Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2015/07/21
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Kyle: The 50 Nokton 1.1 is fine if you only use if wide open or nearly so.
Significant focus shift otherwise. This wasn't quiet so bad on film (Tom A
loves his). But said shift is not your friend on digital.. It's a
specialty lens.
It's too bad that used Leica lens prices have gone stupid-crazy since the
M8 came out. I personally would recommend any of the last-formula classic
non-asph 50 Summicrons--I have one with a focus tab that I got for $400
around the year 2000. Remember, this design was THE 50 for years. They
just deliver. But they are over $1,000 these days. The current Zeiss 50/2
has a different look, but is very, very good as well. Either of those
would probably be the last 50 you'd *need* to buy ("need" as opposed to
"want").
I have a 50/1.5 Nokton (screwmount, closest focus .9m). If I'm doing
available dark, that's what I take, but I prefer the Summicron if f/2 will
do. The Nokton is actually a very good lens. It does have the tendency to
give very harsh bokeh if you're focusing close and there are bright
highlights at medium distances.
The Canon 50/1.8 is quiet good--very similar in rendering to the Dual Range
or Rigid Summicrons. They do tend to have issues with the original
lubricant outgassing and depositing itself on the inner elements. The
50/1.4 is also quite good. So getting another Canon is a possibility. If
you like your current lens, you might consider sending it to DAG and
getting it CLAed.
Since you are a pro who travels to strange laboratories to photograph rock
stars and rocket scientists, you gotta deliver when you get the call. Do
you shoot a Leica M-anything for a significant part of you work? Then for
my money, it would be worth it to just get a used 50 Summicron or Summilux,
checked out by a good repairman. Keep it forever. (They also make great
portrait lenses on micro 4/3, BTW). Maybe get your Canon CLAed for a
couple hundred and keep it for an older look and as a spare.
The good news is that there are very few bad rangefinder 50s. Picking the
right one is a matter of what you shoot, what apertures you mostly use,
price, build quality, and what feels good in your hand (the latter being
much more important than most people realize).
Hope this helps!
--Peter
On Tue, Jul 21, 2015 at 12:33 PM, Jeffery Smith <jsmith342 at gmail.com>
wrote:
> The 50/2 collapsible Summicron is a very nice lens if one can find it
> without cleaning marks.
>
> An current alternative is also the Voigtlander 50/2 Heliar. Not as sharp
> as the 50/1.5 Nokton, but more pleasing bokeh.
>
> Jeffery
>
> > On Jul 21, 2015, at 2:12 PM, Jeff Moore <jbmmllug at jbm.org> wrote:
> >
> > The Zeiss ZMs are good modern optics at very fair lower-than-Leica
> prices.
> >
> > For a lovely classic-optic look (but with the possibility of getting
> > chosen things quite nicely detailed, if you put them in the middle)
> > I'm a fan of the pre-ASPH 50 Summilux. But I don't know where prices
> > for those are these days.
> >
> > I also haven't done an extensive study of how mine focuses relative to
> > where the rangefinder thinks it's focused, but I don't recall having
> > been annoyed by it a lot.
> >
> >
> > On Tue, Jul 21, 2015 at 3:02 PM, Jeffery Smith <jsmith342 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >> I agree that it isn?t very versatile, and exists only to give the 50s
> Sonnar look. It is best for faces (which is Kyle?s favorite subject). As
> Chris suggested, the Planar is sharper but maybe a little harsh.
> >>
> >>
> >>> On Jul 21, 2015, at 1:58 PM, Richard Man <richard at
> >>> richardmanphoto.com>
> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> But Jeff, if it is optimized for 1.5, then you have to rely on DoF to
> get
> >>> focus for other aperture. It just does not make sense to use this lens.
> >>>
> >>> On Tue, Jul 21, 2015 at 11:52 AM, Jeffery Smith <jsmith342 at
> >>> gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >>>
> >>>> They can optimize it for f/1.5 free of charge if it is still under
> >>>> warranty. It's the same optical formula as the 50 1.5 Sonnar from the
> 1950s.
> >>>>
> >>>>> On Jul 21, 2015, at 1:49 PM, Richard Man <
> richard at richardmanphoto.com>
> >>>> wrote:
> >>>>>
> >>>>> The Zeiss 50/1,5 makes no sense to me. If you need to use it @F
> 2.8,, why
> >>>>> not just get an Elmar?
> >>>>>
> >>>>> On Tue, Jul 21, 2015 at 11:43 AM, Jeffery Smith <jsmith342 at
> >>>>> gmail.com
> >
> >>>> wrote:
> >>>>>
> >>>>>> Or the Zeiss 50/1.5 Sonnar. It has some focus shift, so stop it
> down to
> >>>>>> 2.8. Optimized for f/2.8.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> http://tinyurl.com/b8wqqca
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>> On Jul 21, 2015, at 1:17 PM, kyle cassidy on the LUG <
> >>>>>> leicaslacker at gmail.com> wrote:
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> Hi folks --
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> My trusty $100 Canon Serenar has picked up a slight wobble, I'm not
> >>>> sure
> >>>>>> if this is a portent of evil to come or if I just never noticed it
> >>>> before --
> >>>>>> but the front element section will move around a bit if you wiggle
> it
> >>>>>> ("stop wiggling it!" advice I thank you for in advance).
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> I'm thinking of preemptively replacing it. I was going to go for a
> >>>>>> Voigtlander 1.5, which seem to be about $900 in Leica M mount, but
> >>>> noticed
> >>>>>> that the Nokton 1.1 was going for about $650 -- any thoughts on
> whether
> >>>> the
> >>>>>> nokton would work as my only 50 or is it too big for every day use?
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> Suggestions of other 50's you have lying around in drawers and
> want to
> >>>>>> get rid of also taken.
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> Priorities are:
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> 1) no slower than f2
> >>>>>>> 2) focusing closer than 3 feet (which means any screwmount 50 is
> in,
> >>>>>> though I'd prefer an M mount that I could focus closer without
> having to
> >>>>>> resort to the penny-shim trick.)
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> _______________________________________________
> >>>>>>> Leica Users Group.
> >>>>>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more
> information
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> _______________________________________________
> >>>>>> Leica Users Group.
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> information
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>> --
> >>>>> // richard <http://www.richardmanphoto.com>
> >>>>> // http://facebook.com/richardmanphoto
> >>>>> // https://instagram.com/richardmanphoto
> >>>>>
> >>>>> _______________________________________________
> >>>>> Leica Users Group.
> >>>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> _______________________________________________
> >>>> Leica Users Group.
> >>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> --
> >>> // richard <http://www.richardmanphoto.com>
> >>> // http://facebook.com/richardmanphoto
> >>> // https://instagram.com/richardmanphoto
> >>>
> >>> _______________________________________________
> >>> Leica Users Group.
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> >>
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
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> >
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>
>
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