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So what lens on M9 is your bokeh king?


BKK dan

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Interesting question.

 

I think I'd say the 75 Lux has some of the nicest out-of-focus quality in the entire M lens line up. But that isn't a 50 or less.

 

When the Nocti 1.0 is well behaved--and that's most of the time, depending on what you're shooting, it's exceptional. When it isn't, however, its downright confusing.

 

I also like the 28 f2 wide open, which I think has a very nice contrast signature which enhances out of focus qualities. You reach hyperfocal distance pretty quickly though...

 

And I know it gets a bad rap for contrast reasons, but honestly the current 35 Lux ASPH is also really quite beautiful in terms of OOF. That was a very big surprise to me when I got this lens a number of years ago, and is one of the reasons I'll never sell it. So my nod goes there... it's just a great lens (for me) all 'round (I've never had the focusing issues that seem to plague other users). When I get a chance I'll post :)

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Interesting question.

 

I think I'd say the 75 Lux has some of the nicest out-of-focus quality in the entire M lens line up. But that isn't a 50 or less.

 

When the Nocti 1.0 is well behaved--and that's most of the time, depending on what you're shooting, it's exceptional. When it isn't, however, its downright confusing.

 

I also like the 28 f2 wide open, which I think has a very nice contrast signature which enhances out of focus qualities. You reach hyperfocal distance pretty quickly though...

 

And I know it gets a bad rap for contrast reasons, but honestly the current 35 Lux ASPH is also really quite beautiful in terms of OOF. That was a very big surprise to me when I got this lens a number of years ago, and is one of the reasons I'll never sell it. So my nod goes there... it's just a great lens (for me) all 'round (I've never had the focusing issues that seem to plague other users). When I get a chance I'll post :)

 

Fully agree with Jamie's selection, except for the 28 f/2, which despite being a wonderful lens doesn't particularly strike me for its OOF rendering.

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the 35 Lux is exceptional, this isnt the best example but the OOF area is very smooth.

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Ive only had the 35 Lux a few days, and it seems to be focus shifting wide open. It appears spot on at 2/2.8, so im struggling to adapt wide open. But the creaminess of the backgrounds is pretty sweet.

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the 35mm summilux asph produces harsh, bright ring bokeh at large apertures and close focus. you can see this in the above samples, as well as erwin puts's recent review of the new version with fle.

 

my vote goes to the 50mm summilux asph.

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Fully agree with Jamie's selection, except for the 28 f/2, which despite being a wonderful lens doesn't particularly strike me for its OOF rendering.

 

I particularly like the 28 wide open. The whole character of the lens changes dramatically stopped down, even a little bit. But the OOF areas wide open are nice; it's just not often you see them...

 

@ raizans... I don't see much harsh with the 35 Lux to tell you the truth. If I had to choose solely on the OOF look, I'd pick that long before the 50 Lux ASPH (which I also like but has even more contrast--and more sharply defined OOF areas--than the 35 Lux ASPH).

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And I know it gets a bad rap for contrast reasons, but honestly the current 35 Lux ASPH...

 

Excuse my ignorance, but reputation for too much or too little contrast? Isn't it a bit less contrasty than the 35 Summicron asph? (If less, then seemingly not a bad thing for sunny days in the digital world.)

 

Jeff

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I particularly like the 28 wide open. The whole character of the lens changes dramatically stopped down, even a little bit. But the OOF areas wide open are nice; it's just not often you see them...

Sounds like I need to spend a bit more time with this lens...

Truth be told, it's been somewhat neglected since the arrival of the M9, although it's one of my favorites on the M8, which hasn't seen much use either lately...

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the 35mm summilux asph produces harsh, bright ring bokeh at large apertures and close focus. you can see this in the above samples, as well as erwin puts's recent review of the new version with fle.

 

my vote goes to the 50mm summilux asph.

Allow me to disagree. But then, "pleasing bokeh" is very subjective...

So much so that I have always found (no matter what camera) the bokeh of my Lux 35 more pleasing than that of my "king of bokeh" Cron 35 IV pre-ASPH.

Still, hard to beat the Lux 75 IMHO.

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Very impressed with the OOF areas on my recently-acquired 28 Summicron ASPH. Took this just to see how it fared. It's very subjective, but I see pleasantly rounded highlights, no distracting fussiness, all smooth and agreeable. This was taken wide open on an M9.

 

4632868875_f712875914_b.jpg

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bokeh for any lens varies with aperture, focus distance, and the content of the background or foreground, and it's effectiveness in the picture varies as well. the presence of bright rings is not subjective, though, and i generally don't like it, especially when it's swirly. there are rare exceptions, though. bill henson's work, for example, is better thanks to the bright ring highlights. a small detail, but it works.

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the 35mm summilux asph produces harsh, bright ring bokeh at large apertures and close focus. you can see this in the above samples, as well as erwin puts's recent review of the new version with fle.

 

my vote goes to the 50mm summilux asph.

 

from all the research i've done on 'bokeh' i've noticed almost every lens where the OOF area is foliage, that it gives that 'ring' effect. i've see that happen with nocti (new and old) 35mm summicrons, all versions. it's just that foliage that does that. and in this case of samples given, it's relatively soft on the ring effect. i think the 35mm summicron asph is really nice and smooth.

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I own three M lens, but the two I use most are the 35 'Lux and the Noctilux f1.

 

First two are from the 35 'Lux and the other two are from the Noct.

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from all the research i've done on 'bokeh' i've noticed almost every lens where the OOF area is foliage, that it gives that 'ring' effect. i've see that happen with nocti (new and old) 35mm summicrons, all versions. it's just that foliage that does that. and in this case of samples given, it's relatively soft on the ring effect. i think the 35mm summicron asph is really nice and smooth.

 

foliage doesn't have any special power over bokeh. it's the lens itself.

 

the noctilux and 35mm summicrons are known for bright ring bokeh, so the fact that you've seen this is not surprising.

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