I have to be honest...
I am completely unimpressed with the new Nokton 50mm f1.1. Mine arrived this morning from Scott at Mainline Photographics, I took it out of the box, looked at it briefly, stuck on the front of the M5 and have not bothered with it since. Most of the images I have seen so far could have been taken with a Nokton 1.5, Summilux, Sonnar 1.5, Nikkor 1.4 or any other decent fast 50mm. This lens has left me completely cold... and I was probably the first person to pre-pay in full on the forum for the new Nokton.
The new Nokton is very nicely built, smooth, solid, very, very nice. Lighter than my 35/1.2 but slightly bulkier. All in all, probably the best value for money for a very fast 50mm going at the moment. Focusing is lighter and silkier than the 35/1.2. Without the hood, it imposes less into the 50mm frame-lines than the 35/1.2 does into the 35mm frame-lines.
I can't find a single fault with the Nokton 50/1.1... so why the cold-shoulder?
For one, I am grumpy that the Nokton is only f1.1. I know, I know, it is only a little thing, but it feels like a runner-up, an also ran, a half-hearted attempt, like Cosina had the expertise and technology to reach f1.0 but in the end did not have the courage or guts to really pull off a winner. One of my pet peeves is that Cosina has this thing for odd apertures, the Nokton 50/1.5, why not f1.4? Cosina made an absolute ripper with the 35/1.2, that lens is an undisputed feather in the collective hats of the Cosina optical engineers! This not about unseating the Noctilux or being a Leica killer, it is about meeting my expectations, I suppose. But before you flame me, remember, I put my money where my mouth is. I am not criticising the Nokton from the sidelines. Truth is... I still want a 50mm f1.0 lens.
You have to give Cosina credit where credit is due, the fastest 50mm from the CV stable was f1.5, whether Nokton or Sonnar, and Cosina has bettered their 50mm offerings by a full stop. So well done! And before I sound like completely heartless, ungrateful b@$tard, I think Cosina deserves all the accolades and praise that we can give them for making available a new, super-fast 50mm that is affordable. Go buy one if for no other reason than to support the company that truly supports rangefinder photography by providing affordable, new entry level rangefinder cameras and lens.
Maybe my indifference toward the Nokton 50/1.1 is consequence of recent changes in my photography in general...
The inadequacy of the 35mm negative. Recently I have become less and less satisfied with the quality of enlargements from 35mm negatives and as result have been shooting more medium format and even making 4x5 my format of choice.
The Nokton 50/1.1 seems absolutely tiny in comparison to the lens I have been working with of late... such as the Carl Meyer 5" f2 and Kodak Aero-Ektar 7" f2,5, in fact, the Nokton would practically drop straight through the apertures of both lens with room to spare. So the Nokton fails to even make me go, 'Wow!'.
And, recently, equipment has become a lot less important. Some of my best recent work has been done with a Zeiss Ikon Ikonta 521/2 6x9 folder that I bought for $30 at the Sunday markets. It has an uncoated 10.5cm f4,5 lens that you focus by guessing. Go figure...
So in summary, the Noton 50/1.1 is a lenses that I hope earns my respect as time goes by. I have not 'fallen in love' with it so to speak like some of my other lenses, Nokton 35/1.2, Heliar 50/3.5, Nikkor 180/2.8, Nikkor 35/1.4, Noritar 80/2. Meyer-Optik 300/4, to name a few. These are lenses that just clicked with me and instantly become favorites that I have used to make some of my best photographs.
I will hit the streets of Sydney tonight with the Nokton and a few rolls of Tri-X or whatever is handy. See we shall see... time will tell.
