

Maybe I should release the Nokton 50/1.5 Special...

Your comment got me interested as I also have the Nokton 50/1.5.

Can you tell what is required to modify 50mm Nokton f/1.5 to focus to 0.7m?

Thanks.

 

[leicashot]

I'd prefer the Konica Hex 60/1.2 over the Lux ASPH. Even though it only focuses to 0.8M it is 10mm longer and greater for isolation. It also has an interesting bokeh, whereas the Lux is perfectly smooth without any bokeh distortion, which to me can look a little boring - but ultimately, PERFECT.

 

[SimonSawSunlight]

The Nokton 50/1.5 that has been modified to focus to 0.7m is a real alternative to the 50 Lux ASPH. Performance is very good and LTM is not a factor, simply Loc-Tite a high-quality adapter onto it. Unfortunately it has been discontinued...

Maybe I should release the Nokton 50/1.5 Special...

put me on the waiting list.

 

[Peter S]

The 50/1.5 together with the beast (35/1.2) are the VC lenses I enjoy most both on film and digital. There is a nice review posted on Steve Huff's site, http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2010/02/04/voigtlander-nokton-50-1-5-lens-review-by-james-klotz/ . Hard to spot the difference between Nokton and summilux. Is there a DIY guide to the focus modification or a thread somebody can point me to ?