Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/04/16
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Well, I guess I've shot around ten or twelve rolls with this lens now and ... it's a tough one. Most of the stuff I've shot has been family stuff which I don't like to put on the web, so it's hard to illustrate the points I'm about to make. First, the good things: it's as well made as my other Voigtlander lens (the 75, which I love to bits), it handles well, and for such a fast lens it behaves impeccably when shooting against the light. The focus throw is nice and snappy. As for sharpness, well, check out Erwin's figures. It's as sharp as I will ever need a lens to be. Are you detecting reservations? You sure are. There is something about this lens that I don't like. Frank Dernie said he didn't like the bokeh, and I agree. It's just... not right. If I had to give it a name it would be 'technical' or 'cold'. In a 1.4 lens this is a disaster. The 75 has great, chunky bokeh. The 50 is... smushy, but not in a good way. It's depressing to buy a lens (having shot some stuff with it in the shop and developed it) and then get the growing feeling, which I now have, that this is not a lens I can live with. I know others (BD, right?) like the Nokton, and in many respects I can see why. It's sharp, even wide open, it's flare-resistant, it's cute, the pictures it takes are really 'modern' looking (ie they look like current-generation lens shots). And it's cheap. But it's a definite case of the MTF charts and the price tage not telling the whole story. The 'character' of this lens is all wrong, IMHO. Sad, isn't it? Anyone want to buy one, near mint, boxed, etc? - -- Johnny Deadman photos: http://www.pinkheadedbug.com music: http://www.jukebox.demon.co.uk