Nokton 35mm f/1.4

Some spectacular shots in this thread!

Arnulf, can you tell which focal lengths are most important? Do you shot with one lens usually? Are the 35/50 your bread and butter? Which do you use seldom?
 
Thomas, 28 on the M8 and 35 on the M6 is what I definitely use most. I enjoy the 35 on the M8 also sometimes. The 50 I almost only use on the M6, though not very often, because I don't like it so much (It's an old summilux, which I have problems with wide open). After having read about the 50mm Nokton 1.1, though....
 
I have to admit, I love the photos with this lens stopped down, but wide open, the bokeh subjectively looks very ugly. The distortion is noticeable, but not worth complaining about. I'm not sure it is any more distorted than say a 35 lux asph, which has some mild distortion (see the Leica sailor smoking example brochure photo).

I will probably get one someday, but I expect to have to go through several to find a decently built one.
 
Well, it is one of the most discussed lenses here.

I almost always use only 35mm lens on my leica. I shot with Hexanon-M 35/2 for about 1/2 year. Then I decided to go for a /1.4. Nokton was a natural choice for me. So I sold Hex and bought Nokton. I shot about 40 rolls with it now, so my experience is quite limited. My 0.02 are below.

First (and most important), it is a great lens for its price and speed. Even with the hood the size is incredibly small.

Now some cons based on my experience. The build quality and handling is inferior to Konica Hexanon lenses. The barrel distortion is here, it is noticeable, but only if you look for it. Here is an illustration.

3693060767_fea10b202d.jpg


The performance wide open is ok for me. I am planning to shoot a lot indoors wide open in near future, so I my opinion can change.
 
Since you already have a 35, why not try the Nokton 40mm? I have one that I'm quite fond of, it's cheaper than the 35, and generally gets better reviews from people. I've found 40 to be a great focal length for me.
 
Let me propose a completely different direction:

Try a Leica Tele, 75 or 90, Summicron or Summilux.

Seems to fit your current setup best.

Roland.
 
ljosha said:
The barrel distortion is here, it is noticeable, but only if you look for it. Here is an illustration.
Click to expand...

I think that looks awful.

Think about shooting a series of portraits of people with a background like that... Or any other roll of great photos with a background that shows the distortion like this. I would be disappointed.
 
i'm guessing

i'm guessing

that you could buy Photoshop and a few dozen plug-ins to fix that up a bit, maybe lighten the corners as well...

Svitantti said:
I think that looks awful.

Think about shooting a series of portraits of people with a background like that... Or any other roll of great photos with a background that shows the distortion like this. I would be disappointed.
Click to expand...
 
Svitantti said:
I think that looks awful.

Think about shooting a series of portraits of people with a background like that... Or any other roll of great photos with a background that shows the distortion like this. I would be disappointed.
Click to expand...

Its all relative, and in the scheme of things the little Nokton's distortion is relatively mild. For example, the Zeiss Biogon 35mm f2 exhibits almost no distortion, the Nokton 35/1.2 exhibits a similar amount, and the 35mm SLR lenses that I've owned (Nikkor AIS 35mm f1.4, Nikkor AF 35mm f2) exhibit noticeably more. Here's an example taken with the Nikkor AIS 35mm f1.4. The little Nokton is not this bad.

 
ferider said:
Let me propose a completely different direction:

Try a Leica Tele, 75 or 90, Summicron or Summilux.

Seems to fit your current setup best.

Roland.
Click to expand...

Yes, I agree here with Roland after your answer to my question.

-Since the 50 is used rarely, sell your copy. Someone else will value it.

-Sell the 28/2 and get a 35/1,4 and a 75. Incredible focal length combination that does well at all aspects of RF shooting!

-Look for a used summilux 75/1,4; it is the best lens leica ever designed in my view 🙂 The 75/2 is sweet, too, but much more like the current lux 50 asph. Easier to use but it lacks the mandler design. Nailing a f1,4 shot is like catching a 5 pound trout on a little fly rod; there's a certain excitement due to the challenge. A 90/2 pre-asph or a sonnar 85/2 would be good, too.

-pick a 35/1,4: you must like the rendering, as it is going to be your main lens.
 
I don't know about the 75 or 90. The reason I don't use the 50 more is not because of the focal length, but more due to shortcomings of this particular one. I definitely prefer wide angle most, and I think anything over 50 would feel uncomfortable. Maybe later some time as an addition, but I doubt it suits me as a part of my main set. I'm more curious about the 1.1 Nokton.
 
And thanks ferider for the comparison shots. Very interesting. Would be cool to see some at 1.4, though.
 
I have been using the Nokton 35f1.4 since it was announced - both of mine are SC lenses. It is my "standard" travel lens. yes. it does have a bit of edge distorsion wide open - but then i am not shooting architecture with it. I find it my most used lens and in the SC guise, it works very well with black and white film.
It is markedly better than the pre-Asph Summilux and it is not far off the Asph version (less flare for one).
For the money it is quite phenomenal - for some reason optical aberrations in Leica made glass is "character" and in Voigtlander lenses they become "flaws"!!!
I think there are about a 700+ shots on our Flickr with these lenses - OK, I am not shooting super critical technical stuff with it - but if I did that I would probably switch to 4x5 anyway!
 
Last edited:
Once again it seems that most of the "bad bokeh' examples are situations that no lens would perform well in - contrasty lighting, foliage etc.
When shooting wide open in low light in places like dim restaurants, bars etc. the bokeh is nice.
Sure there is some distortion but it is a wide angle lens! Some slower 35mms show less but I'll take the speed and price of this one thank you! If you absolutely can't handle the distortion then go for the 40mm Nokton. It's a great lens too and cheaper than the 35. 40mm is very useful focal length - I love my Summicron 40mm!
I have a 35 Summicron but I use the Nokton far more for the speed. I owned and enjoyed the Ultron 35 for a couple of years but sold it to get the Nokton. I have no regrets because the Nokton performs better wide open, is smaller, and most importantly, focuses closer.
 
Svitantti said:
I think that looks awful.

Think about shooting a series of portraits of people with a background like that... Or any other roll of great photos with a background that shows the distortion like this. I would be disappointed.
Click to expand...

Hmm, I cannot say that it distracts from main subject when I shoot people. Here is a sample from your country (not a great photo though).

3700790370_be079d6d9d.jpg


The thing is, there is no other choice is you want decent performance and 1.4 at that price.
 
Last edited:
maddoc said:
One of the big advantages of the 35mm Summilux pre-ASPH is that it has nearly zero distortion. 🙂
Click to expand...

Yes, Gabor, that is true; also the lens renders with a certain 'glow', and the susceptibility to flare is managed well with the 12526 hood.
Of course the glow is like scotch, an acquired taste 😉
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom