50mm Summarit f1.5 or 50mm Nokton f1.5

[lcpr]

Here's my Nokton on my M4:

It isn't much bigger in practical use than say a 50 'lux ASPH, it's definitely a bit wider though.

And a shot from it:

 

[umcelinho]

I've never had a summarit, but had a nokton. and it's a fantastic lens. it's not very compact, you can use it without the hood though and it won't ever flare (you'll need a 3rd party 52mm lens cap). even not being so compact, i regret having sold this lens. it's VERY sharp wide open, very pleasing and neutral bokeh and i like the way it handles. i want to get another one, but this time in chrome.. (though if i found a used c-sonnar for $700 i wouldn't let it go!)

 

[ottluuk]

---
my 50mm is the Nokton f1.1 which can be quite a beast if my setup for the day is a 2 body 21mm/50mm street shooting kit, working at f8-f16.

You have a big, fast lens. You are bothered with the size. You mainly work at small apertures.

Do yourself a favour and get a small lens like the 50/2.5 Skopar or one of the collapsible Elmar variants. Or the 50/2.4 L-Hexanon, if you want something a bit more special. Though, in terms of image quality, at f/8 and smaller, handheld, on the street, it doesn't matter much which modern(ish) 50 you get, it's mostly an ergonomics decision.

Bokeh schmokeh. IMO, good content always beats blurry swirlies. And you can't produce content with a lens that sits at home because it was just too darn big to take with you.

 

[dave lackey]

Well, it appears that you don't really have an end result in mind. So, you will most likely be looking at a lens for the collection and occasional use. Therefore, you should get the CV.

If, on the other hand, you truly want an end result that the Summarit will give you, then, it will be a different outcome on your purchase.

Summarit on M3:

 

[Bingley]

I had the cv nokton, and have the cv skopar 50. Both lenses will give you excellent IQ, but the nokton is a much larger lens - sold mine b/c of that. If you've got the Nokton f1.1 and are looking for a daytime lens, then the Skopar is the obvious choice. The skopar has nice bokeh wide open.

 

[Bingley]

Skopar 50 wide open:


The Iron Boy by bingley0522, on Flickr

 

[photografity]

I was looking a Nokton f1.5 a few years ago, but couldn't find any. So I purchase a ex+ Summarit that had a slight haze, other than the haze, everything was pristine(a rarity). The Summarit is what I call a unique lens that draws an image unlike modern designed lens, when you stop the lens to f5.6 ~ f11, it rivals a Summicron. It really depends on what you are looking for in a lens.

 

[CrisR]

Thanks for the input everyone.

With regards to not having an end result in mind - the end result, is to have equally good street shots at 50mm and f8-16 that i get with my f1.1, but without the excess bulk, at times when the f1.1 is not the primary purpose of using the lens (which very often, it is). Sometimes i'm street shooting with zone focus, sometimes i'm picking out subjects with fine focus and high isolation - one can have more than one style of shooting given differing circumstances.

Based on what i've seen from the various photo examples and the shots of the lenses on the camera, i'm not going to be saving much bulk over the f1.1 and i'm unconvinced that the Summarit offers anything "special" in terms of optical character.

Therefore, i don't think either of these lenses are what i'm after in a 2nd, compact, 50mm lens, and in fact the CV 50mm f2.5 is the way to go for ultimate compactness when in zone-focus street shooting mode.

It's been very useful everyone, thank you for taking the time to give me your input 🙂

 

[seakayaker1]

My vote would be for the Nokton

MP with Voigtlander Nokton Asph 50mm f1.5

 

[CrisR]

Thanks seakayaker1! Excellent photos!

 

[Sparrow]

... what will you be mounting it on?

 

[CrisR]

It'll be mounted either on an M6TTL, M2 or CL depending on my loadout that day 🙂 Looks great in the silver!

 

[Jockos]

I got rid of my 50/1.1 last week, and got the Nokton 40 instead.
It's a bit tricky to frame, but it's really small and as expected the .7m MFD is really helping. And at $475 new, it's hard to beat!

 

[CrisR]

Oh i'd never get rid of my 50mm f1.1! The character, photographic quality and the pictures it produces wide open are just too special and well worth the extra weight in those situations 🙂

This thread was in no way bagging on the f1.1, just highlighting that when used for street shooting and zone focus, it's heavier than i'd like, and that while eyeing up my options, i wondered out loud if there was a solid reason to choose the Summarit over the Nokton f1.5. Seemingly no, at least for my purposes, was what i got out of the thread 🙂

I've looked into the CV 50mm f1.5 some more and while it's not huge it's not that much different in size - however it does weigh 2/3rds of the f1.1 so it still would be a good reduction in weight.

The CV 50mm f2.5 is around half the weight of the f1.1 and more compact still, so i'm thinking i'll probably go for the largest difference in size and weight to make it worth owning 2 50mm lenses and to keep my 2 body kit as light as possible.

Setup would be thusly:

M6TTL + CV 50mm F2.5 + Grip
CL + CV 21mm F4 + Finder

 

[Jockos]

I've looked into the CV 50mm f1.5 some more and while it's not huge it's not that much different in size - however it does weigh 2/3rds of the f1.1 so it still would be a good reduction in weight.

The CV 50mm f2.5 is around half the weight of the f1.1 and more compact still, so i'm thinking i'll probably go for the largest difference in size and weight to make it worth owning 2 50mm lenses and to keep my 2 body kit as light as possible.

Setup would be thusly:

M6TTL + CV 50mm F2.5 + Grip
CL + CV 21mm F4 + Finder

Then the 40 would be perfect! It's lightweight, and you can fit it on the CL. You can more easily justify it to, since it's not a 50mm 🙄
Then put the 21 on the M6 and you're there!

 

[BobYIL]

Why do you need an f1.5 lens, if for bokeh then check for the Summarit on the flickr as you may not like it at all (weird and swirly), the Nokton is far better in this regard. If for sharpness at large apertures then the Nokton is sharper than even the both versions of Summilux (pre-asph.) including the C-Sonnar.

The Nokton is a modern lens with not excessive contrast. For f1.5 and f2 it is a great lens considering it usually goes for less than even f2 50mm lenses.

 

[jarski]

looks like OP made decision already, but my experience with Summarit is similar like some others here. its soft, low contrast and flares easy, even more so than first version of Summilux 50 that followed it. build quality is excellent and lens looks very classic, but that wont help much with pictures.