Nokton 35/1.2 II + M9 = wow !!

[huntjump]

Leica M-E + 35mm 1.2

B&W Dress (back) by Adam Regele, on Flickr

 

[sanmich]

rescucitating this old thread to ask a question:
Now that we have a few years of the lens being around, could the users share their impressions re. sample variation?
Is it safe to buy used or does it have to be sherry picked from new?
Did anyone received a lemon when buying from new?

Thanks!

 

[Jack Sparrow]

Bought my v1 used a bunch of years ago and it's been a solid performer to this day. No complaints here.

 

[Ljós]

[...]
Is it safe to buy used or does it have to be sherry picked from new?
[...]

Good question! Though I tend to like my lenses small and light, there is no denying that this lens seems to really deliver and make it more than worth the size and weight.
However, if you sherry pick your lenses, after enough drinks even the bottom of the sherry bottle will look like a good lens to you 🙂

Greetings, Ljós

 

[jonmanjiro]

rescucitating this old thread to ask a question:
Now that we have a few years of the lens being around, could the users share their impressions re. sample variation?
Is it safe to buy used or does it have to be sherry picked from new?
Did anyone received a lemon when buying from new?

Thanks!

I've bought, tried, and sold a lot of Voigtlander L and M mount lenses over the years, and my impression is that build and image quality control has definitely gotten better and more consistent in recent years. All the lenses made in the last two or three years that I've tried have been great. No decentering, nice focus action, infinity lines up perfectly... no problems whatsoever. Not that all lenses made before then are bad. Most are just fine. But I do think you'll reduce the chances of ending up with a less than stellar copy by sticking to buying a later production lens. Look for one with the Cosina Co. Ltd. engraving in gold letters on the lens mount! Cosina only started doing this about two years ago so you can be sure the lens is recent production.

 

[f16sunshine]

Good point Jon. QC is remarkably better than the ltm years.
I wish for an Mount Color Skopar 50mm f2.5 with focus tab.
Although, that lens in ltm is probably one of the very best built of all the Cosina offerings.
Still... would like a native M-mount version 🙂

 

[sanmich]

However, if you sherry pick your lenses, after enough drinks even the bottom of the sherry bottle will look like a good lens to you 🙂

Greetings, Ljós

he he.... 🙂

 

[sanmich]

two days ago I bought a Nokton 50mm 1.5 and it's indeed remarkably well built.
I also had the opportunity to play with a 35mm f/1.2 which is indeed quite large and heavy, but also, very well built.

The one thing that really put me off was the 0.5mminimum focus.
The closer you are of the 0.7m limit of the RF, the more "dangerous" is the focusing.
How the heck didn't they think of some kind of locking device or bump to tell you that your RF is disconnecting?

Anyone with a solution to this one?

 

[Freakscene]

Onion ring effect in out of focus highlights

What causes that effect?

It's 3+ years on but I just read this thread and noticed that this hadn't been answered. The concentric rings in the out of focus highlights are projected ridges from the post moulding polishing of aspherical elements. Most lenses with aspherical elements do this to varying degrees. See p32 in this Zeiss document

Marty

 

[Freakscene]

The one thing that really put me off was the 0.5mminimum focus. The closer you are of the 0.7m limit of the RF, the more "dangerous" is the focusing. How the heck didn't they think of some kind of locking device or bump to tell you that your RF is disconnecting?

Anyone with a solution to this one?

Get a v1 lens . . .

I'm only half joking. This was very frustrating for me too. Technicians I showed the lens to said they couldn't put a stop on the focus travel at 0.7m.

Marty

 

[JulianLuttrell]

Leica has an innovative approach on their Tri-Elmar. It can focus down to 0.5m, but the viewfinder can only cope with 0.7m; so the focus ring on the lens suddenly becomes stiffer as it drops below 0.7m. I use a Sony A7 so it's not an issue for me.