The Nokton 50/1.1 Revisited

Erik van Straten said:
Don Goldberg is a great repairman, but really, at f/1.1 the lens should be sharp, altough the dept of field will be very small. Try to take some pics at f/1.1 with the camera (equipped with a perfectly adjusted rangefinder) on a sturdy tripod. ...
Click to expand...
Both groups were taken on a tripod with the aid of focus peaking. And in the last group I added a cable release.
 
Bill Blackwell said:
Both groups were taken on a tripod with the aid of focus peaking. And in the last group I added a cable release.
Click to expand...

Your problem must then be a production error or something similar. That can always happen. Have you used your warranty period?

Watch this: handheld taken at full aperture; the bricks in the wall of the church can be counted. The corners show the characteristic corner unsharpness at f1.1.

gelatin silver print (nokton 50mm f1.1) leica m5

Erik.

48015427688_3920ae1f65_b.jpg
 
Erik van Straten said:
Your problem must then be a production error or something similar. That can always happen. Have you used your warranty period?

Watch this: handheld taken at full aperture; the bricks in the wall of the church can be counted. The corners show the characteristic corner unsharpness at f1.1.

gelatin silver print (nokton 50mm f1.1) leica m5

Erik.
Click to expand...

Beautiful picture Erik.
 
My f1.1 is sharp wide open but has low contrast at that aperture. Not as sharp as stopped down, but some added local contrast reveals all the detail I want. It does back focus as demonstrated on my LensAlign test. Between f2 and f4 the entire area of focus is behind the focus point of my M rangefinder. So it tests poorly, but in actual shooting on my M it has not been an issue. I don't find the balance on an M to be comfortable due to its weight. Mounted on my SL the balance it fine and any back focus is no longer an issue. Bokeh can be a bit chaotic if straight lines are in the background, but otherwise I have no problem with it.
 
I have this (possibly silly) insistence about my lenses on a RF being small so this lens is not on the agenda for me but I have to say it does look super in the way its designed and its rendering, noting that Brian has long recommended it.
 
Revisiting the Voigtländer 50mm f1.1 Nokton VM lens​
U69954.1709844077.1.jpg

Sony A7II camera
Voigtländer VM-E Close Focus Adapter
Voigtländer 50mm f1.1 Nokton VM lens
March 2019- Yokohama, Japan​
 
I bought one when it first came out (quite a few years ago now) and I still have it. I cannot, however, say I really love it, though I do like using some big fast lenses. But I tolerate it. As I mainly use it on mirrorless cameras these days, focus shift is not such an issue for me as focus peaking etc. allows me to compensate readily. But its bokeh is frankly a bit ordinary in many situations and this detracts somewhat from its potential as a lens.
 
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