The sound of the Nokton 50mm f/1.1

[Erik van Straten]

My Nokton 50mm f/1.1 arrived yesterday. It looks very good. It handles nicely, it's not too heavy. The focusing and f-stop controls run smoothly, but I've noticed a strange sound when turning the focusing ring. There is a very soft, even, but clearly audible noise when I turn the focusing ring. Is this normal? Are there any other owners who hear the same thing?

Ofcourse, for lightness, the focusing threads are made from aluminium. Maybe that's the cause of the noise.

Erik.

 

[Pickett Wilson]

The helicals are aluminum????

 

[Krosya]

Well, there is always WD40. 😉

 

[Erik van Straten]

The helicals are aluminum????

I think so, yes, or some other light metal. Surely it aint brass, because it would be much heavier then.

Erik.

 

[D&A]

Hi Erik,

Is the sound you're describing as you slowly turn the focusing ring back and forth through it's entire range from one end to the other (min distance to infinity and back again)...feel smooth except for a very light almost imperceptable slight gitty sound as though a few fine grains of "gritty" sand have been sprinkled (mixed) within the lubricating greese? Even so, turning the focusing ring is very smooth and unexpectedly light for such a size lens.

Dave (D&A)

 

[CK Dexter Haven]

Mine sounds like all my other lenses. Smooth, no grit. There's the slight sound of friction, but since that's sorta unavoidable....

I felt like an idiot, standing there, listening to my lenses! Interestingly (or not), the two quietest were a Hasselblad 150FE Sonnar (the largest) and the Leica 35/2-ASPH (the smallest). In between, the Nokton 35/1.2, Nokton 50/1.1, Nikkor 50/1.2, Nikon 50/1.8E, all sounded the same. But, even though there was a difference between those two groups, it was completely insignificant, and nothing i'd ever heard/noticed before.

If you hear graininess or something other than what should sound like precise components, 'get a second opinion' and consider returning it.

 

[Pablito]

I have a lens that sings "La Marseillaise."

 

[Erik van Straten]

Hi Erik,

Is the sound you're describing as you slowly turn the focusing ring back and forth through it's entire range from one end to the other (min distance to infinity and back again)...feel smooth except for a very light almost imperceptable slight gitty sound as though a few fine grains of "gritty" sand have been sprinkled (mixed) within the lubricating greese? Even so, turning the focusing ring is very smooth and unexpectedly light for such a size lens.

Dave (D&A)

Hi Dave,

Yes, it is more or less the sound you describe. It makes me feel like opening the lens to smear a good deal of ballbearing grease on the threads, but maybe in time it will smoothen itself out.

Erik.

 

[Mael]

Aluminium helicals would worry me.

The aluminium helicals of the wartime Carl Zeiss Jena lenses and the later Post war East German alloy lenses have mounts that have worn badly and have focusing and alignment problems caused by wear and these contain glass elements that are not as heavy as the glass in the Voigtlander 50mm f/1.1.

Nikkor lenses for F F2 SLR from 1960 to the eighties have aluminium helicals. It is very resistant. But it is definitely not war time aluminium that was also used to make frying pans.

 

[edodo]

Well, there is always WD40. 😉

WD40 should never be used in lens repair! WD40 migrates really far over time, you could end up with internal lenses getting oiled! A drop or two would be few enough to keep from getting inside. Flushing a lens with it is sick imho.

 

[Rogrund]

WD40 should never be used in lens repair! WD40 migrates really far over time, you could end up with internal lenses getting oiled! A drop or two would be few enough to keep from getting inside. Flushing a lens with it is sick imho.

I think Krosya was joking...

 

[Tom A]

The "noise" in your 50mm f1.1 is most likely just tight helicoils. Most new lenses today are machined with CNC equipment and to tolerances that we could not dream of 10-20 years ago. As you use the lens it will "settle" and the sound go away. My 50f1.4 Asph Summilux "crunched" and squeeked" for several moth until it settled in "the groove". My 75f2 Apo Summicron still has a couple of "high spots" in its focussing range - obviously I haven't used it enough!

 

[35mmdelux]

My Noct makes no such sound, but then it costs a few thousand bucks more. Oh well.

 

[marke]

Is it possible that the helicoils are aluminum but hard-anodized? Might that kind of treatment provide a more durable surface and be used for such a purpose?

 

[Tom A]

Today most lenses uses alloy of some kind in the helicoils and lens-barrels. They are either hard-anodized or hard coated with silicon. This is one reason why lenses like the Noctilux, Nokton etc doesn't weigh 2 lbs.
There has been huge improvements in metallurgy over the decades and were they before had to use bronze or brass as well as steel - you can better "fit" with new alloys and they are less affected by thermal expansion or contraction as well as holding lubes without degassing.
The cost of "lapping" a helicoil by hand would be prohibitive today. Some vintage lenses were actually machined to a good close tolerance and then a very fine grinding compound was added and the helicoil rotated for a considerable time to "set".
These days you are doing that when you first get a lens. They are usually a bit tight and as you rotate the lens in the barrel you disperse the lubricant around the threads. This is the same with Leica, Zeiss,VC etc. Because of the larger diameter of fast lenses you have more helicoils to work "in".
Of course, there can be examples of excessive force having to be used or too much play - or simply a bad mount. If something persists - return to vendor and ask for a replacement.

 

[sevres_babylone]

I don't hear any such sound with mine. Then again, I mostly use mine when shooting rock and roll.