Nokton 40 mm or Sonnar 50mm

[Jessestr]

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Hi guys

 

I'm really stuck with what I should do. I do street & portrait photography. I have a 40 mm f1.4 nokton on my M8 now which is ideal for street and my portrait work as I don't go too close for portraits.

 

I received a deal that I can switch my Nokton + 350 euro ($400 USD) for a Zeiss Sonnar 50mm f1.5 in good condition. But it will be too narrow for street work..

So then I need another 28/35 mm for street.. which are extra costs again..

 

So is it worth the upgrade from Nokton 40mm to 50mm Sonnar for portrait work?

 

Many thanks

 

Jesse

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[scsambrook]

Well, Jesse, I think that on the M8 the 40mm lens is a great "standard" lens for the kind of photos you seem to like making. Should you make the trade and get the 50, you'll certainly feel the need for something wider as well. If the urge to spend money can't be overcome ( ) then an even better plan might be to get something like a 75/2.5 Voigtlander which would let you do "big head" portraits or put a little more breathing space between you and your street-subjects. The 50 is still a bit on the short side for portraits with the M8, in my experience.

 

I have the 40 and 75 Voigtlanders and find them both excellent - my 50mm Summicron gets a lot less use on the M8 than it does on my M2.

 

In the end though, it can only be your choice.

[bill]

So.

 

I have had a Nokton, I have a Sonnar, but I don't have an M8.

 

The Sonnar is an improvement on the Nokton in terms of performance, but as you have said, it has a "narrow" FOV on the M8 due to the crop factor. By comparison I don't have a Nokton now, but I do have a 40mm Summicron and a Fuji X-E1. I regard this combination as ideal for "environmental portraits" but for full-on portraiture I would either use the Sonnar or, going longer still either a 60mm Elmarit-R or a 90mm Jupiter which is of course also a Sonnar design.

 

So on balance I would say go for the Sonnar if portraiture is your aim. Stick with the Nokton if you want something more versatile. If you go with the Sonnar you could always do as I have done and pair it with the Biogon 35mm f2.0 for a compact "standard" lens

 

Regards,

 

Bill

[Jessestr]

My aim for portraits is more like this:

Sharlek Photography(NOT my work)

 

He uses an M3 with the Sonnar. Deos this make a difference in my choice..

 

I'm doubting about getting the Sonnar, ditch the 40mm and get something wider in the future for street...but again that's a big cost...

[scsambrook]

Jesse - 50mm on M3 is more or less the same focal length as 40mm on M8. Although we love to agonise over which particular lens we "ought" to use, the cruel reality is that the impact of our pictures really comes from their content, not from the lens or camera used to produce them. If in doubt as to what to do, why not go out and take more pictures until you can judge accurately whether what you have is producing what you - and you alone - actually want.

[Photoskeptic]

Not such a deal, imo. But if you must have the 50, then go for it.

[joeswe]

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Dump the Nokton and the M8, get a Sonnar and a M3.

[algrove]

Ever think of trying the Leica 40/2.0 Summicron?

[farnz]

Jesse,

 

If you want to make photos like those at the weblink then the 50 Sonnar will produce the lovely out of focus rendering you can see but you're likely to want to shoot wide open. Out of the factory the 50 Sonnar is optimised to f/2.8 so if you do get the Sonnar you should arrange for Zeiss to optimise it to f/1.5 or you're likely to suffer from back focus with wide open and the eyes may not be as sharp as you'd like them to be. Zeiss won't charge much if anything to do it.

 

As others have mentioned the 50 will effectively be a 67mm lens on your M8 but I never felt that was a problem with portraits on my M8. Each to their own of course.

 

Pete.

[wosim]

I am using the 40mm Nokton with my M9 and I love this lens. I don't know the Sonnar, but some complain a focus shift.

 

If you like, you can find here reviews of both lenses: https://sites.google.com/site/wosimsphotography/links-testberichte-reviews/testberichte-objektive-leica-lens-reviews-40mm-60mm

 

Maybe they can give some useful information.

[250swb]

Both are characterful lenses, the 40mm Nokton because it has a glow wide open, the Sonnar because it is designed to be soft and glowing wide open (hence it being optimised for f2.8 when the image becomes sharp, not much point in optimising it for f/1.5 if it still isn't sharp). I would choose either over the perfect, but sterile, 40mm Summicron, so as you already have the Nokton I'd stick with that and look for another lens, but wider, perhaps a 28mm for your M8.

 

Steve