Nokton 35mm f1.4 ... some questions!

[aleksanderpolo]

I had a Nokton before and now owning a ZM 35/2 (2nd copy). My worthless 2 cents: save up for a ZM 35/2 or get a ZM 35/2.8. 🙂
By the way, I love my C-Sonnar too and wonder if there is a 35 that render like it.

 

[Lax Jought]

That circular flare is a worry .... I've had a few shots ruined this way with my 50mm f1.2 Canon which does it certain lighting conditions wide open.

I was pushing the lens by having the sun peep through in the corner of the photo. I haven't had many problems with flare in my other 'normal' photos though. It rarely pops up and only 'sometimes' when I have a relatively strong light source close by.

Here are some examples where I have light sources in the shot with zero flare.

Here's the sun actually in the shot, no circular flare:

L1008457 by thelateshowwithsanjuro, on Flickr


L1008197 by thelateshowwithsanjuro, on Flickr


L1008118 by thelateshowwithsanjuro, on Flickr

There's some sort of a minor light-related anomaly in this photo but I can't worked out where it's coming from, I don't think it's from that particular street light:

L1006680 by thelateshowwithsanjuro, on Flickr


L1006674 by thelateshowwithsanjuro, on Flickr


L1006617 by thelateshowwithsanjuro, on Flickr


(NB. the small light reflections off the light source is due to the UV/IR filter.)

 

[Lax Jought]

Another vote here for the Nokton 40/1.4
Absolute beast of a lens, made me buy back into the M system after selling my R3a a while back. The 40mm FoV is a slight pain. In real world terms it's almost identical to the 35, but still...
I was really disappointed at how the 35/1.4 rendered. If the images turned out the same as they did from the 40 I'd have snapped one up in no time.
I think the price is a big reason a lot of people in Leica land disregard it, but don't be fooled.

Love your photos!

 

[rxmd]

I thought about the 35mm f2 Biogon to match my 50mm f1.5 Sonnar but I'm not sure I want to spend quite that much on a 35mm if the Nokton will do the job.

There's a 35/f2.8 Biogon for $640 in the classifieds. Another is for $715, shipping will have to be adjusted for OZ though; and another is for $640 US-only, but it's worth asking anyway I think. Sounds reasonable to me and it's one of the best 35mm lenses ever (and if you want speed you've got the 1.2 already).

Otherwise, I'd go for a Skopar 35/f2.5. That one was my first "modern" rangefinder lens and I'll keep it. It offers practical speed, is very compact, offers very good image quality, and is available cheap ($379 at Cameraquest - in fact that's a steal for what the lens offers).

 

[uhoh7]

I got a skopar last month and have been pretty impressed

these did not make it into cornerfix

at 2.5, it's even good inside:

I paid 250, but have seen them go for less

then tonite a 1.4 popped up in the classifieds for 400......

suddenly I have 5 35s---jeez

the others are SLR:
Canon Concave SSC
Nikon PC
and one new sony 1.8

 

[uhoh7]

it arrived....

F8 test:

100

 

[jsrockit]

Wow, she flys planes? 😉

 

[jazzwave]

Just do little test of my Nokton 35/1.4 SC on M8 at wide open f1.4.


I saw focus shift (front focus) @f1.4 in closest distance 0.7m.
But it will be corrected when distance more than 1 meter.

Anybody has similiar experience with this lens?


~ronni~

 

[Keith]

Interesting to see this thread on the main page again. After a lot of thought I've decided that I will probably get a 35mm f2.5 Skopar in a few months when I have the readies. They are as cheap as chips and from what I've seen have the performance of a slightly slower Summicron ... if I wan't fast I'll just have to bite the bullet and bear with weight and size of the f1.2 Nokton which is not really that bad when you rationalise it's amazing performance against it's dimensions.

 

[Freakscene]

I saw focus shift (front focus) @f1.4 in closest distance 0.7m. But it will be corrected when distance more than 1 meter.

You saw front focus, not focus shift. The CV 35 1.4s are all adjusted like this if you look closely enough. As you stop down the point of ideal focus shifts back, hence the lenses are adjusted to very slightly front focus wide open. Depth of field increases with dstance to the subject so you don't see this as markedly further away. it's all a fact of life when dealing with systems that are limited by spherical aberrations.

Marty

 

[filmtwit]

Keith, I just picked up the Zeiss 35mm f2 Biogen, it's actually fairly heavy lens for the size and it's bigger then my older Canon 35mm f1.8 ltm. I'm waiting to get my two test rolls back on the Biogen though

 

[uhoh7]

had the nokton out last nite and today

100 of latter, which is wide open

 

[kshapero]

M3, CV 35/1.4 SC XP2

 

[2WK]

I don't mean to threadjack, but I just got this lens and already lost the lens cap on the train this morning. Seemed pretty flimsy. What do you guys recommend for protection? UV filter? (which brands specifically) Also, is there a rectangular hood for it?
Thanks for the help.

 

[back alley]

uv filter plus hood...all my lens caps are in a case in the closet...

there are nice metal hoods on ebay (heavystar) for cheap that screw into the filter threads, no rectangular ones that i remember seeing.

 

[Lax Jought]

L1009735 by thelateshowwithsanjuro, on Flickr

 

[Lax Jought]

More Nokton flare goodness:

 

[umcelinho]

i've been using a hoya mc fuv filter as lens cap on mine, removing it when i will be shooting. it's pretty much a transparent lens cap, but i only do it with the r-d1 and the hexar rf: no cloth shutter curtain to be burnt.

 

[mooge]

More Nokton flare goodness:

circular flare... YESSSSSS!!!!

 

[Keith]

I'd forgotten about this thread ... and I still haven't decided what to do about the 35mm RF lens situation. I have become a lot more comfortable with the 35mm focal length though of late thanks to the X100 so what I finish up with has become a little more important. I definitely wouldn't consider the new 1.2 because I don't use the old version that I've had for several years ... I'm impressed with the examples I've seen here from the 1.4