35mm Voitglander f1.4 or 35mm summarit f2.4

[hellboy105]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Hi everyone,

 

I just purchased an used leica M9 recently. My friend recommended me using a 35mm Voigtlander f1.4 and I think the quality is pretty good. However, I still want to see how a Leica lens look like. I am debating to return 35mm Voigtlander to get a used 35mm Leica Summarit f2.4 since I don't have a big budget. Does the f2.4 would be sufficient or should I stick with the 35mm Voigtlander? Thanks!

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[jaapv]

Welcome to the forum.

If you have to ask, you probably don't need the faster lens. OTOH, I doubt whether you will see much difference between the lenses in the final print.

[Robert M Poole]

It all depends on what you're shooting. Do you need the extra speed of the Voigtlander? The Summarit lenses are fantastic and the 35mm is very well thought of.

[david strachan]

The Canon 35mm f2 ltm should be considered too...mine is excellent, tiny and good build.

The Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 all back focus. As i have read. Mine certainly does once the lens is stopped down from f1.4.

 

I'm looking to get a Summarit once i find a good one.

 

 

...

[TomB_tx]

I used the VC 1.4 happily on my M9 for quite some time and felt overall it gave at least equal results to the ‘69 Summicron I’ve used since ‘69, and at 1.4 was equal to the Summicron at f2. After people kept saying the focus shift when stopping down was so bad I tested carefully and found it does, and if looking close often in bright sceens the sharpest areas were a bit behind the subject. Yet if you’re not looking for it you may not notice, and in dim light at 1.4 and 2 it is right on.

That said, I did add a Zeiss 35 f2 ZM and found the images had more bite (contrast) and were sharper overall. But I prefer the small size of the VC 1.4.

Then I got a Summarit 35 f2.5 (same optics as the newer 2.4 but 39mm filter thread) and found the images matched the Zeiss, but smaller and great handling. On the M9 I used the Summarit most of the time, but the VC 1.4 for low light.

Now with an M10 and its high ISO I just stay with the Summarit 35, and added a Summarit 50 2.5 for its identical size and handling.

[antigallican]

One of the great things about your  M9 is its ability to use lenses going back in Leica history. My 35 for my M9 is a Summaron 2.8 from the very early 70s and my 50 is a Canadian Summicron from the 80s. They work great. In your place I would have a look round the flickr groups for pictures taken with the particular lenses and compare them. There is a bit of character difference between Zeiss, Voigtländer and Leica. I only have one Zeiss nowadays - a 25 2.8 - and it does have a very different look from the Leica. I only ever use it for landscape and when funds permit I will swap it for some Leica near equivalent - only for consistency of look.

Edited August 23, 2018 by antigallican

[AceVentura1986]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

If you use the 35 to capture scenes and groups of people beyond 6 feet, focus shift really won’t be a problem. On my Nokton 35 f/1.4, focus shift is noticeable between f/2.4 and f/4 WINTHIN SIX FEET.

[Ko.Fe.]

I have Summarit-M 35 2.5 and it is as good as 2.4. If not better, same ASPH, but 39mm filters.

It costs less. This is the only lens I'm satisfied on M-E. As long as it is enough light it just do it right. Well, some distortions, but nothing awful.

But I often think about 35 1.4 Nokton as well to have it as low light lens. It just very different lens, with focus shift, strange bokeh and something missing in rendering from what Summarit-M does.

I think both lenses are good on M9, but offer different things.

Low light time of the year is coming and it means I have to use my tiny Leica flash again. It is not very inconvenient indoors, but outdoors and if it is below freezing mark this two AAA batteries flash craps out in no time.

Edited August 23, 2018 by Ko.Fe.

[david strachan]

If you use the 35 to capture scenes and groups of people beyond 6 feet, focus shift really won’t be a problem. On my Nokton 35 f/1.4, focus shift is noticeable between f/2.4 and f/4 WINTHIN SIX FEET.

I've been testing my Nokton 35mm f1.4 at different apertures, and different distances. Been doing tests for some time (over 12 months)

 

I find focus shift, back focus, at all distances and all f stops..other than f 1.4. However your lens may be different.

 

It's a pity, because i like this lens build and it's ergonomics...but i just focus, then move the focus a touch closer so the viewfinder view is a bit offset....an irritation as i prefer exact.

 

I think there is a lot of back focus with lenses, Leica and others, included but owners don't like to admit.

 

 

..

[AceVentura1986]

I've been testing my Nokton 35mm f1.4 at different apertures, and different distances. Been doing tests for some time (over 12 months)

I find focus shift, back focus, at all distances and all f stops..other than f 1.4. However your lens may be different.

It's a pity, because i like this lens build and it's ergonomics...but i just focus, then move the focus a touch closer so the viewfinder view is a bit offset....an irritation as i prefer exact.

I think there is a lot of back focus with lenses, Leica and others, included but owners don't like to admit.

..

Im no expert in optics, but I have read before that any lens faster than f/1.8 will experience focus shift because it’s just inherent to the wide aperture. When I used the Nokton as a normalish lens on my M8 I was very careful never to use f/2.4 - f/4 under any circumstances. Now, normal length lenses will be used up close more often than wide angle lenses for a variety of reasons. When I switched to the ME, I found that focus shift was no longer a problem because of the different uses that a wide angle is put to compared to a normal lens. IMHO, photographing a scene with the Nokton where the point of focus is father than 6 feet will mask any focus shift. YMMV.

[Ko.Fe.]

I've been testing my Nokton 35mm f1.4 at different apertures, and different distances. Been doing tests for some time (over 12 months)

I find focus shift, back focus, at all distances and all f stops..other than f 1.4. However your lens may be different.

It's a pity, because i like this lens build and it's ergonomics...but i just focus, then move the focus a touch closer so the viewfinder view is a bit offset....an irritation as i prefer exact.

I think there is a lot of back focus with lenses, Leica and others, included but owners don't like to admit.

..

I have tested some 50mm RF lenses. Plenty of FSU, couple of Canon 50 1.8 LTM, Planar 50 ZM, Nokton 50 1.5, Cron Rigid and V4.

Last one is the worse one. But I"m keeping it and most of the time focus shift is covered by DOF.