Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/10/21

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Subject: [Leica] Re: Nokton vs Summicron 50's
From: Peter Metelerkamp <peter.metelerkamp@bristol.ac.uk>
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 14:31:58 +0100
References: <200310201908.MAA14491@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>

If it's not too late to add my brief comment: I tested a 
Nokton recently to try to persuade myself that I don't need
a Summilux, although I am something of a junkie of minimum 
DOF. 

In a very much "real world" situation - shooting 
handheld at wide apertures in and around the camera shop - 
I discovered some very interesting things. 1) The APPARENT 
DOF was greater on the Nokton at f1.5 than the Summicron at 
f2! This may be due to the way the Nokton renders the image
as flat and slightly harsh all over, compared to the way 
the summicron moves from a luminous creamy 
"popping" sharpness to a very smooth OOF. 2) Under these 
very pragmatic conditions, while the Nokton is certainly 
sharp - with a slightly gritty look - the Summicron is 
definitely better at rendering texture and modelling, and 
giving that "3d" look. This takes two forms a) in rendering
the volumes of the head of the obliging salesman (i.e. the 
form of the head) and b)in separating him from the 
cluttered shelves behind him. 3) Focussing on a non-moving 
target (the display case full of cameras, with signs and 
labels) I could see no noticeable difference in overall 
"sharpness" between the Nokton at 1/60 and the Summicron at
1/30 (both at max aperture) This may merely prove that I 
shake as much at 1/60 as at 1/30!. But the labels shot with
the Summicron were definitely more "readable" at normal 
viewing distance (holding an 8x12 print about 18" from the 
eyes) and the subtle shifts in colour between different 
pieces of text more apparent. 4) Moving outdoors, the 
Nokton at f5.6 again looks bitingly sharp but does not 
render the micro-tonalities of pavements and walls as well 
as the Summicron at the same aperture (which again seems to
have less DOF!) So, as far as the images go, the Nokton is 
clearly "impressive" - but in a way I don't particularly 
care for. But the real crunch for me is the ergonomics - 
the aperture and focus rings on the Nokton are very close 
together and as the former moves very easily without much 
of a sense of detent at each setting, it is all too easily 
moved while focussing, leading to much annoyance! For me 
this was such a glaring feature, that I am amazed that 
no-one has commented on it in the many threads I've read. 

I owned a CV 50mm 2.5 (Skopar?) which was a delight 
ergonomically; small, compact, very solid, with a short 
focus throw. But its excessively smooth imagery (high 
res/low con?) was IMO a move too far in the other 
direction! (I can speak with much more authority about it 
because I tested it under controlled conditions - tripod, 
studio flashes, slow films, etc.)   

The final outcome of my Nokton test was to confirm that 
TMax 100 (which I had decided to use to give a more 
accurate outcome than the circle of confusion offered by my
customary 400 ASA fare, but still hand-holdable indoors - 
as opposed to my slow-speed favourite Pan F) is a truly 
hideous film! For location work, the S-shaped curve remains
IMO perhaps a more important attribute than others often 
touted in "product development".  

Just some small thoughts. Clearly the matter of "quality" 
in a lens and the image it makes, is subtle. If one 
makes prints (as I do) one needs not only to remember how a
sea of sand on the easel under the focus-magnifier resolves 
itself into form in the print, but consider Gombrich's 
discussions in Art and Illusion which show how APPARENT 
pictorial "truth" is a product of a complex set of fictive 
appearances. 

BTW, If any British readers see this, I have an exhibition 
of documentary monochrome photographs opening in our 
university next week - mail me for details, if you're 
anywhere near Bristol between then and mid-December and 
would like to take a look. 

Good wishes to all.  

- ----------------------
Peter Metelerkamp
Programme Director
MA in Film and Television Production
University of Bristol 
peter.metelerkamp@bris.ac.uk

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