I caved ... Nokton 50mm f/1.5

Godfrey

Godfrey

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A friend of mine has been browbeating me forever that I had to give a Nokton 50mm f/1.5 LTM a try. He likes his more than either his Summicrons or Summiluxes. Realizing that this lens is now long out of production and that Steve Gandy still has a few in stock, I went for it.

Have to say, I'm delighted with its performance ... A couple of my first photo with it ...

Quick shot in my office the evening after I picked it up:

120320-1000421.jpg

And a photo from yesterday's walk in Japan Town, San Jose, California ...

​

(Both with the M9.)

Mechanically, it's smooth and feels great. It's a largish lens compared to what I've been using, but still relatively light compared to some other ultra-fast lenses. My only serious criticism is that it needs a focusing tab ... the focus ring knurling is too slippery and close to the body. A focusing tab will be a lot faster and surer in use. (I'm going to fit one, I have a couple designed as replacement parts for another lens that I can modify to fit.)

This lens performs so nicely on the M9 I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever take it off the camera! ... !
 
Glad to hear you are pleased with your new Nokton. I love this lens it is my favourite of my small collection and the one that gets used 75% of the time.

I like the second shot this for me is what the Nokton is all about in terms of sharpness and contrast. Have fun with your new lens

Chris
 
This is such a great lens, and still one of the best buys.

Be sure to post your shots, already looking good, over in this thread.

Sellers have been suggesting 'a few left in stock' now for three, going on four years now it seems.
 
Godfrey, nice photographs! I do like the second photo the best, the outdoor B&W rendering really works well, love the 3D pop!

Love the Nokton 50/1.5, it was the first Voigtlander lens that I had purchased about two years ago and I am always pleased with the photographs when using this lens.

Congratulations . . . . .

My three favorite Voightlander lenses are the 50/1.5 Nokton, the 28/1.9 Ultron, and the 75/2.5 Color Heliar, which happen to be LTM mounts.
 
Thanks for all the compliments.

seakayaker1 said:
...My three favorite Voightlander lenses are the 50/1.5 Nokton, the 28/1.9 Ultron, and the 75/2.5 Color Heliar, which happen to be LTM mounts.
Click to expand...

Heya Dan!

The Nokton 50 is rapidly going to become one of my favorites, I think. ;-)

So far, my CV favorites have been the Nokton 40/1.4 and Skopar 21/4. It's a near perfect pairing for the GXR-M, and I like the "wide normal" and ultra wide pairing on the M9 too. For longer, I tend to prefer a 90 it seems ... the M-Rokkor 90mm f/4 is delightful on both cameras.

A 50 on the GXR-M works well but, like the Ultron 28, I have to work at it ... a 50 on the M9, however, just works for me. Something about a fast normal lens just suits my eye well. 🙂

Fun stuff. I've got way too many good lenses to enjoy now ... !
 
the 50/1.5 nokton is a fantastic lens. neutral bokeh, very sharp wide open, flareproof... i regret having sold mine and am considering getting another one, but this time a chrome copy.
 
Since getting this lens, I haven't taken it off the M9. I was sick with a cold and flu over the weekend so it sat most of the time. But anytime I make a few exposures with it, it shocks me ... it's that good.


Leica M9 + CV Nokton 50mm f/1.5
ISO 800 @ f/1.5 @ 1/30 s​

Yeah, I know ... motion blur. He was moving, I was moving, and the exposure time was 1/30 second. But at this size, I like it. Snapped it as we came out of the movie theater last night.

Only thing i really would like is a focusing tab for it. I've got one i think I can fit without butchering the focusing ring.

enjoy!

G
 
Thanks Mike!

I was over to the IoM last October. Love the place. I try to get there every year but couldn't for a couple of years (2009, 2010).

Now I have four 50mm lenses ... two for the SLRs and two for the M-bayonet cameras. It must be a favorite focal length, eh? ;-)
 
Godfrey, I'm another one drawn to the fast 50's. I currently have a CZJ and a Jupiter 3. Older glass to be sure and reading this thread has started to give me GAS pain, so I'll ask this: do you have any comparison shots? I have to live with the glass I have(luv the one yer with) but always like those real world side/side shots.
 
Godfrey said:
My only serious criticism is that it needs a focusing tab ... the focus ring knurling is too slippery and close to the body. A focusing tab will be a lot faster and surer in use. (I'm going to fit one, I have a couple designed as replacement parts for another lens that I can modify to fit.)

This lens performs so nicely on the M9 I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever take it off the camera! ... !
Click to expand...

Agree about the slippery knurling. When I owned one, I covered the ring with a narrow strip of gaffers tape to increase gription.

Nice shots and Congrats on your new lens!
 
Apart from it's similarities to a hand grenade it's a very nice lens.
I'm just in the process of buying my old one back, even though I don't currently have a body to put it on!

From past experience I found the low contrast nature of the 50/1.5 worked better than most lenses with digital rangefinders, they tend to give too much contrast in the OOF areas for my tastes, making it hard to increase contrast in images without background features turning in to black smears.

Just a shame the crop made it a bit long for me on the M8. This time round I intend to use it on a film body.


M8 with Nokton 50/1.4

Untitled by Bobfrance, on Flickr
 
When my 50 Summicron started showing lots of unexpected flare, and makes a funny noise when shook (as in I think an optical group is loose inside), I picked up a 50/1.5 to make sure I had a 50. That was in 2007, and I still haven't sent the 'cron to Leica for repairs, I like the Nokton that much. Seeing what I could get for the 'cron used these days, I should probably send it to Leica and then sell it after it comes back.

I wonder why CV doesn't reintroduce this lens in M mount? It would sell well.
 
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