Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2009/05/17

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Subject: [Leica] CV 1.4/40mm and 1.2/35mm on M8 - what is your experience?
From: photo at frozenlight.eu (Nathan Wajsman)
Date: Sun, 17 May 2009 19:22:00 +0200
References: <5.1.0.14.2.20090517004032.00c55360@mail.threshinc.com>

Hi Peter,

Thanks for a useful report. I do have one comment though: whether the  
1.2/35mm suffers from color finging as in "tree branches against a  
bright sky" is totally irrelevant for me. I doubt that I will ever use  
it outside in daylight. My 2.5/35mm Summitar is much smaller, lighter  
and better for this purpose. No, the 1.2 lens I am buying to use in  
environments where the 1.2 maximum aperture is useful--bar interiors,  
cathedrals, the occasional nighttime cityscape and so on.

Back in my film days, I owned a Noctilux for a couple of years. I  
don't think I ever shot it at an aperture smaller than 1.4.

Cheers,
Nathan

Nathan Wajsman
Alicante, Spain
http://www.frozenlight.eu
http://www.greatpix.eu
http://www.nathanfoto.com

Books: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/search?search=wajsman&x=0&y=0
PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws
Blog: http://www.fotocycle.dk/blog



On May 17, 2009, at 10:22 AM, Peter Klein wrote:

> 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.
>> >
>
>
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In reply to: Message from pklein at threshinc.com (Peter Klein) ([Leica] CV 1.4/40mm and 1.2/35mm on M8 - what is your experience?)