40/ f1.4 Nokton & MP

[MPerson]

Need to consult the "collective brain". I have just bought the Voigtlander 40/ f1.4 Nokton single coated to go on my MP. Now my 10 yr old son is hogging the CL I had the perfect excuse to get one as I love the 40mm length.

I know the lense brings up the 50mm framelines but any advice on which is best from those using this lense, use the 50 frame or flip the lever for 35? I understand you can file the tab a millimetre or so to have the 35 framelines but I do not want to do that just yet.

Looks like the 35/f2 ASPH will be gathering dust for awhile.

[veraikon]

May this Thread from the french summilux.net can help you. It is a very nice description mais en francais
summilux.net :: Voir le sujet - Modification Nokton 40mm 1,4

[bill]

Andy, I have the 40 and I wouldn't dream of filing it. It is far better, IMO, to frame loosely using the 50mm lines than to risk cropping using the 35. It's a good "street" lens for that reason - the margin for error comes in useful in fast moving street scenes.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Bill

[bullis]

Originally Posted by bill

Andy, I have the 40 and I wouldn't dream of filing it. It is far better, IMO, to frame loosely using the 50mm lines than to risk cropping using the 35. It's a good "street" lens for that reason - the margin for error comes in useful in fast moving street scenes.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Bill

Wow. You actually use the viewfinder in situations like that? (If I could stand smilies, I guess I'd put one here).

I bought one that had already been modified. My particular weird idiosyncracy is to give myself problems which require a certain heightened attention. Perhaps this comes from my tendency to become distracted. The challenge is to keep the image as tight as possible without moving back too much to give myself the advantage of that margin. It underlines the importance of the edges and the corners, and, over the long haul, tends to train the intuition.

For most people, it seems to me that the picture is almost always the more important element. For me, the process is far more important than any particular picture. In my experience, presenting oneself with limitations like this may not get this picture just right each specific time, but may help a lot with the next one. If I never made mistakes, I'd never learn anything.

[veraikon]

IMHO the 35mm frame(yellow) is more fitting for a 40mm lens (red) than the 50mm frame (blue)

from:
summilux.net :: Voir le sujet - Modification Nokton 40mm 1,4

[ndjambrose]

Agree with the above suggestion. When you factor in the inherent inaccuracy of the frame lines at any distance beyond 2 meters, the 35mm frame lines begin to look extremely suitable for a 40mm lens.

[James Purchase]

You could always spring for a Voigtlander Bessa R3a (made by Cosina). It has framelines for 40/50/75/90 mm. The viewfinder magnification is 1:1 and the rangefinder length is 37mm.

James Purchase
Toronto

[rpsawin]

Originally Posted by James Purchase

You could always spring for a Voigtlander Bessa R3a (made by Cosina). It has framelines for 40/50/75/90 mm. The viewfinder magnification is 1:1 and the rangefinder length is 37mm.

James Purchase
Toronto

Or purchase the external 40mm viewfinder. I use this same combination and love it!

Bob

[MPerson]

Gentlemen - thank you - all valid points. I am starting a test roll today and will shoot the same subject twice using 35 & 50 frames and then see a) how the images look and b) which one I feel comfortable with.