Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2009/05/17
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]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. >> > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information