The Voigtländer Nokton 50mm f1.1 Revisited

leicashot said:
Makes you ill? 😕

I never understand when 'some' people talk like this. Sorry, but sincerely I think it's a ridiculous thing to say. Most lenses have this effect on grass and similar objects in OOF, except the 50/1.4 ASPH. Do you want a prescription for medication when you buy such lenses?
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The occasionally ragged OOF areas is the only issue that seems to have become a small chink in this lens's armour ... I can sort of see where Chris is coming from.

It's something that can be worked around obviously and not everyone will be bothered by it ... but it is there IMO and it would stop me from owning the lens. Only my opinion of course!

That said it's still a remarkable achievement on Cosina's part to produce a lens at a fraction of the price of a Noctilux that pretty well matches it!
 
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Both Canon 50/1.2 and Noctilux 1.0 do this worse than what Lynn's picture shows.

Like leicashot said it's perfectly normal, looks even better than normal. Certainly better than the Leica "bokeh king".

Thanks for the review, Lynn. A no-nonsense, predictable lens, and great pics from you, as usual.
 
You're expertise with optics is much more comprehensive than mine Roland ... but I have to say I have never had my Canon produce the rather jagged OOF areas within certain backgrounds that the Nokton does now and then!
 
My method of post-processing could have contributed to the effect. I simply burned down the high-lights, something could be easily done in the darkroom. This seems to have tamed it abit.

4861332157_1ce03e942e_b.jpg


There is a jumble of high-lights and shadows from many blades of grass being presented there. Not sure how any lens would cope unless it simply smeared the whole area into an unrecognisable blur.

<Keith - you should be able to view this file as it is hosted on Flickr>
 
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P. Lynn Miller said:
My method of post-processing could have contributed to the effect. I simply burned down the high-lights, something could be easily done in the darkroom. This seems to have tamed it abit.

4861332157_1ce03e942e_b.jpg


There is a jumble of high-lights and shadows from many blades of grass being presented there. Not sure how any lens would cope unless it simply smeared the while area into a nunrecognisable blur.

<Keith - you should be able to view this file as it is hosted on Flickr>
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Halleluja brother ... you have posted a pic I can see! (very nice too!)

😀
 
P. Lynn Miller said:
My method of post-processing could have contributed to the effect. I simply burned down the high-lights, something could be easily done in the darkroom. This seems to have tamed it abit.

4861332157_1ce03e942e_b.jpg


There is a jumble of high-lights and shadows from many blades of grass being presented there. Not sure how any lens would cope unless it simply smeared the whole area into an unrecognisable blur.

<Keith - you should be able to view this file as it is hosted on Flickr>
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There was nothing wrong with your PP. This is extremely common for lenses wider than 85mm and it's nothing bad at all. Foliage is always going to be an issue for 99.9% of lenses. Again, the ONLY 50mm lens that can avoid such issues is the Lux 50 ASPH and 'maybe' the new 0.95 Noct.
 
leicashot said:
There was nothing wrong with your PP. This is extremely common for lenses wider than 85mm and it's nothing bad at all. Foliage is always going to be an issue for 99.9% of lenses. Again, the ONLY 50mm lens that can avoid such issues is the Lux 50 ASPH and 'maybe' the new 0.95 Noct.
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Thanks! I have no experience with either of the lenses that you mention. And this small 'glitch' is not a deal breaker for me. And I never noticed the terrible 'bokeh' until it was mentioned.

I suppose I am not a 'bokeh' connoisseur!
 
P. Lynn Miller said:
Thanks! I have no experience with either of the lenses that you mention. And this small 'glitch' is not a deal breaker for me. And I never noticed the terrible 'bokeh' until it was mentioned.

I suppose I am not a 'bokeh' connoisseur!
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No you're not, you're an Aussie like me, so keep it focused on the photography and not the bokeh 🙂
 
Cool thread P. Lynn Miller. Had me a little worried when I first started reading - as I had JUST purchased one of these lenses a few days ago (it's on it's way here). Was killing some time looking for more reviews and found yours.

I do like the shots you made of your girls (I assume they are yours). Am really looking forward to using this when it gets here. I've owned three different 50 Summicrons over the years, and was ready to buy another, but decided to give this a try instead. It will be my only 50, so I'm gonna have to get good at using it.

Thanks for the writeup.
 
This thread, better said the photos in this thread are GASing me too much!
robert
PS: and my M7 is waiting for a new year present...
 
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