For all who have sold the 50mm f1.1..

[damien.murphy]

Well, I may end up joining the list of people who have sold this lens, if I don't like it, but I have just agreed a deal for a beautiful condition f1.1 🙂

The temptation of a 50 for all light has proved too appealing to me, and I have to see it for myself

 

[alan davus]

Honestly, I'm getting a little tired of all the "focus shift" and "soft copy" complaints on photography forums in general. I don't even know how many lenses I have across systems at this point. I've never sent a single lens back for "calibration." Maybe I'm just lucky, maybe I'm not that picky - or who knows.

Great lenses get a bad rap for something that's existed since the dawn of photography. The Canon 50L, the Zeiss 1,5/50 Sonnar, etc. This is not a new phenomenon. Fast lenses all shift to a degree unless they have floating elements. Just so happens I own both lenses - and find them to be great optics.

Quit lookin' at everything on your screen at 400% and get back to taking pictures. You'll be much happier...

Hallelujah: finally some common sense enters the argument. Thanks DN!!

 

[ampguy]

well. If you don't care about what's in sharp focus or not, why not use a Pen EE2 fixed focus camera. Plus you get 2x the # of photos per roll.

 

[ampguy]

Well Roland

Well Roland

ideas change over time.

20 years ago, most people thought amelia earheart's plane crashed in the water ... 😉

What DN said.

And it's not only 400% pixel peeping. 20 years ago, desired focus was between 1/3rd and 2/3rd of the DOF range. Now, when a lens actually behaves like that, it's due to "undesired focus shift". And why is center focus so important ? And how about infinity ? Etc.

In practice, all that matters is that the focus point is well within the DOF range.

 

[wintershrooms]

I've owned the 50/1.1 for a short time, and I've enjoyed shooting with it in low-light conditions. On film, the bokeh (to my relatively less experienced eyes) looks fairly smooth at 1.1, and I haven't noticed any focus shift (yet). Here's an example of a typical result at f/1.1: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wintershrooms/4984409002/. I started developing my own black and white film about 10 days before I developed that shot, so you'll have to excuse the blocked shadows... 😎

As others have noted, the 50/1.1 is a hefty lens, so I don't find myself taking it out often unless I anticipate having to shoot in low light; my 1954 collapsible 50/2 Summicron sees more action instead. When I do take it out, its almost always wide open or near wide open. I'll have to give the Nokton a spin stopped down between f/2 and f/4 to see if I notice focus shift.

I don't plan on selling the lens any time soon, if at all, but to those who haven't handled this lens yet: listen to everyone who mentions the bulkiness and heaviness of this lens before you decide to buy it. This isn't a joke: it's a big lens that overpowers any M body (though I'd really like to try it on an M5, haha). Sure, it's smaller than most lenses you might use on a DSLR, but there is a bit of an ergonomic awkwardness that comes from using this particular lens on the bodies it was designed for. I had read that this lens was big, bulky, beastly, heavy, hulky, hefty, monstrous, colossal, and many other adjectives, but none of those words sunk in until I actually handled the lens myself.

The only gripe I have about the 50/1.1 is its flimsy-as-hell plastic lens cap. Seriously, wtf. For such a substantial lens, I would have expected a lens cap that hugged the lens better. I find the cap snapping off if my fingers randomly graze the side of the front portion of the lens, and the cap feels awkward to remove quickly without feeling like I'm going to fumble it accidentally. I've learned to just keep the cap off for extended periods of time instead of toggling with it as I do with my other lenses.

 

[CameraQuest]

Super Fast 50 lenses are big, there is just no getting around that. If you think the 50/1.1 Nokton is big, remember the Canon 50/.95 and Leica 50/1 Noctilux are bigger - and of course the not pictured 50/.95 Noctilux!

Left to Right: Canon 50/.95 for Canon 7/7s, Leitz Noctilux 50/1 Leica M mount, Voigtlander 50/1.1 Leica M mount, 50/1.1 Nikkor Leica Screw Mount, 50/1.1 Zunow Contax rangefinder mount.

BTW, part of the reason so many 1.1's have been put up for sale used is because so many were (and continue) to be sold new. This is a popular lens far out selling Leica's original 50/1 Noctilux.

Here Jeff Hapeman compares the Noctilux 50/.95 ASPH with the 50/1.1 Nokton
http://www.digitalhapeman.com/Digit...2_Ultra-fast_50mm_lenses_on_the_Leica_M9.html

Stephen

 

[ZeissFan]

Wow -- what a difference a few months make. It doesn't seem that long ago that people couldn't get a hold of this lens fast enough.

I think this is the downfall with buying by specs. Still, it seems like a cool lens, and if I had the $$$/£££/¥¥¥/€€€, I would buy one.

For now, I'll have to make due with f/1.5 and f/1.4 lenses.

 

[wintershrooms]

Super Fast 50 lenses are big, there is just no getting around that. If you think the 50/1.1 Nokton is big, remember the Canon 50/.95 and Leica 50/1 Noctilux are bigger - and of course the not pictured 50/.95 Noctilux!

Good point, Stephen. After writing my post, I put the 50/1.1 on my Bessa R2A and went outside to shoot a little. Handling-wise, I realized I've gotten used to the size, and you still can't beat the affordability/speed ratio of this lens.

Also, it's a great companion for my NEX-5's sensor, for which super fast glass is a must to get the sort of bokeh you want at wide apertures. Plus, the 50/1.1 is a pretty sweet hunk of glass for 1080p HD video...

 

[jcrutcher]

Can someone explain Focus Shift for me? I have this lens and like it very much on my M9 but have trouble focusing on my M3, is that what is meant by Focus Shift?
Thanks
Jim

 

[hteasley]

Can someone explain Focus Shift for me? I have this lens and like it very much on my M9 but have trouble focusing on my M3, is that what is meant by Focus Shift?
Thanks
Jim

Focusing correctly on one camera and not on another would indicate that one of the viewfinders needs adjustment, I think.

Focus shift is when the focal plane moves as you stop the lens down. So if it is focused at distance N at f/1,1, when you stop it down to f/2, the focal plane moves to distance P, which can be closer or further away than distance N. The lens will not be focused where you think it is. The Nokton 1,1 focus shifts pretty noticeably.

So it can come across as a softer lens than it is, if you don't practice with it to compensate.

 

[jcrutcher]

Focusing correctly on one camera and not on another would indicate that one of the viewfinders needs adjustment, I think.

Focus shift is when the focal plane moves as you stop the lens down. So if it is focused at distance N at f/1,1, when you stop it down to f/2, the focal plane moves to distance P, which can be closer or further away than distance N. The lens will not be focused where you think it is. The Nokton 1,1 focus shifts pretty noticeably.

So it can come across as a softer lens than it is, if you don't practice with it to compensate.

Thank you. That makes sense so I'll have to refocus as I stop down. I have trouble with M3 in low light because of my eyes and it's 55 years old so the viewfinder is not as bright as the M9. I'll start refocusing. thanks again. I really like this lens.

 

[damien.murphy]

Thanks for all the replies - I must say I am looking forward to my own copy arriving any day now. I have a handheld few night shooting opportunities lined up, which I haven't indulged in for years, and also look forward to developing a few rolls and seeing firsthand what the f1.1 is capable of.

 

[k.a]

you have to give us a review of it! i'm also really intrested in getting one for myself

 

[damien.murphy]

you have to give us a review of it! i'm also really intrested in getting one for myself

Indeed, will post back here my first impressions of it after I shoot with it, with hopefully some pics from the first rolls. I am interested to see how I will get on with it, and suspect even should it prove too hefty or too clinical in rendering, I shall end up keeping it, if only for that wide aperture for night shooting.

It would have been great to try it out locally and shoot a few frames or a roll, but unfortunately, this was not the case here, and it was just easier to buy the lens and try it for myself. I also have a Zeiss Sonnar-C, so will need to decide which stays after I've had a chance to play with the Voigtlander.

 

[craygc]

Thank you. That makes sense so I'll have to refocus as I stop down.

Jim, unfortunately this wont help... The viewfinder alignment wont change as you vary the aperture. There is no way of seeing this effect with an rf lens as you focus. If it is a problem, its about knowing at which aperture the lens is accurate (for your sample of the lens on your camera) and at what distances, then testing to see how much correction you need to make to accommodate any perceived focus shift.

 

[damien.murphy]

Seems that Sean Reid shares my feelings on the bokeh - in that it can go either way ("smooth" or "nervous/jittery") depending.

But what I found particularly interesting in his review is the notion that off-center subjects show focus shift less than "dead center." This might actually explain a lot. I know I for one rarely place subjects in the center of an image (rule of thirds and all that). This would also explain why some people see it, some people don't, based on style of shooting.

Perhaps there's curvature of field too. Didn't realise Sean had his review up, and must head over to have a look.

EDIT: Just seen you mentioned curvature of field already in your above comment

 

[damien.murphy]

Yeah, that's what I figure too (and tacked that onto the end of my post above). It only helps if the lens shifts focus in the right direction...

The Sonnar ZM shifts backwards a bit and it seems the CV Nokton shifts forwards about as much (a few cm).

Another solution is to just shoot it wide open. Works for me. That's why I got it in the first place. 😉

Lol, indeed 🙂

I'm not the closest of shooters, so perhaps with the distances I will be shooting it at, it may not be a problem.

Would be nice to understand the nature of my copy on the way, so must consider a test roll..

 

[hteasley]

Thank you. That makes sense so I'll have to refocus as I stop down.

By "refocus", you need to mean "deliberately misfocus in the viewfinder." With focus shift, the viewfinder and the lens lose focus synchronization.

And my comment was general regarding focus shift, where the focal plane can move nearer or farther as you stop down. The Nokton 1,1 back focuses.

 

[aldobonnard]

Focus Shift: there's one guy page 1 saying the Nokton 1.1 has focus shift, and shows pics.
Ha ha ha... Just poor focussing, mate !
I never had a miss with the Nokton 1.1, either on M7 and R-D1. Time for changing glasses or readjusting your M.
Bad pics, blame the lens...easy...
The Nokton is great for film too, full frame. It has the same character as the new Noctilux, being basically a better designed lens than older generations, for example the noctilux 1 with huge vignetting, focus shift etc...
Nevertheless, my preferred 50mm lens will stay the summicron 50, 1969's design. Best OOF ever and how sharp at F/2.

 

[jcrutcher]

By "refocus", you need to mean "deliberately misfocus in the viewfinder." With focus shift, the viewfinder and the lens lose focus synchronization.

And my comment was general regarding focus shift, where the focal plane can move nearer or farther as you stop down. The Nokton 1,1 back focuses.

Ok I'll make some tests for back focus and learn how much or if I have to adjust. Either way this is a fun lens to own and use. Thanks for your help.

Jim