Summaron 35 2.8 or Nokton 35 1.4

John, I only had 3 2.8 Summarons, and 2 had to go for cleaning due to haze.

The 2.8 Summaron is a good lens for sure. But really expensive in the current market. There are much cheaper classic alternatives that perform similarly (high resolution, low contrast), like the Canon 35/2.8 or Nikkor 35/2.5 with no googles. And then there are many modern lenses that are optically higher performers and cheaper. One might not like the 1.4 Nokton due to its character (I love it). But there are the ZM Biogons, the CV Color Skopar, even the Summicron v3, all in the price range or cheaper than what a clean 35/2.8 M2 Summaron costs today.

And if the only alternative is the 35/1.4 Nokton - no signature, character and resolution differences can substitute for the 2 additional stops if you only have a single 35mm lens. There will be photos you can take with the Nokton that you cann't take with the Summaron. But not vice versa.
 
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filmfan said:
Also look into the 35mm f/1.7 Ultron lens.
Click to expand...

I've got one, along with a Summaron 35/3.5 and a Nokton 35/1.4MC, and I think the Ultron might be the best lens of the bunch. That said, the Nokton is the one that lives on my camera. I like the dark and I like being able to focus closer than 1 meter.
 
you can get summaron 35mm f3.5 if speed is not an issue. Or get CV 35mm f1.2 if weigth is not an issue! but the price of f1.2 is high...

Those are my dream lenses next in my list...
 
I second the Summaron recommendation, it has long tonal scale and excellent definition. It teams nicely with my DR Cron, 90mm Elmarit and collapsible Elmar. I've got my googled version for cheap and it was nearly mint. It would be my absolutely last lens to sell. I don't care for the added bulk of the googles, it kind of feels nicely on my M3, but also decreases VF brightness under the dim lighting conditions so you know what to expect.
 
Finally got the Summaron. Factors (total subjective as usual I guess):
Its Leica... Yeah I know, well, I said it!
Like the ol skool looks
Guess goggles are not that biggy issue
Creamy dreamy B/W
Like to own pieces of history
Won't break bank

Thx everybody for sharing personal opinions
Cheers
 
As you mentioned you carry a very fast 50, I'd recommend a very small CV 35 2.5 (some say it's just like a 35 2 Leica Summicron...) It's sharp, barrel distortion free and very small... You might find one on the classifieds at around $275. A wonderful lens... There are two versions in screwmount and one in M mount, all with the same optics if I remember well... The first LTM one was the smallest, but the other two are almost the same...

The Nokton is fine, but can show visible distortion with straight lines (curved) parallel to image borders... The Summaron with goggles is a pain, and the other version is a bit expensive... And the 2.5 skopar is great and a bit faster...

Cheers,

Juan
 
A used Biogon-C goes for $650 and produces this....fresh off the streets of Bali

Fullframe wide open 2.8
L1002168.jpg


100% crop
L1002168_100crop.jpg


Need I say more?
 
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My eyes are bleeding (man is that sharp??!!!, wow!)
in any case the Summaron is bought now and hopefully it will be a joy to use

Juan Valdenebro said:
The Summaron with goggles is a pain, and the other version is a bit expensive...

Cheers,

Juan
Click to expand...

pain sounds really radical... is that painful to use?
 
At least not better that the other options...

The real question is if after a big 50 you want small gear or not. Small can have great quality too... The Nokton 1.2 or the Zeiss C 2.8 are wonderful but have sizes above the skopar... Without considering money I'd go for the 2.5 if I wanted the smallest size, or for the 1.2 if I wanted a very fast 35 for life... Having the 50 1.1, I'd go for the smallest possible 35... 2.5 is fast enough to me: I use for sun and overcast my 28 3.5, and my fastest Zeiss lenses on my Hasselblad are 2.8...


Cheers,

Juan
 
When bought the 50 1.1 wanted flexibility for low light, sure better lenses do exist, BUT, cant afford them right now, who doesn't want a summi or a nocti?

For the 35 it was more like an opportunity, because of the tax savings etc, so getting the lens under $ 500 PP and Shipped was a big + for me, really. It was like buying in the US directly!. You wouldn't believe how scarce are LTM or M mounts in Uruguay (and all of them have haze/scratches/fungus at ridiculous high prices)
And the guy who has Ms and Screw mounts puts stupid prices willing someone abroad will pay those, would you really pay $2.800 for an M3 and 50 rigid cron? c'mon... Funny thing is that this seller will "clean" lenses after payment... hello... fungus is stitching glass as we speak!!!

And how, let me put this clear, ASTRONOMIC IMPORT TAXES we have to pay, even if we declare lower prices or mark items as gift, long arm of gov will enter your pocket, trust me, everybody tried it already at some point.

$500 top was my own imposed limit, you can always push a little more and get a better lens, technically speaking. You start reading reviews and checking pics and you start convincing yourself.

Lens alone speaking, you can start thinking, why not add $250 and you get this one (then add PP & shipping, oh crap) or perhaps add $400 and you get that other one which is even better but not as much as if you add those last $200 to the equation for the king of bokeh and so on.

This time I wanted a lens that would add own character and would shout personality, it for sure would have its defects considering the price, but then everything has at some point. Will it match my expectatives ? I do hope so, but, who knows... still need to practice and "study" more for what I consider good images, and even that doesn't assure repeatability and consistent results, imho

So now the perspective when buying this lens was, to get a 35 as the chance showed, something different from modern image rendering (perfection is not always desirable), and something affordable

spanish natural speaker limits my expression at some point but I think you can get the idea

cheers
 
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This lens is great, just like a Leica 35 Summicron:

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/pho...wproduct.php/product/23449/cat/1/limit/recent

It was sold, though... You should look for another like this one soon... You are speed covered for low light with your 50 1.1, so it doesn't make sense to carry a big 35 unless most of your shots are inside dark churches...

With this small 35 you'll get enough speed (more than all Leica Summicrons of any focal length owned by thousands...) and your camera will look so small no one will care about your shooting... No lens of any brand or price is noticeably sharper than this one: it depends on your focusing, aperture, shutter speed and camera shake... If you get this lens, you'll find yourself walking with it on camera while -sometimes- your 50 1.1 stays home... You can get it for less than $300, so taxes won't be that bad... I didn't get this lens because my normal is a 40 1.4, so going to 28 was better, and as 3.5 is enough speed to me, my 28 is 3.5 and even smaller than the 35 2.5 Skopar: the 28 is the smallest Voigtländer lens, and that means a lot to me, but especially to the people I photograph... I own both hoods available for it, but prefer to use it without hood: I never shoot with a strong, direct light source in front of me...

Cheers,

Juan
 
rsosa,

Stick to your lens with confidence... Opinions around here are not important... There's a now growing thread about the best or "must" lenses... Dozens of lenses have been introduced there: if your summaron doesn't make it in the middle of 50 or 100 lenses, there's no need to be worried at all... If it does, it won't have a special meaning either... It all depends on your shooting...

Cheers,

Juan
 
Rsosa, congrats to you on your purchase of the summaron. I have a M2 version f2.8 and use it extensively. It is my only 35mm lens. I like it very much. Currently, I overcome low light shooting by pushing my film although the nokton f1.4 is more versatile in this aspect as Roland has pointed out. It all depends on your shooting style too. Time will tell whether the summaron is for you. It is always better to use the lens yourself and see if it suits you.
 
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