New VC 50mm 1.5 ii thoughts?

[analogpics]

Curious if anyone here has tried it yet? It ticks all the boxes for me...very compact (especially for a 1.5), focusing with barrel of lens, 0.7m min focus (as opposed to my older 50s that are all 1m), solid build, and relatively "inexpensive".
I did read one reviewer that said he experienced some focus shift which i REALLY hope is not the case with this lens. Otherwise, it's perfect haha. Anyways, anybody try it yet? Thanks!

 

[jsrockit]

I'm curious too... it looks awesome. I'm thinking it is perfect for my Bessa R2.

 

[Tim Gray]

Brian S has some posts on it is his sub forum. Looks like a good lens.

 

[raid]

I thought about getting such a lens, but then I went for the pre-ordered CV 50/2 APO.
I already have several 50/1.5 Sonnar lenses.

 

[analogpics]

Hey Raid, so this is a sonnar design? If so, i assume it will have the same focus shift issues as the zeiss c-sonnar?

 

[charjohncarter]

Do you guy actually use all these lenses? I just looked and I have eleven inter-changeable lenses (35mm) and that is over 60 years almost (and that is too many). I've never sold one; I just have them but I can't use them every year. Some I haven't used for 8-10 years.

 

[raid]

Hey Raid, so this is a sonnar design? If so, i assume it will have the same focus shift issues as the zeiss c-sonnar?

The CV APO 50/2 is not a Sonnar.

 

[raid]

Do you guy actually use all these lenses? I just looked and I have eleven inter-changeable lenses (35mm) and that is over 60 years almost (and that is too many). I've never sold one; I just have them but I can't use them every year. Some I haven't used for 8-10 years.

I use many lenses as I rotate lenses each few weeks. I hardly ever sell lenses.

 

[taffy]

I was very curious about this lens too and I looked at the images and comments of Brian Sweeney as well as Fred Miranda's review of it. I also tried it out at a store that had it.

It is quite compact and felt close in size to my former 35 Summarit. Also seems really well made. It is sharp and does haven that 3D pop. I bet it would make a great "do it all 50mm lens".

I eventually passed on it for a ZM C-Sonnar because I already own a Planar and don't mind having 2 50s and I didn't like some of the swirly bokeh it makes (personal preference) vs the C-Sonnar. But I will have to live with the 0.9mm MFD and focus shift.

Off-topic Footnote:
At the store I was also able to try out other VM lenses such as the 40/1.2, 50/1.2, 35/1.2v3 and I have to say the lens than made an impression was the 40 1.2. Size / weight / price and IQ combo makes it really attractive.

 

[Bill Blackwell]

...
Off-topic Footnote:
At the store I was also able to try out other VM lenses such as the 40/1.2, 50/1.2, 35/1.2v3 and I have to say the lens than made an impression was the 40 1.2. Size / weight / price and IQ combo makes it really attractive. ...

I have the 40mm f/1.2. I like it, but I'm not in love with it (I'm not sure yet, but I may part with it). It's not as sharp as it's reported to be, but it does render very deep blues - deeper than any other lens in my bag. It brings up 50mm framelines.

B&W conversions are really good overall (IMHO, it's best quality).

 

[cboy]

B&W conversions are really good overall (IMHO, its best quality).

Nice image! The Voigtlander f1.2 VM series of lens IMO do better at digital B&W than in colour. That's if one likes quite some contrast in their BW. Whereas I prefer the colours coming from LTM better. Maybe it's the way the saturation of colours are more pleasing in the LTM. Personal observation only..2¢

 

[jsrockit]

Ok, so...so far, we are only talking about other lenses...

 

[Sonnar Brian]

See this post:

https://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3012253&postcount=21

Aspheric reduces focus shift by "wiggling it" back and forth.
The shift on the Nokton V2 is minimal.

Shooting film- no one is going to notice.
Putting a digital camera on a heavy tripod, focusing one a ruler, stopping down, registering the images, pixel-peeping 100%- you will see some focus shift. If this amount bothers you, wait for my APO-Lanthar to arrive and I'll do a similar test.

My opinion: Lenses faster than F2 need some spherical aberration for margin in focus.

I have a lot of lenses that are F1.5 and faster. Sonnar and Planar formula.

 

[nickthetasmaniac]

The CV APO 50/2 is not a Sonnar.

Neither is the new VM 50/f1.5 (unless I misunderstood your first comment)

 

[analogpics]

See this post:

https://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3012253&postcount=21

Aspheric reduces focus shift by "wiggling it" back and forth.
The shift on the Nokton V2 is minimal.

Shooting film- no one is going to notice.
Putting a digital camera on a heavy tripod, focusing one a ruler, stopping down, registering the images, pixel-peeping 100%- you will see some focus shift. If this amount bothers you, wait for my APO-Lanthar to arrive and I'll do a similar test.

My opinion: Lenses faster than F2 need some spherical aberration for margin in focus.

I have a lot of lenses that are F1.5 and faster. Sonnar and Planar formula.

Hey Brian, do you have the zeiss zm 50mm c-sonnar? Curious how the focus shift compares between the two lenses 🙂

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Hey Brian, do you have the zeiss zm 50mm c-sonnar? Curious how the focus shift compares between the two lenses 🙂

The focus shift of the C-Sonnar is massive compared with the Nokton. From F1.5 to F4 it is about 1.5" at 3ft distance.

See my article here:

https://the.me/lesson-in-history-the-magic-of-the-value-for-money-zeiss-c-sonnar-50mm-f1-5/

I've had the C-Sonnar for 10 years now. It is the best Sonnar 50 available. I like to use mine with an Orange filter on the M Monochrom, where it is perfect wide-open.

I added the focus shift test for the Nokton V2 to this thread that compares the two lenses:

https://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3006900

Nokton-M V2, C-Sonnar by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

I made an album for this lens on imgbb, here:
https://ibb.co/album/3mjN4y

Wide-open, on the M9,

 

[analogpics]

Ahhh thank you for this Brian, sorry if i missed it above, but is yours the SC or MC version?

 

[Benjamin Marks]

I use many lenses as I rotate lenses each few weeks. I hardly ever sell lenses.

This. I sell cameras, in general, not lenses.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Ahhh thank you for this Brian, sorry if i missed it above, but is yours the SC or MC version?

I bought the multicoated version. This lens is 8 elements in 7 groups, meaning 14 air/glass interfaces. That is more than a regular F1.4 Planar, which is typically 10 air/glass interfaces. A single coated lens loses ~1% of light at each interface. Multicoated optics are typically 0.4% and less.

 

[kshapero]

I have one on the way (Black). It will live on my new to me M-A. Excited.

See these comparisons: https://www.47-degree.com/focus-shift/leica-m-50mm-lens-comparison-part-4