No real alternative to the 50mm LUX ASPH

Peter S said:
The 50/1.5 together with the beast (35/1.2) are the VC lenses I enjoy most both on film and digital. There is a nice review posted on Steve Huff's site, http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2010/02/04/voigtlander-nokton-50-1-5-lens-review-by-james-klotz/ . Hard to spot the difference between Nokton and summilux. Is there a DIY guide to the focus modification or a thread somebody can point me to ?
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I've never owned the 50 Nokton and Lux ASPH together but having owned both at various times, I still feel that they are more different than that review suggests....but having said that, the Nokton is probably 65% the build quality, but 90% the image quality of the Lux for 1/7 of the price. The 35 Nokton is a definite step up in build at 95% compared to Leica, and very tempting to say 100%. Image quality is about 90% compared to the 35/1.4 ASPH.
 
sanmich said:
I just wonder how come VC nor Zeiss are offering a plain vanilla, good at all aperture, 0.7m MFD, 50mm lens?

The Nokton 1.5 is ltm and has a long MFD.
The sonnar is a character lens and has a long MFD.

Now I'm talking about a pretty regular lens configuration, not an exotic focal/ aperture.
Why VC or Zeiss are not giving Leica a fight on this one??
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How many people are actually making buying choices based on mininum focus difference?

CV probably had a choice between a more expensive lens or a 0.7 m MFD. Based on an assessment people's desires, there is everyone who wants the less expensive lens and you. :p

Sure I'd like a 0.7m MFD, but not if it cost me several hundred dollars.

0.9m Nokton for $360 or 0.7m Summilux for $3650. That's $16450 per meter.
 
If you've missed a shot or shots with a 35 or 50 because it didn't have a closest focus of 0.7M it would be high on your list of features, believe me.
 
chris00nj said:
Sure I'd like a 0.7m MFD, but not if it cost me several hundred dollars.

0.9m Nokton for $360 or 0.7m Summilux for $3650. That's $16450 per meter.
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:) Although your math is really funny, I don't think it demonstrates anything (with all respect)
again, lots of 50mm 1.4 with MDF lower than 0.7m have been done for SLRS, and for very reasonable prices.
According to our new "Nokton whisperer" (Lynn) the Nokton behaves beautifully at 0.7m.
0.7m may not be a show stopper for 50mm, or less than for wides, but sometimes it's REALLY handy.So unless I'm still missing an important point, there doesn't seem to be any reasonable reason why CV or Zeiss don't propose such a lens.

And really, it's not about the MDF only. There is NO plain 50mm 1.4 other than the Lux.
 
The point is that there is no real alternative to the summilux asph in M-mount. Michael is right. I have used many 50s in m-mount, and for my taste, it is the best all-round 50 that I have used in terms of rendering. Price is another matter, of course. A ZM Planar 50f1,4 would be interesting insofar as Zeiss could keep its size compact w/o resorting to expensive aspherical element fabrication/installation processes.
 
I was very lucky that in 2005, after my daughter was born, my wife bought a 50 Lux asph for me. Since 2003 I have worked in a big church nursery and I take lots of newborn and infant photos. I currently have over 200 of these 8"x6" photos posted in the hall around the childrens rooms. I'm using an M6 .85 with an upgraded finder (Thanks Sherry) and the 50mm asph. I work available light, usually f2.0 or f1.4 at 1/250 at .7 meters and the results are wonderful. The people just notice the cute babies but I notice the spot on focus and very thin depth of field. The camera/lens is quiet, small and does not scare the babies. If you need up close, low light lens there is none better for Leica M. Joe
 
I have a bargain KEH Canon 50/1.4 ltm coming next week... it's definitely my alternative to the 50 ASPH! And who knows, maybe I'll like the bokeh more!?
 
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