Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2009/05/17
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Bruce: I somehow missed this thread until now. I do not have the 40/1.4 VC. But I must confess to having both the 35 Summilux asph and the 35/1.2 Nokton. They are different enough that each one is "better" for certain situations. Tina pointed this out to me when I was thinking of getting the Nokton, and she was exactly right. I use the 35/1.2 with an IR filter, and I don't bother with coding. My Summilux is hand-coded with a black sharpie marker. Interestingly enough, Geoff, my 35/1.2 does not have the focus shift that the Summilux does. Sean Reid found the same thing. On the other hand, my Summilux's focus shift is a lot less than Internet chatter would have you believe. Coping with it is easy--at f/4 and f/5.6, you just focus on the closest thing you want in the zone of focus. The Summilux is *very* sharp, even wide open. Its bokeh can be a bit wiry, and it has a very modern look that some people call "clinical." But when you want a picture that, at f/1.4, looks like a 50 Summicron shot, this is the lens to have. The 35/1.2 Nokton is a unique lens. It is not quite as razor-sharp wide open as the Summilux, but it is certainly sharp enough. Its bokeh is more gentle, as is its contrast. The way it draws is at a sweet spot in between the modern, clinical look of the modern Leica aspherics and the more "classical" look of lenses from the 60s-80s. I like this look, which is one reason why, along with the f/1.2 aperture, this lens is a "keeper." The price you pay for all these virtues is its size and weight--it's a big, heavy piece of glass. The one other flaw I've discovered with the 35/1.2 Nokton is that it will give you purple fringing at high contrast edges--tree branches against a bright sky and so forth. And it does it at all stops, not just wide open. The Summilux doesn't purple-fringe very much even wide open, and not at all stopped down. So if you already have the Summilux, I would get the Nokton only if you like to play in the dark a significant portion of the time and really need the extra half stop, and you like the way the lens draws. I would not sell the Summilux in favor of the Nokton. On the other hand, if you're like Nathan, and already have a great slower 35mm lens, the Nokton is an ideal purchase. If you can, Bruce, buy or borrow the Nokton and use it alongside the Summilux for a while and compare your pictures. They you'll know what to do. Here are some photos with the Summilux Asph, mostly wide open: http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/pklein/album170/L1004383RitaAnya-w.jpg.html http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/pklein/friends/Gandolfi/L1001119JodConPiano-w.jpg.html http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/pklein/friends/Gandolfi/L1001114FourHandsBW-w.jpg.html http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/pklein/friends/DavidovDec07/L1002446-prf.jpg.html http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/pklein/friends/DavidovDec07/L1002447-prf.jpg.html http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/pklein/friends/DavidovDec07/L1002415-prf.jpg.html Here are some photos with the 35/1.2 Nokton, wide open or nearly so: http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/pklein/album170/L1003415Harold-w.jpg.html http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/pklein/album170/L1003399PeterTryGlasses-w.jpg.html http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/pklein/album170/L1003428Ada-w.jpg.html --Peter At 04:50 PM 5/16/2009 -0700, Geoff Hopkinson <hopsternew at gmail.com> wrote: >Hi Bruce. May I join your discussion on this? Are you considering getting >rid of a Summilux 35 in order to get the Cosina Voigtlander f1/1.2 35? >In my opinion this would be a downwards step. However I know some users who >are happy with them and I have not personally shot with one. I would be >surprised if it does not exhibit significant focus shift as you stop down >(the Summilux has some too). Maybe you could visit a store and shoot some >frames with one before commiting? Or Nathan and Ted may share some >experience there? >If you are going to try it out, keep your Summilux too and use them both for >a while before you decide that you want to get rid of one of them! >Anyway here it is on a camera (with a master using it!) if you wanted to >get some idea of its size on the M8. >http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/gh/lf/SF4.jpg.html > > > >2009/5/16 bruce golding <leica at ralgo.nl> > > > when appropriate, nathan, would appreciate hearing of the balance of the > > 1.2 on the m8. > > > > i'm wondering about trading my summilux in; but i love the balance and > > size > > of this latter, > > > > thanx, > > b. > >