sell Nokton and Biogon for 35 Cron ASPH ?

[soultheworld]

I have a 35mm Biogon F2 and a Nokton 35mm 1.2 II which are both excellent. A friend of mine is really keen to buy my Biogon and keeps begging me to sell it to him.
this got me thinking of maybe selling both in order to get a Summicron ASPH. i would, on the other hand loose the low light capabilities of the Nokton. I am using my Lenses on an m6 and an m9.
what are your thought on this?
Marc

 

[lam]

I don't see why not, prices of ASPH's are slowly ever going down.
If you hate the ASPH you can always just go back to your old setup, theres lots of Biogon's out there.

Image quality wise? it's all in the eye of the beholder. I'm a fan of simplifying the gear though.

 

[back alley]

what would be of benefit to you to do this?

 

[mfogiel]

To me it does not make sense, it would make sense if you got a 35/1.4 as a synthesis of the two lenses instead. But the Summilux 35 is quite a bit more expensive. Perhaps Zeiss will pull out some faster lenses this year, maybe it would be worhtwhile to wait.
FWIW, I only shoot film, and use the Nokton 35/1.2 for low light, the Biogon 35/2 when I want ultimate sharpness, Summicron 35/2 v3 for normal people shots, and Summaron 35/2.8 for classic landscape. I think it is difficult to substitute everything with one lens, but perhaps a good 35/1.4 could foot the bill.

 

[Lss]

I am using my Lenses on an m6 and an m9.
what are your thought on this?

Well, it sounds like you need at least two lenses. Assuming you have other lenses to keep your cameras happy, you are basically considering losing the Nokton with its unbeatable speed while only improving the size (only slightly) and ergonomics (YMMV) of the remaining lens. Optically, it's a move sideways, not up or down. And you lose the Nokton.

I would not make that move. If I were not happy with that setup I might however consider replacing one of the lenses with something smaller (Nokton 1.2 for Nokton 1.4 or Biogon for Biogon-C/Summicron/Summarit). Or add a smaller lens if money and shelf space is no problem.

 

[soultheworld]

Well, it sounds like you need at least two lenses. Assuming you have other lenses to keep your cameras happy, you are basically considering losing the Nokton with its unbeatable speed while only improving the size (only slightly) and ergonomics (YMMV) of the remaining lens. Optically, it's a move sideways, not up or down. And you lose the Nokton.

I would not make that move. If I were not happy with that setup I might however consider replacing one of the lenses with something smaller (Nokton 1.2 for Nokton 1.4 or Biogon for Biogon-C/Summicron/Summarit). Or add a smaller lens if money and shelf space is no problem.

you are right i think i will probably stick with my lenses...i just suffer from this bad habbit of the gear aquisition syndrome 🙂

 

[jsrockit]

There are ergonomic reasons for preferring a Summicron too.

 

[lam]

Well if its your only 2 lenses then yeah you'd probably want to keep them 😱 Unless you like swapping lenses should you feel the need to go film and digital..

 

[Benjamin Marks]

From a purely functional perspective the Biogon and the Cron ASPH are roughly equal in their ability to produce sharp pictures with a lack of distortion. I dunno, maybe the cron gets a slight edge. But it is slight. The 35/1.2 is a lowlight bokeh machine with its own distinct look. So now you have the complete package. Trading it away for the Leica name . . . I wouldn't do it. And I own all three of these lenses. They are all great.

 

[drinkingeye]

From a purely functional perspective the Biogon and the Cron ASPH are roughly equal in their ability to produce sharp pictures with a lack of distortion. I dunno, maybe the cron gets a slight edge. But it is slight. The 35/1.2 is a lowlight bokeh machine with its own distinct look. So now you have the complete package. Trading it away for the Leica name . . . I wouldn't do it. And I own all three of these lenses. They are all great.

+1 from my side
Agree 100% with Benjamin. You gain nothing, but loose flexibility.
All the best

 

[teleparallel]

Just be happy, dude. To me, what you have sound just awesome.

 

[blimey]

you only need 1 35mm lens. if that is the case, i would go for the summicron and let it live within the camera for years to come. i like the smaller size.

 

[Tom Niblick]

I'll second that.

I've owned Zeiss and CV lenses and while they are excellent optically, the Leica lenses are built better. You may not think so now but 20 or 30 years from now, the Leica lenses will still function perfectly. There is a good reason why Leica lenses are expensive.

Durability is important with an everyday lens like a 35 or 50 mm. It is far less important in less used extreme wide angles and specialty lenses.

Of course that is just my .02.

 

[jsrockit]

You may not think so now but 20 or 30 years from now, the Leica lenses will still function perfectly. There is a good reason why Leica lenses are expensive.

There are plenty of non-Leica lenses that have lasted just as long (some were dirt cheap too). Leica lenses are expensive for other reasons besides quality.

 

[tuanvinh2000]

Besides the small size, the CV nokton beats both the Zeiss/Leica for people photography. Make me want to sell my cron asph. Am i stupid or it just suddenly makes sense to me that at f2, the CV looks just as good! at 1/3 of a price.

 

[Bob Michaels]

soultheworld: you really need to sell your f2 Biogon. I suggest via the RFF classifieds. Be sure you make it available to US buyers. I suggest pricing it at $649. The euro equivalent is OK.

I would also appreciate a little advance notice so I can make sure I get there first. I still have to replace mine that was stolen last year.

BTW, I have no interest in a Summicron ASPH.

 

[back alley]

the big difference between leica lenses and other lenses...is that leicas need to be cla'd more regularly...

 

[Godfrey]

the big difference between leica lenses and other lenses...is that leicas need to be cla'd more regularly...

Hmm...? Is there a joke in there that I'm missing?

 

[back alley]

Hmm...? Is there a joke in there that I'm missing?

no...just bored sarcasm of a sort...

 

[Godfrey]

no...just bored sarcasm of a sort...

LOL! Okay, I see.

To the OP ... You're talking fine distinctions between all of these lenses. The Biogon is reputed to be excellent, the Nokton is also reputed to be excellent, the Summicron might or might not be slighter better one way or another. It's really a matter of which one's particular rendering qualities makes you happiest.

Simplifying down to just one lens is a good thing, assuming you like the lens you end up with. 🙂