Nokton 1.4 vs Nokton 1.4 II and SC or MC?

[boojum]

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I have read a lot of good views about the Voigtländer Nokton 35mm 1.4 lenses.  Folks seem to find them a good mate for the M8/M8.2.  As I now have the black body M8.2 on its way from Hong Kong, I need a lens and the Nokton seems the way to go.  B&H offers all versions.  So, is it a good idea to get the original, the II and if the II which?  The single coating or multi coating?  

Any help and guidance will be greatly appreciated.

When the M8.2 gets here I am taking it to the camera pros in Portland for a thorough going over.  They will do a CLA,<i>if needed</i> and isn't it great that they will not do it if they do not think it needs it?  They've done work for me before and deserve their good rep.

 

[david strachan]

Hi boojum

Welcome.

I'd go with version II having less back focus and the single coating (easy to increase contrast, but difficult to reduce contrast).. a nice lens (the original is what i use).  The later versions changed their size and dynamics.

But the M8's are marvelous, have a lot o' fun..you won't have to worry about corroded sensors like the M9's. ..  But do get some ir/uv filters and use them, along with a lens hood...

 

Edited September 14, 2020 by david strachan

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[boojum]

3 minutes ago, david strachan said:

Hi boojum

Welcome.

I'd go with version II having less back focus and the single coating (easy to increase contrast, but difficult to reduce contrast).. a nice lens (the original is what i use).  The later versions changed their size and dynamics.

But the M8's are marvelous, have a lot o' fun..

 

Thank you for your input.  I need all I can get.  I assumed the MC would be better for colo(u)r with its reduced flare.  I understood that the SC is better for BW.  This is the first time I have been offered this choice, SC or MC.  And it seems more than I can handle.  LOL  Again, thank you.

You have had good luck with the first version which is good new for me.  My reading indicates Voigtländer is a smidgen off the Leica lenses in quality for a smidgen of the cost.  Excuse my bandying of technical terms.   ;o)

[david strachan]

You are on Leica Forum, so Leica will ALWAYS be best..

[adan]

I don't totally buy the "this one for color, that one for B&W" argument. It's funny how over 50 years of photography I have never failed classes or lost clients or jobs or stories because I didn't have two different sets of lenses for "color" or "B&W."

I do have the CV Nokton 35 f/1.4 II MC - I had the CV Nokton 35 f/1.4 MC v.1 also. The v.2 does eliminate the focus-shift by any practical measure, and subtly changes how the outer zones*** of the picture are drawn at wider apertures (a tiny bit softer, but less streaky than the v.1 - i.e. a bit less astigmatism, probably with a bit more curvature of field).

I find the MC version fine for color or B&W (and fits in perfectly with my Leitz Canada 21/28/90/135 lenses from the 1980s). It falls somewhere between the Leitz 35 Summilux and the v.4 Summicron in drawing or rendering, depending on aperture and other factors. The main remaining "defect" in some cases would be the higher barrel (fisheye) distortion - but I do my architecture with a 21 anyway, not a high-speed 35.

It is certainly not "too" contrasty for either B&W or color. I've never run across an S.C. to compare, however.

____________

*** edit - of course with a cropped M8 you may not see this difference much - it is in the parts that will be cropped by the smaller sensor.

Edited September 14, 2020 by adan

[pippy]

No point (IMO) in getting the V1. It has very noticeable barrel distortion and the back-focus issues are documented in Web-Land ad nauseam.

SC or MC? Depends on how like your images to look and how you process your files if you shoot DNG. Obvious differences have already been explained.

Only thing I'd strongly suggest is that you bite the bullet and buy the dedicated Voigtlander hood. It might not seem like it at the time - it's not bargain-basement cheap - but it really is money well spent.

The Voigt's perform superbly on the M8. My first digi-M was an 8.2 and the first lens I bought for it was the 40mm f1.4 Nokton. I no longer have my the M8.2 (it was 'mislaid' somewhere in Wetzlar and, somewhat apologetically, they sent me an M9 as a replacement) but to this day it is still my most-used lens on my current bodies.

Philip.

Edited September 14, 2020 by pippy

[boojum]

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41 minutes ago, pippy said:

 

 

41 minutes ago, pippy said:

 

41 minutes ago, pippy said:

Only thing I'd strongly suggest is that you bite the bullet and buy the dedicated Voigtlander hood. It might not seem like it at the time - it's not bargain-basement cheap - but it really is money well spent.

The Voigt's perform superbly on the M8. My first digi-M was an 8.2 and the first lens I bought for it was the 40mm f1.4 Nokton. I no longer have my the M8.2 (it was 'mislaid' somewhere in Wetzlar and, somewhat apologetically, they sent me an M9 as a replacement) but to this day it is still my most-used lens on my current bodies.

Philip.

 

[tommonego@gmail.com]

Am 13.9.2020 um 20:51 schrieb boojum:

I have read a lot of good views about the Voigtländer Nokton 35mm 1.4 lenses.  Folks seem to find them a good mate for the M8/M8.2.  As I now have the black body M8.2 on its way from Hong Kong, I need a lens and the Nokton seems the way to go.  B&H offers all versions.  So, is it a good idea to get the original, the II and if the II which?  The single coating or multi coating?  

Any help and guidance will be greatly appreciated.

When the M8.2 gets here I am taking it to the camera pros in Portland for a thorough going over.  They will do a CLA,<i>if needed</i> and isn't it great that they will not do it if they do not think it needs it?  They've done work for me before and deserve their good rep.

 

I didn't find anyone who would touch the M8, for a small problem, it had had a 40mm Nokton on it since it was first purchased and the frame selection wasn't working well. Worked itself out over time. But it seems to work on the M8 you need a special grounding rig only Leica has. Both Youxin Yee and Dan Goldberg told me this. My M8 is working well so I keep my fingers crossed. 

[boojum]

On 9/14/2020 at 12:46 PM, pippy said:

 

 

Quote

<snip>

Only thing I'd strongly suggest is that you bite the bullet and buy the dedicated Voigtlander hood. It might not seem like it at the time - it's not bargain-basement cheap - but it really is money well spent.

<snip>

I agree.  However, for some strange reason I balked at the Voigt's price and got a cheapie out of PRC on its way to me.  I am a firm believer in lens hoods and use them on my other cameras.  As the insurance companies say, "Expose yourself to as little risk as possible."  If the PRC one is not good it will be a return trip to B&H.

And thank you for your input.  This is all virgin territory for me.

 

 

Edited September 15, 2020 by boojum
clean up

[boojum]

On 9/15/2020 at 12:55 PM, tommonego@gmail.com said:

I didn't find anyone who would touch the M8, for a small problem, it had had a 40mm Nokton on it since it was first purchased and the frame selection wasn't working well. Worked itself out over time. But it seems to work on the M8 you need a special grounding rig only Leica has. Both Youxin Yee and Dan Goldberg told me this. My M8 is working well so I keep my fingers crossed. 

I am not sure what you mean.  Could you explain it?

[tommonego@gmail.com]

vor 6 Stunden schrieb boojum:

I am not sure what you mean.  Could you explain it?

This was from Dan Goldberg and Youxin Yee, two well known Leica technicians. The M8 needs some special grounding of the camera to open it. They would not touch the camera, had to be sent to Leica for repairs. They were turning down work, so I respected their comments. I don't have the skinny on what the grounding entails, just the comments from two well respected sources.

Edited September 18, 2020 by tommonego@gmail.com

[boojum]

7 hours ago, tommonego@gmail.com said:

This was from Dan Goldberg and Youxin Yee, two well known Leica technicians. The M8 needs some special grounding of the camera to open it. They would not touch the camera, had to be sent to Leica for repairs. They were turning down work, so I respected their comments. I don't have the skinny on what the grounding entails, just the comments from two well respected sources.

Tom (?) I do not doubt what you say.  I was just curious what it was about and why.  So I am wed to Leica for any and all work on the M8.2 when US Customs finally decides to send it on to me.  I had hoped to be able to take it up to PDX for a once-over and CLA.  Now I am wondering. I'l see what Advance Camera up there in PDX says about this.  Caution is the watchword so thanks for the info.

I used to pass your town when going between school in Montreal and home in CT.  VT keeps the highways open in winter way better than NY.  Or at least this was the case in the mid-70's.

[lct]

Haven't used it on my M8.2 yet but i've just tried the CV 35/1.4 v2 briefly on the digital CL.
Same general feeling as adan above. 
Not a modern lens in that it has less acutance than my Leica and CV "asph" lenses. A closer to Mandler than Karbe lens so to speak.
Compared to the M 35/1.4 v2 it looks sharper at f/1.4 and f/2 with more contrast, less flare, less coma but more distortion and no significant glow (halos around highlights).
Compared to the CV 35/1.4 v1 "SC" it doesn't sem to suffer from focus shft but EVFs are not the best way to check this. I woud rely on what adan said above anyway. Also the CV 35/1.4 v2 flares much less than the v1 "SC". It is not flare free though. It doesn't like much strong light sources when they are inside the frame but behaves better than some Leica lenses when same light sources are outside the frame.
On the digital CL, distortion seems well corrected through the 35/1.4 asph 11873 profile. The 35/1.4 pre-asph profile doesn't correct for distortion at all on the CL.
Otherwise very nice little lens, butter smooth focusing, nice and sturdy CV/ZM hood, perfect match with the CL size wise, it should do well on other crop cameras like the M8.2.
Happy snaps

[tommonego@gmail.com]

vor 21 Stunden schrieb boojum:

Tom (?) I do not doubt what you say.  I was just curious what it was about and why.  So I am wed to Leica for any and all work on the M8.2 when US Customs finally decides to send it on to me.  I had hoped to be able to take it up to PDX for a once-over and CLA.  Now I am wondering. I'l see what Advance Camera up there in PDX says about this.  Caution is the watchword so thanks for the info.

I used to pass your town when going between school in Montreal and home in CT.  VT keeps the highways open in winter way better than NY.  Or at least this was the case in the mid-70's.

My M8 which was bought in Mexico and the original owner had moved to San Diego. When I received it the frameline lever would barely move. Youxin Yee had just revived an M3 that I inherited, so I asked him first if the could clean the mechanism and look over the camera, he said no only Leica could work on them. So I checked with Dan Goldberg same answer. But the lever started to move and has freed up. The camera works fine so I just keep using it periodically so it won't lock up. It is nice to have M cameras again, after I sold my shutter defincient M2s to a young guy wanting to get into film. Once said an M camera is the only cameras that my hands feel right on. 

Thetford is a nice place to live, a little more rural than my wife originally liked, but we have great neighbors and Dartmouth is just down the street. 

Enjoy the M8-2 has a lot going for it.

[boojum]

1 hour ago, tommonego@gmail.com said:

My M8 which was bought in Mexico and the original owner had moved to San Diego. When I received it the frameline lever would barely move. Youxin Yee had just revived an M3 that I inherited, so I asked him first if the could clean the mechanism and look over the camera, he said no only Leica could work on them. So I checked with Dan Goldberg same answer. But the lever started to move and has freed up. The camera works fine so I just keep using it periodically so it won't lock up. It is nice to have M cameras again, after I sold my shutter defincient M2s to a young guy wanting to get into film. Once said an M camera is the only cameras that my hands feel right on. 

Thetford is a nice place to live, a little more rural than my wife originally liked, but we have great neighbors and Dartmouth is just down the street. 

Enjoy the M8-2 has a lot going for it.

Finding that only Leica can do repairs on this camera is disappointing, very disappointing.  OTOH I have never had a camera quit on me other than a Panasonic DMC-ZS3 which is, yes, a Leica collaboration.  But lens only, I think, and certainly not in the same class.  Rather than repair mine I bought another of eBay for $25.  I cannot do that with the M8.2.  Well, I'll just have to hope the camera gods are with me.  The sensor is so good.

I used to take drives, in summer, from CT to VT on Route 8.  Crossing into VT from MA one is greeted by "Welcome to Chittendon County, the Land of Milk and Honey."  Chittendon County was a big dairy and beekeeping county back in the mists of time.  A beautiful place today.  In summer.   ;o)

[tommonego@gmail.com]

vor 51 Minuten schrieb boojum:

Finding that only Leica can do repairs on this camera is disappointing, very disappointing.  OTOH I have never had a camera quit on me other than a Panasonic DMC-ZS3 which is, yes, a Leica collaboration.  But lens only, I think, and certainly not in the same class.  Rather than repair mine I bought another of eBay for $25.  I cannot do that with the M8.2.  Well, I'll just have to hope the camera gods are with me.  The sensor is so good.

I used to take drives, in summer, from CT to VT on Route 8.  Crossing into VT from MA one is greeted by "Welcome to Chittendon County, the Land of Milk and Honey."  Chittendon County was a big dairy and beekeeping county back in the mists of time.  A beautiful place today.  In summer.   ;o)

We are still a milk and cheese state, though it is changing. Tax rates are through the roof and farmers are selling their herds. Beer is big business, not sure about honey. 

I'll just appreciate the M8 for as long as it works, hopefully many years.

[jev]

Noctorn Classic is great, sharp enough small kind of reminds me Summilux pre ASPH 35mm but a but sharper wide open

Very good for B&W, which is what you should be shooting with M8

[boojum]

34 minutes ago, jev said:

Noctorn Classic is great, sharp enough small kind of reminds me Summilux pre ASPH 35mm but a but sharper wide open

Very good for B&W, which is what you should be shooting with M8

The Voigt has a following on this board and especially in this sub-forum.  So I feel comfortable and hopeful with my purchase.  As to B&W, well, I love the creamy Kodachrome colors the M8.2 CCD can deliver so I will be shooting color.  I can always convert it in a photo editor. 

Back in Gotham where it is shaking, eh?  Have an egg creme for me.  I sure do miss that treat.  That and a Dr. Brown's Cel-Ray celery tonic alongside a nice tongue and pastrami on rye with a good half sour.  There is no delicatessen out here where I am.  Yeah, wrap your mind around that!

Edited September 20, 2020 by boojum