voigtlander 50mm nokton, S-mount or leica mount

[univid]

Hi, Guys,

I am thinking getting a cv 50mm nokton f1.5 for my leica M3. I have never used nikkor lens before, but I am getting a amedeo adapter very soon. I am wondering which combo is better: S-mount + amedeo or LTM mount + LTM-M adapter. The used LTM mount ones sell for around 400 and new S-mount sells for 400 too.

I have no idea how nikkor lens work, it seems for me the focusing is different. I need some suggestions. Thanks a lot.

 

[thompsonks]

I guess nobody has answered because the question is a bit confusing. A CV Nokton 50 1.5 is not a "Nikkor" lens. It's a CV lens in a Nikon S mount. It's a modern aspherical design that doesn't give you the same 'look' as a classic Nikkor.

Nikon RF and Leica RF mounts focus by turning in opposite directions, so you'd only confuse yourself by getting a lens in an S mount for your Leica. Get the Leica mount for your M3.

A prior question is why the Nokton? It's a worthy lens at a very low price, heralded by Sean Reid as one of the great lens bargains. But compared to other 50s it's heavy and covers up some of the viewfinder.

If you'd heard that the old Nikkor (not Nokton) 5 cm f1.4 was an outstanding lens in its day, that was correct. It's a Sonnar design that yields nice center sharpness and gentle bokeh at f1.4-f2. Some of these Nikkors were fitted to LTM mounts, but they're hard to find.

If you want a lens with classic Sonnar properties, you can get an excellent used Nikkor 5cm f1.4 for about $250, and then an S/Leica adapter for it. Or alternately you can buy a new 50mm 1.5 Zeiss Sonnar C for Leica: more expensive, but with modern coatings. Read the reviews, though – it suffers focus shift, and it's best to avoid using apertures 2.8 thru f5.6.

(Full disclosure: if you really want a nearly new 50 Nokton 1.5 in S mount, I'd be happy to sell you one – though it's not what I'd recommend for your Leica.)

Hope this helps,

Kirk

 

[univid]

thanks, kirk, I didn't know that the focusing is in different directions for the two mounts. I also heard that the nokton has focus shift problem,too.

I guess nobody has answered because the question is a bit confusing. A CV Nokton 50 1.5 is not a "Nikkor" lens. It's a CV lens in a Nikon S mount. It's a modern aspherical design that doesn't give you the same 'look' as a classic Nikkor.

Nikon RF and Leica RF mounts focus by turning in opposite directions, so you'd only confuse yourself by getting a lens in an S mount for your Leica. Get the Leica mount for your M3.

A prior question is why the Nokton? It's a worthy lens at a very low price, heralded by Sean Reid as one of the great lens bargains. But compared to other 50s it's heavy and covers up some of the viewfinder.

If you'd heard that the old Nikkor (not Nokton) 5 cm f1.4 was an outstanding lens in its day, that was correct. It's a Sonnar design that yields nice center sharpness and gentle bokeh at f1.4-f2. Some of these Nikkors were fitted to LTM mounts, but they're hard to find.

If you want a lens with classic Sonnar properties, you can get an excellent used Nikkor 5cm f1.4 for about $250, and then an S/Leica adapter for it. Or alternately you can buy a new 50mm 1.5 Zeiss Sonnar C for Leica: more expensive, but with modern coatings. Read the reviews, though – it suffers focus shift, and it's best to avoid using apertures 2.8 thru f5.6.

(Full disclosure: if you really want a nearly new 50 Nokton 1.5 in S mount, I'd be happy to sell you one – though it's not what I'd recommend for your Leica.)

Hope this helps,

Kirk