40/1.4 how soft wide open?

[Prosaic]

I have a brand new 40/1.4 (multi coated) that I tried today. Results are rather dreamy at 1.4 close up. Its getting better at medium distances. Is this the performance to expect? I have fifty year old canon glass that performs just as well and would have expected at least some improvement over the last few decades in lens design. I might as well have a bad copy though...

 

[Colman]

That doesn't sound right. I don't think I'd ever describe anything from the 40/1.4 as dreamy! Unforgiving, maybe.

Focusing it close-up can be pretty challenging though, since obviously the DOF is non-existent, and if you had a bad copy then the greater DOF at medium distances might hide the problem.

 

[ferider]

It is sharp wide open, just as good as a Summicron 40/2 for instance. Here are examples:

And crop:

Bigger pictures here: http://ferider.smugmug.com/gallery/2727734_MNe74.

But your camera RF has to work very well, and you have to focus carefully, close up DOF is 2cm. Do a test photo with a measuring tape on tripod and see.

Roland.

 

[Merelyok]

I don't have much experience with the lens close up, but i do quite alot of night photography with the 40 and usually shoot it wide open at night. It is quite acceptable wide open, to me at least.

Here is a sample from a somewhat medium distance.

 

[eleskin]

I have this lens and have found that my 35mm Summicron is sharper wide open on my M8. I have the 4th version, Canadian "King of Bokeh". I would like to see a sharpness comparison between the 35mm f1.2 Nokton, the 40mm Nokton, and the Noctilux f1.0.

 

[Phantomas]

I find this lens particularly dreamy when I leave the autofocus on.

 

[Al Kaplan]

Prosaic, you might have fifty year old Canon glass but the only really fast glass they made that was really decent back then was the 50mm f/1.4. Nobody that I know of was turning out 40mm lenses for Leica, and the 35mm f/1.4 Summilux I had back in the sixties? The best I can say for it is that it WAS f/1.4.

Phantomas, ain't technology great? There's just no way I'd ever expect to get such nice dreamy images if I had to rely on my eye looking through the rangefinder as my fingers gently turned the lens barrel. Lucky you!

 

[Phantomas]

Turn the lens barrel?...