the new Voigtländer Nokton 1,4/40mm

As another thing to consider - from what I've read, there is a complementary relationship between foreground bokeh and background bokeh. The Nokton has "bright ring bokeh" for OOF areas beyond the plane of focus, but the foreground OOF is very smooth. What the DC nikkors apparently do it allow you to choose whether the foreground or the background has the "ugly" bokeh, and how quickly things blur out.

If I remember correctly, I've seen images from the latest 35 'lux that have wiry looking bokeh (seems to have come along with the extra wide-open sharpness of the new formula).

Included is an image from my Nokton 40/1.4, wide open, showing foreground bokeh. Its quite creamy (imo)
 
Dan's shot has the wiggly worms (TM) that I couldn't tolerate :D Sorry for the highly technical terminology.
 
sheepdog said:
As far as I understand, the DC-Nikkors don't do the same thing as the STF and are quite a bit more troublesome to use effectively according to user reviews, but I am open to new information!
The Canon does at the very least not exist in their current lens catalog, if you are not talking about their Soft Focus lens, which is not the same effect.. :)

I too would hope to see more and shorter STF-lenses (from Minolta atleast), something around 60mm 1.8 or even faster would be great for their dSLRs.
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OT: No, the DC-Nikkors work differently by allowing user control over spherical aberration (under-corrected, neutral to over-corrected, thereby having a smooth back- or foreground at will.) The effects are easily controlled via a DC ring, though you have to be mindful of the f/stop in use. They are also more than 2 stops faster than the STF. Still, the STF is the unchallenged king of buttery bokeh. :) I wouldn't be surprised if it tames even the worst kinds of backgrounds. http://www.munitions.com/jgreely/stf135/page0.html

The 135mm STF is the only lens of its kind. Some Minolta cameras (7, 7D and 5D) offer the STF function with all Maxxum/Dynax lenses by multiple exposure, necessitating a tripod and stationary subjects.
 
furcafe said:
I'm not so sure, @ least w/respect to the Cosina Voigtlander 50/1.5 Nokton. For example here's a shot w/some point light sources in the background (1/30th sec. @ f/1.5):

http://static.flickr.com/35/70782468_935c05ab7a_o.jpg

IMHO, the boke in the previous shot isn't appreciably different from that in another shot, taken w/the original (German) Voigtlander 50/1.5 Nokton w/a similar background (1/15th sec. @ f/1.5):

http://static.flickr.com/4/7175104_ed03b24eca_o.jpg

Personally, I don't think I've ever seen a lens that renders out of focus highlights as "luminous in the centre and darker near the edge" & would be interested in seeing shots from such an optic.
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Hm to my eyes, in the examples you posted, the boke of the original germal one looks quite a bit worse that the CV one.
The boke of the CV one looks reasonably neutral for me, definitely better than what I get with my nokton classic.
Wanna swap your Nok 1.5 with my Nok 1.4 ? :D
 
sheepdog said:
The Minolta 135mm STF [T4.5] is created specifically for this purpose. It has a special graduated lens element which sets it aside from all other lenses I am familiar with in this respect. Granted, it is an mf lens for the Minolta Maxxum system, but it represents one extreme of bokeh performance. There is also supposed to be a Minolta 85mm 1.4 G Limited Edition which has this filter and optical optimization, but as far as I know the production was so limited you would be hard pressed to find one outside Japan.

This is a comparison between the regular 85mm 1.4 G (which is no slouch in this regard) and the 135mm STF. See how the wide open sample from the STF stands out?
http://www3.xitek.com/testreport/xitek/m135stf/example4.htm

More samples:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1035&message=15275300
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WOW!

Is there a LTM or M mount lens that does the same?
 
sychan said:
Included is an image from my Nokton 40/1.4, wide open, showing foreground bokeh. Its quite creamy (imo)
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It is, however most of the times, at least in my pictures, it is the background that is more OOF than the foreground, to the point that I never noticed that the lens foreground Bokeh is quite good.
 
i have found on the japanese Cosina Site that Diopter correction lens are available.

Will this fix the problem with the 40mm frame and wearing glasses?
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No, that's just a function of the size of the framelines/viewfinder and how far back your glasses put you from the eyepiece.

A diopter lens can match your eyeglass prescription so you can see through the viewfinder without glasses but I've always found that to be an imperfect solution (as you still need glasses when the camera isn't up to your face).
 
celluloidprop said:
A diopter lens can match your eyeglass prescription so you can see through the viewfinder without glasses but I've always found that to be an imperfect solution (as you still need glasses when the camera isn't up to your face).
Click to expand...

The only perfect solution for that is: Contacts.
 
My Voigtländer Bessa R3a with the 40mm Nokton has arrived and.. i can see the 40mm frame (the upper line and a little bit of the corners). I can live with this view without any problems. :D

I have order today, over Robert White, the side grip (my Nikon F80 has a beautiful side grip), the lenshood LH-5 and the nice black shoulder strap. So i think iam now complete! The first shots i have also taken on my daughters birthday yesterday.

It´s a wonderful working with the camera and the lens. Not assimilable with the ugly plastic Nikkor AF lenses!

Iam waiting now for the first results on the picture ;)
 
Thanks Steve for the pictorial comparison.

In the end, it proves that one man's creamy bokeh is another man's militant bokeh :D I'm glad Nokton owners are happy with their lenses, but I am delighted with my cron-C and M-rokkor. To each their own.

By the way, for truly creamy bokeh, the Nokton to try is not the 40/1.4, but the 35/1.2, now that is a Nokton with amazingly creamy bokeh.

For some "real-world" examples see ....

Nokton 35/1.2: http://kazuyank.plala.jp/archives/category/31341_nok3512exp.php

versus

Nokton 40/1.4 : http://kazuyank.plala.jp/archives/album/31342_nok4014mcexp.php

Maybe it's just me, but the 35/1.2 examples are totally impressive, while the 40/1.4 samples really underwhelm.

Cheers
 
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"In the end, it proves that one man's creamy bokeh is another man's militant bokeh "

Yes I would have to agree with this statement because I see the complete opposite to you, the Noktons look far smother at f2 to me from that test. But I would ask Tom, did you own them side by side and do dual shots with them just like the test? This is very important because if the shots are seperate their bokeh is so close you could never really know there were any subtle differences. I own the 2 Rokkors , a Summicron and the MC Nokton. Shooting at different times I couldnt pick the dfference in bokeh between them. The general giveaway is that the Nokton has greater resolution at f2 so it usually reveals itself from the others in this respect rather than its out of focus areas.
 
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