Voigtländer NOKTON 1,4/35 mm MC or SC ?

[omega1848]

Hi there,
I am looking for a 35 lens with fast aperture for a Leica M8 and came across the Voigtländer NOKTON 1,4/35 mm.
I discovered that there is a MC (multi coated) and SC (single coated) version of the lens, which one is the „better“ or more preferred lens?

Or, is there any other CV lens (or other brand) in a similar price range with around 1,4 aperture, in other words a fast but still „ok“ alternative to Leica (for me right now to expensive) lens?

Thanks!

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

The MC version has a bit more contrast... But both are great... The SC was made thinking of a more classic look with B&W film... As you process your images digitally and differences between both are small, you can use any of them...

The 35 1.4 is a very good lens. Only drawback for some shooters is it has a bit of barrel distortion (most fast 35's do), visible when your image include straight lines parallel and close to frame borders... Some people care for it and some don't...

I prefer the 40 1.4... They're different: the 40 produces a more modern look... Anyway, for soft bokeh it can be used at 1.8 or 2, although if there's no harsh light in the background, at 1.4 you get very nice bokeh too... There are not too many options for small 1.4 lenses in that price range or in any other price range... But 1.4, small and sharp wide open, with a nice price, is a lot to ask for, and both lenses give you that, and both are great. The 35 1.2 produces beautiful images but it's a lot bigger and heavier, and the 35 2.8 and 2 by Zeiss are really slower (the 2.8) and bigger (the 2) but they're outstanding lenses, especially the 2.8 in my opinion for its small size and low distortion... Yet the 40 1.4 is a very complete tool for low light and low distortion, and great as all around lens for smaller f-stops too...

Cheers,

Juan

 

[esmallits]

2 shots below taken by the SC version with M8. Wideopen at 1.4. Really sharp.