Voigtlander Nokton 35mm f1.4 VMC

[gylee]

I have been thinking about a 35mm lens to use on my MP for a while now and while I summon up the courage to drop US$2000 on a Summicron, I thought I would pick up one of those little Voigtlander Pancake jobbies to tide me over.

To cut a long story short, when I popped over to Tin Cheung Camera to pick one up, they had the new Nokton 1.4 in stock for a bit more than the 2.5, I liked the idea of an extra stop and a half, so it came home with me. Played around with it on the way home. It's not bitingly sharp, but it has quite a nice tone to it. The first is wide open (bokeh is painterly and the transition nice - look the at the text on the magazine stand, and then the boxes in the background). The second is stopped down to f11 in pretty strong light (an odd side effect of the lens appears to be that 40 story black men in their underpants appear on buildings in the background). I shot some film with it as well - I suspect that the lens will be better suited to that, and that's the main reason I bought it. I'll let you know how it goes.

G.

[cosmonaut]

I am shooting the 40mm version of this lens and I really like it. More than my Color Skopar. I am sure you will be happy. Nice shots.

[gylee]

Well, I've had it for two months and if I never see it again, it will be too soon. It's a shame - a nicely made lens of a good size, with great specs. However, it really is just too soft and back focus is a very significant issue on the M8.

It may still get the occasional outing on the MP, but I suspect it will mostly gather dust.

It's not all bad news though - I bought a Summicron APSH today instead