Old Nokton 50 and New Nokton 50 (M9 and M8)

[raid]

I have a break from teaching, so I am taking more photos than I would usually do when the university is open.

I used the M8 and M9 with the original Voigtlaender Nokton 50/1.5. Amedeo made an adapter for this lens from Prominent to M. I also used the modern Cosina-Voigtlaender Nokton 50/1.5 ltm.

I may have done this little "project" for 3-4 days here in Pensacola. I started out with the old Nokton on the M8 and the modern Nokton on the M9 for a day or so. Both cameras were set to ISO 160 for most images in daylight. I shot in RAW, followed by transforming the image files to jpg with LR5. I used CS2 to add a small amount of contrast as the only PS.

Old Nokton with M9: https://raid.smugmug.com/M9-Old-Nokton-50-15/
New Nokton with M9: https://raid.smugmug.com/M9-CV-Nokton-Asph-50-15/
Old Nokton with M8: https://raid.smugmug.com/M8-Old-Nokton-50-15/
New Nokton with M8: https://raid.smugmug.com/M8-New-Nokton-50-15/

 

[raid]

I will start out with some images from the M9 with the modern CV Nokton.
The link is here:https://raid.smugmug.com/M9-CV-Nokton-Asph-50-15/

 

[raid]

The CV 50/1.5 is an excellent lens overall. It snaps into focus easily, and it is a lens that is sharp with color fidelity and excellent multicoatings.

 

[raid]

I will next upload images from the old Nokton and the M8.
This is the version that was made for the Prominent many years ago.
It had then a stellar reputation for being an excellent 50mm lens.


Link: https://raid.smugmug.com/M8-Old-Nokton-50-15/i-K3ZMmqX

 

[Daryl J.]

I like what I see!

Anything similar in LTM as a fast 50 would be a welcome addition for my recently acquired Leica IIIc

 

[raid]

I have uploaded 50-60 images on my smugmug website on each lens now. The links have been posted above.
Again, here are the links:

Old Nokton 50/1.5 https://raid.smugmug.com/M8-Old-Nokton-50-15/i-PX84dJ4
New Nokton 50/1.5 https://raid.smugmug.com/M9-CV-Nokton-Asph-50-15/

The new Nokton is easier to focus than the old Nokton. Colors are muted and contrast is lower on the old Nokton. This can be adjusted in PS.
A clean (old) Nokton can be more expensive these days than a used clean (modern) Nokton.

 

[raid]

I will next list images taken with the M9 and the old Nokton. Then I will list images taken with the M8 and the new Nokton.

I switched the lenses around between the M8 and the M9. This time, there is no added contrast or any PS done.


M8 with New Nokton (link) https://raid.smugmug.com/M8-New-Nokton-50-15/

 

[raid]

M9 with old Nokton. No PS done.
linkL https://raid.smugmug.com/M9-Old-Nokton-50-15/

 

[raid]

The fog images came out nicely. I was watching the weather forecast for several days and I went there with 4 cameras, with two M 4/3 cameras as a back-up.

Do you see any major differences between the old and the new Nokton lens?
The modern CV Nokton gives me nice looking images from the start. The old Nokton gives me image files that I can either leave As Is, or I add some contrast and some color saturation here and there.
In the end, I love using both Nokton 50mm lenses. My old Nokton is still mint optically, which is rare to find.

 

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Leica M9 with the old Nokton 50 1.5 (for the Prominent)

 

[raid]

M8 with the old Nokton