Leica to Voigtlander. Am I crazy?

[Juan Valdenebro]

In fact getting one and a half more speed is an upgrade, and a big one.
And being able to defocus background a lot more, isn't a little thing either... And it's a really beautiful defocus, by the way...
The only thing to consider is if you own or want any other small 35 in case you don't want the 1.2 as your only 35 every day...
But owning the 35 1.2 is a great idea, always...
Cheers,
Juan

 

[Takkun]

There are so many awesome lenses out there today that we should worry less about whether it is or isn't made by Leica, and more about whether it complements our style. This is a great time to be shooting rangefinders.

Amen. There's a lot of talk on 'why bother shooting a Leica without the Leica lenses?' Because there are more lenses than ever to try these days.

My personal preference for 35 is the 35 Ultron ASPH; plenty fast, smaller than the 1.2, and I liked the bokeh better than the 1.4. Really wish they'd reissue it, despite its affinity for brassing.

 

[soultheworld]

i had the Nokton 35 1.2 and then upgraded to the Summilux.

thinking back i think i should have kept the Nokton as i really like the way it rendered. i don't think the LUX is worth the extra money, and i would trade a Cron for the Nokton if you don't mind the size.

 

[peterm1]

I tend to think of my lenses in much the same way as a painter thinks of his brushes - different brushes / lenses for different jobs. Unfortunately this means I tend to end up with more than one lens. But it does mean I don't necessarily get snobby about lenses. Some cheaper lenses are better than more expensive ones for certain tasks. In the case of the 35mm lens I did sell the Leica - mainly because it was attracting such a good price and also because I am the sort of shooter who in general prefers longer focal lengths so having a couple of 35mm lenses was not a high priority for me. In any event I don't necessarily see it as a step backwards or a downgrade for you to buy a Nokton. And the good thing is that if you have a V4 35mm you will be able to buy not just the Nokton but another equivalent lens besides (the Nokton goes for about half the cost the Summicron sells for).

I should declare my hand. Notwithstanding what I said about longer lenses when I sold my Summicron I bought not another 35mm lens but a Voigtlander 28mm f2. Which is one of their great lenses and is sharp and renders well. Its price was right and I thought that having one wider lens was preferable to having a couple of 35mms. I then used what was left over (and there was quite a lot left over) to buy something else - I forget what.

 

[kossi008]

My personal preference for 35 is the 35 Ultron ASPH; plenty fast, smaller than the 1.2, and I liked the bokeh better than the 1.4. Really wish they'd reissue it, despite its affinity for brassing.

I used to have one and wasn't so happy, it was just too soft for me. Maybe I had a dud... really enjoying the Biogon 35/2 right now. I've always been thinking about the 35/1.2 Nokton, but the size keeps putting me off.

Enough off-topic: In no case whatsoever are you crazy for changing from Leica to Voigtländer. All of these lenses are way above my skills as a photographer, so there is always enough headroom quality-wise.

 

[k__43]

I used a Nokt 35/1.2 VII and I own a Cron 35 Version IV - would I trade? never!
I'd add the Nokt but not to replace the Cron. Reasons:
- the nokt is way to big for general purpose RF shooting (great night timer tho)
- the nokt is more boring in rendition than the cron (personal taste I suppose)
- I've tons of 39mm filters
- the focus throw is way to long for the nokt - I really prefer the short way from closest to infinity of my cron

As I said I'd love to add the Nokt to my lens collection, it's a great lens.
I'm almost sure the Nokt is probably much better than the cron on digital, but I shoot film.

 

[tuanvinh2000]

I was in similar shoe wanted the nokton for the rendering and low light situation. I gave it a try for more than a year along my cron. the quality is there i have made some memorable images with it. on film i cant see the difference btw the two lens. However since i keep the cron i find i use it ways more often than the nokton due to the tab is easy to focus by feel and its weight to carry all days. i sold the nokton last week after figure that i could handheld a bit slower when it gets dark and when its too dark i just fall back to digital or use a flash. as others suggest ppl usually pair a nokton witha slower lens like biogon c or skopar but i rather has less headache of choosing which 35 today to use and just have one always on the camera to take pics. Give it a try and you can always come back 🙂

 

[YYV_146]

Critical focus with your body is going to be biggest problem. Have the lens calibrated to the camera if you can. F1.2 is fast enough that tolerance differences will show and cause missed shots wide open.

Other than that, the lens is excellent. Superb OOF rendering, and decent contrast control. It is a bit soft wide open, but that is to be expected on a lens this fast.