Help me diffrentiate the summilux 50's

[kennylovrin]

If you want a 50 mm lens with "character" and you do not shoot portraits, then I do not know exactly what character are you speaking about.
If you want to obliterate the background, get the C Sonnar optimized for wide open - it draws like a 0.7 lens, so you can spare yourself a couple of Noctiluxes, on the other hand, if you want a character in the way the out of focus draws, then get the Rigid Summicron, or the Noctilux 1.0. Planar is a great lens, when you want to show something in good focus, it is a 99% Summicron ASPH at 10% of the price.

Well, I have a tendency to like what many consider "bad" bokeh.. Where the highlight become brighter along the edges, where they become ovals in the edges of the shot (coma?) and where it generally looks like a swirl.

But at the same time I don't like too low contrast and "dreamy glow", so perhaps I am after something that doesn't really exist.

I had the Voigtländer 35mm 1.4 nokton a while back, and I actually liked that vintage bokeh on that one, but I couldn't stand the distortion and I found it just a tad too unsharp (but that could have been my R-D1 as well that caused that).

I do like the c sonnar and almost bought one instead of the planar, but I don't like the minimum focus distance so much.. and i am not sure i can get used to the focus shift - but yes, i have since considered swapping the planar for the c sonnar more than once. 😉

If I could, i'd go for a noctilux in a heartbeat, but I can't, at least not realistically spend that amount of money on a lens and feel good about it and without endangering my personal economy for a while 🙂.

 

[KM-25]

Probably not much, I am all for confessing to the fact that I find it fun to buy a new lens. It's a hobby, I don't need to justify it. 🙂

I had a pretty good response in mind from a photographer's perspective until I read this, good luck in your camera owner hobby..;-)

 

[kennylovrin]

I had a pretty good response in mind from a photographer's perspective until I read this, good luck in your camera owner hobby..;-)

By all means go ahead and share your response. 🙂

It's not like I don't care about the photographers perspective, it's just that the question of what one "needs" comes up very often, and I am fairly sure that a lot of us here owns stuff that we don't need, so I find that discussion to not add much value.

And the fact that I want a certain look from a lens doesn't have to mean that I NEED that look to change my photography does it?

In any case, it's all good discussing this the way I see it, perhaps I just end up thinking "ah whatever, I'll just keep going with what I have now", and I fail to see how that is a bad thing. After all we're here to enjoy ourselves and discuss right? Or we should stop that as well because we don't actually NEED to? 😉

 

[KM-25]

I'd say just buy what ever looks best on your camera, feels good to fondle, lol!

 

[kennylovrin]

I'd say just buy what ever looks best on your camera, feels good to fondle, lol!

ok, thanks! i appreciate the helpful answer!

i'll get back to you next time i need a lens and my life depends on it, just to make sure i get the one i really have a need for. 🙂