Nokton 50 on Canon P

[hans siddharta]

Dear all Canon P users,
anybody using Nokton 50 lens with the camera?
How much the lens will block the viewfinder? Is that so annoying?
I am so interested in getting a modern lens for my camera, and I am considering the nokton 50, or skopar 50.

Thanks in advance,
hans

ps:
It would be grateful if anybody can also post photos of the pairs

 

[ScottS]

I've got a Nokton 50 and a VI-T -- which has a viewfinder similar to, but not identical to, the P. For the 50/100 frameline view on tie VI-T (35mm is a separate view without framelines), the nokton with hood attached shows up on the bottom right of the finder. Imagine the coverage as follows: Looking at the bottom 50mm line, take a point 40% of the way from the bottom right to bottom left (i.e. on the bottom, slightly right-of-center). Take another point on the right side of the 50mm frame, 40% of the way from bottom to top (i.e. slightly bottom-of-center). Take a middle point almost exactly at the bottom-right corner of the 100mm framelines. Draw an arc across these three points and you'll see the extent of the VF blockage. The rangefinder patch is not at all affected.

Scott

 

[back alley]

i only use canon lenses on my canon cameras, sorry can't help.

joe

 

[djon]

I use a Nokton with a P. It does consume perhaps 15% of the image area. Annoying, not critical : it's not a 100% precisely-framing Canon F1 or view camera, after all. If/when it's desirable to frame precisely, anticipating little cropping, the camera simply needs a little movement to see what's being hidden.

A bigger problem/reality with the Nokton is its bulk. Makes me want a 50 2.8 Elmar. But it''s a very fine lens, probably as good in most respects as a mint Elmar or the typically less-than-perfect (haze, scratches) screw mount Summicrons.

It's a wonderfully sharp and wonderfully rectilinear lens. Mine resides relatively permanently on one P body, usually with 400ei Fuji color neg...the other P is usually wide angle, usually B&W body... external finders and Neopan-400-only.

 

[hans siddharta]

Djon,
Thanks for your information.
So you're saying that sm summicron will be better to the nokton? Like you've mentioned, the size of the nokton makes me hesitate...
Please elaborate more on the sm summicron
thanks
hans

 

[oftheherd]

i only use canon lenses on my canon cameras, sorry can't help.

joe

Such snobbery will not be tolerated on these forums. Be assured I will report this to a moderator. 😀

BTW, there is a review of the Cannon f/1.2 in the latest Shutterbug. The reviewer also mentions the Nokton and the lens hood problem but doesn't see (I guess that was an unintended pun) it as such a big problem.

The review is in the Classical Camera section. The reviewer is probably not too knowledgable about RF in general and certainly not about Canon as he freely admits to having sold his Canon bodies. I think the reviewer was some guy named Roger Hicks ... 😉

Actually, the article was well written and I enjoyed reading it. It might provide you with just one more opinion on using that lens, although he didn't use it on a Canon.

 

[rover]

The review is in the Classical Camera section. The reviewer is probably not too knowledgable about RF in general and certainly not about Canon as he freely admits to having sold his Canon bodies. I think the reviewer was some guy named Roger Hicks ... 😉

Which issue, did I miss it.

 

[Terence T]

Here's a thread if you want to see the lens on the P.

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8110

It does block the finder some but nothing too excessive like what a 35 Nokton would be like on say a smaller body like the Bessa.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

The Voigtlander Nokton is a fine lens and is a modern design. If you want sharp and contrasty, and want to spend a reasonable amount for it, go for it. It is not "that" big. The Canon lenses where all "short", and do not block the viewfinder. The Summarit is probably closer in size to the Nokton.

If you want the "classic" look to your photographs, go with the vintage optics. A Canon 50mm F1.4 would be a great choice. It is not going to run much less than the Nokton. It has a smoother look to the OOF, at least from the shots that I have seen with the Nokton. BUT the Nokton is a modern marvel of computer generated lens formulas combined with manufacturing of acrylic aspheric surfaces. It's hard to beat it with slide-rules. But it is fun to see what those human-engineered optics are capable of.

 

[djon]

My Nokton is remarkably sharp, granted. It's probably sharper than my various FD lenses. But it does have a very specific character that isn't always to my taste, is sometimes less attractive than the FDs and is certainly less attractive than my Summaron 35 3.5 in some situations. For example, although Nokton's very resistant to flare, when it does flare from shooting too directly into the sun, it makes very hard circular (ie not simple polygon) flare artifacts that are less tolerable than the softer shapes you'd get from older designs.

For me the massive size is a real negative...I'm pondering a CV 35 and because of the size the 1.7 is a bad idea, vs the much smaller 2.5. I think the ideal 50 is collapsable and probably 2.8 or 2.0...unfortunately the old LTM Summicrons aren't aging well (haze etc), otherwise I might take that $$ leap.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

I have had the haze cleaned out of my two Summarits. The before and after tests are here in this thread:

http://rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=391&highlight=kitty+summarit

Do not write a lens off due to haze, an $80 CLA will do wonders.

 

[oftheherd]

Which issue, did I miss it.

Sorry Joe, I don't have it in front of me. It is the one that just came in this weekend. I will get the month tonight and let you know. Be advised, my PP&I are never on time, but the Shutterbug I seem to have sent through a time warp.

 

[djon]

Brian, you're surely right about cleaning and haze, but it doesn't necessarily deal with advanced fungus, and old Summicrons are reportedly especially vulnurable. On the other hand, so are Summarons and mine's wonderful 🙂

Problem is, the last several 50mm LTM 'chrons were priced around $300, making a new Nokton very attractive ( though it's definititely not Leica build quality).

 

[oftheherd]

Sorry Joe, I don't have it in front of me. It is the one that just came in this weekend. I will get the month tonight and let you know. Be advised, my PP&I are never on time, but the Shutterbug I seem to have sent through a time warp.

Sorry Rover (not Joe), that is the September issue.

 

[rover]

OK, That one didn't make its way to me yet, so I didn't miss it.