Voigtlander 40mm S.C. vs MC

[back alley]

No! This is payback for your giving me a massive GAS attack when you told us how great the 25mm ZM lens was. 😉

oh and it IS a lovely lens too.

damn, now i'm thinking of the 50 zm lens...

maybe sell the p and m3, keep the cl as back up to the zi, that could work...who needs 4 cameras?
sell the 100/3.5 too, keep the 85/2...find a 90/4 elmar c...

pardon me, must go, starting to drool....

 

[Andrew Touchon]

oh and it IS a lovely lens too.

damn, now i'm thinking of the 50 zm lens...

maybe sell the p and m3, keep the cl as back up to the zi, that could work...who needs 4 cameras?
sell the 100/3.5 too, keep the 85/2...find a 90/4 elmar c...

pardon me, must go, starting to drool....

Better still, get a 90mm F4 Rokkor (CLE multi-coated version) that would make a great kit along with your CL and your 40 Nokton. 😀

 

[rich815]

I find my S.C has good overall performance in terms of sharpness but I do not find it all that ergonomic, which is a personal thing, of course. I do feel the focusing seems to vary in it's resistance and smoothness as one turns it, which bothers me. I have also found, comparing this lens to my other mid-range lenses (Summitar, Summarit, Summicron DR, Jupiter-8, 50/2.8 Elmar-M) that the 40 VC lacks a distinct and attractive signature. My Canon 50/1.8 LTM was the same. Overall nice, sharp performance but just something lacking that the others seems to have. Again, very subjective, but I do not want just sterile basic sharpness. I want character and a signature look to my lens, especially when used with B&W, and the ones mentioned above, particularly the DR, have a certain something that makes my results rise above the typical. It's why I'm likely selling my 40 S.C VC soon. My Nikon lenses were like that, and it's why I eventually changed to primarily Zeiss and Leica glass.

 

[back alley]

life would be easier with only 2 cameras, so much less choice.
no bad feelings about leaving some behind...

 

[back alley]

'It's why I'm likely selling my 40 S.C VC soon...'

really?

how soon are ya thinking?

joe

 

[Andrew Touchon]

Go for it Joe!

 

[Ronald M]

Darkroom Photography did a comparison a month or so back. Maybe Photo Techniques. Anyway the single coat just has less contrast. So pick one to match your other lenses or start a new new series of single coat lenses. I can`t tell you where to get more new SC glass though.

If you are not a single lens man, better get the MC version.

 

[back alley]

most of my canon lenses are sharp with low to moderate contrast.

 

[back alley]

Go for it Joe!

what's that ya say?

😉

 

[Dougg]

In Simon's link to the Photo.net comparison, I figured the last lens (35'Lux Asph) was best, and the previous two seemed to my eyes identical (the SC and MC 40 Noktons). The 40'cron was very similar to the 'Lux except for having a bit more flare. And the Noktons apparently have a slightly longer focal length than the Summicron. Maybe about the same difference as I notice between my 40 Rokkor and the 43mm Pentax. In the comparison, the old 35 Summilux really suffered I thought. Of course this is largely comparing flare, coma, and chromatic aberations.... (Notice the purple fringing and coma on the Noktons?) and would be a whole different game with a different subject.

 

[Goodyear]

maybe sell the ... m3

You know you'd only buy another one. And quickly - they are too nice.

Before I bought the M6 I very nearly bought an M3 after handling one in a shop and being altogether blown away by it.

But common sense and a realisation that at least one metered body would be handy in some situations stayed my hand.

But how I'd love one to fondle.

 

[back alley]

ah, the light of day!

not selling anything but i am gonna save for the cv 40 as well as the zm 50.

maybe i can find a used 40 from a disgruntled user.

joe

 

[Simon Larbalestier]

After looking at those comparisons in the thread i posted despite all the bad press it seems to get - i still prefer the look of the 35/1.4 pre ASPH for my b/w work

35 lux @1.4 1/15th TX400

 

[wrenhunter]

Lovely (and heart-breaking) shot, Simon. The glow is present in its glory.

 

[Simon Larbalestier]

Thanks wrenhunter i find this lens perfect for this particular project as with the 50 lux pre ASPH their low contrast helps scanning and printing on the Focomat condensor enlargers.
I'm not trying to hijack this thread to start the old ASPH V Pre ASPH war again 😀
but something said earlier in the thread about the look of a lens (which is extremely important IMHO when buying a lens) made me want to make this point

That said the old 35 lux is not cheap $900-1300 and the SC 40/1.4 comes in at around $399 so perhaps my point is out of place in this thread.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

maybe i can find a used 40 from a disgruntled user.

There are no disgruntled users Joe. Keep dreaming.

 

[galaxenspreside]

Anyone compared the SC version versus the MC with a SC UV-filter on it?

Perhaps not, the 43mm filters are quite unusual (non of the dealers in my town could provide any so i had to order my yellow trough the swedish distributor directly from Schneider and B+W. They guessed it would take about one month to get one.) And the same filterthread for my CV Color heliar 75mm f/2.5. Consistency with your other lenses may also be a reason for the choise of version, right?

Here's two with the MC version and Fuji reala (I took one shot of a IT8 target on the roll to get the filtering right). For scanned photos doesn't the errors in colors induced by scanning dominate the differences due to the coating?

 

[Palaeoboy]

"In Simon's link to the Photo.net comparison, I figured the last lens (35'Lux Asph) was best, and the previous two seemed to my eyes identical (the SC and MC 40 Noktons). The 40'cron was very similar to the 'Lux except for having a bit more flare. And the Noktons apparently have a slightly longer focal length than the Summicron. Maybe about the same difference as I notice between my 40 Rokkor and the 43mm Pentax. In the comparison, the old 35 Summilux really suffered I thought. Of course this is largely comparing flare, coma, and chromatic aberations.... (Notice the purple fringing and coma on the Noktons?) and would be a whole different game with a different subject."



Howards test posted on photonet has a flaw that I think I mentioned in the thread itself. Most people were judging the results on edge performance at the left of the wall. But this gives a false impression. The Leica 35 ASPH and Summicron appear sharper on the left hand wall not because of their greater edge performance but rather because of greater depth of field. The Summicron having that advantage at being shot at f2 and the Summilux ASPH being a 35mm lens. The Noktons are more like 41 or 42mm lenses and at f1.4 dont have the depth of field to bring the wall into focus as well as the background buildings. At f2 the Noktons have greater edge performance than the Summicron. Its also likely that the Summilux ASPH does have greater edge performance to the Noktons but thats not what is causing the difference in Howards particular test.

 

[Dougg]

Howards test posted on photonet has a flaw that I think I mentioned in the thread itself. Most people were judging the results on edge performance at the left of the wall. But this gives a false impression. The Leica 35 ASPH and Summicron appear sharper on the left hand wall not because of their greater edge performance but rather because of greater depth of field.

Yes, I recall that being mentioned before, and being puzzled at the attention that nearby wall received. It doesn't really show much detail, so I did not take it into consideration in forming my opinions, which were based on the distant building features and the virtually point-source lights. Thus my view that the test revealed flare, coma, etc. 🙂

 

[sockeyed]

Nokton Bokeh Shot

Nokton Bokeh Shot

Hi folks,

Here's a shot taken last night with the S.C. Nokton 40 on Efke 50 souped in Rodinal 1+100. It was taken at f/2 and gives a good idea of what the bokeh looks like (and how sharp the lens is).

Have a look at the attachment for a larger image.

Cheers
Ben