Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/10/20

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Subject: Re: [Leica] CV 50mm Nokton 1.5 vs used Sumicron
From: "Jorge M. Treviņo" <jorge@jorgemtrevino.com>
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 12:42:29 -0500
References: <01C3967F.F8CE2BA0.jeffwill@wanadoo.fr>

Jeff,

I presently own a Nokton 50 and a current Summicron-M 50. For sharpness in
the center and field, they cannot be distinguished. The Nokton wins on
sharpness in the corners.

Contrast; the Summicron wins by a slight margin.

Resistance to flare; the 'cron wins by KO (I've never had a lens so
flare-proof. For a sample check:
http://www.sedationtraining.com/FOM2/gallery2.asp?i=687).

Construction; the 'cron wins by a 10:8 margin but the Nokton finish is
nicer --black enamel over brass-- Albeit not very durable, mine is starting
to brass already. Both have equally smooth focusing and diaphragm actions.

Aperture; the Nok' wins by 2:1 :-)

Price; <$300 new vs $700 used if you want a current version lens. Previous
versions can be had for less but not all are on par with the current one.

Bokeh -oh that elusive concept!- it can safely be said that the Summicron
has the better bokeh, but then you won't find many lenses, including those
from Leica that can compare with it. I do not find the Nokton bokeh ugly or
excessively harsh but that's only my personal opinion. However, those who
label it thus, should be made to use a Nikkor 50/1.4 for a few months to
learn what ugly and harsh boke is.

On day to day shooting situations, it really takes a superbly trained eye to
distinguish which lens made what. I usually carry both; the Nok' on a body
loaded with C41 film and the 'cron on another loaded with B&W; thus I
frequently shoot the same scene with both and believe me that both are very
fine lenses but, summing up, the Summicron reflects its heritage and price
while The Nokton is by any standard a top contender that is a genuine steal.

- --Jorge.

* * * *   http://www.jorgemtrevino.com  * * * *

- ----- Original Message -----
From: "jeffwill" <jeffwill@wanadoo.fr>
To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Sent: Sunday, October 19, 2003 1:31 PM
Subject: [Leica] CV 50mm Nokton 1.5 vs used Sumicron


> Has anyone got nice things to say about the CV 50mm Nokton? I am
> contemplating either a new Nokton or used 50mm Sumicron due to a limited
> budget. I suspect I already know the answer to the question  :-)  but has
> anyone been pleasantly surprised by the performance of the Nokton vs the
> sumicron?
> Kind regards
> Jeff the kiwi
> --
> To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html
>
>


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In reply to: Message from jeffwill <jeffwill@wanadoo.fr> ([Leica] CV 50mm Nokton 1.5 vs used Sumicron)