I happen to currently own three 35mm, that is the 35mm Lux Asph (got it last weekend), the Cron IV and the Nokton 1.2 so I did some tests this weekend and here is what I found :
- the 35mm Lux Asph is better to both other lenses in terms of sharpness, contrast and color rendition.
- wide open (which is how I shoot most of my picture), the 1.4 Lux is significantly sharper than the Nokton at 1.2 or 1.4. The Nokton's performance is still very good.
- bokeh of the Lux and Cron are similar between 2.8 and 4, at F2 the Cron is more "curly" compared to the smoothness of Lux.
- color rendition is similar between Lux and Cron, though the Cron has a light reddish cast. The Nokton is duller at all stops, I had already noticed on cloudy days and it bothered me.
- luckily, my sample of the Lux has very little focus shift. The Nokton has none so as the Cron.
- on the same framing, the 1.2 of the Nokton did not impact the M8 speed vs 1.4 on the Lux. Bokeh was slightly smoother.
- in terms of ergonomics, the Nokton is great to focus, the Lux built wonderfully and the Cron is the worse of the three (Canada version).
In conclusion ? All three are excellent performers, any choice is good. Yet I need 1.4 or less because wide open it means you can go up to 7-10 meters and still have a good blur in the background. With the Cron, F2 does not allow it.
The Nokton rendering is duller with less contrast and it is big. I did not feel a "special look" of the Nokton wide open vs the Lux, both are special. I was also surprised to see how similar the bokeh and colors of the Cron version IV (King of bokeh) was to the Lux between F2.8-4.
So really, the 35 Lux will be my standard lens from now on on the M8, it is the lens I have been looking for and does justify the hihg price.
The Nokton I have sold it to another RFF member (who will get it in the Barcelona RFF meeting). The Cron IV I have not decided its fate, need to spend more time with the Lux on street shooting. Might be a good light back up though.
To end this post, here is one of the first shots I took with the Lux this weekend, wide-open :
http://blog.yanidel.com/2009/04/19/notre-dames-trees/
