Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Aspherical II Image Thread

[Dennis]

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9 hours ago, sergiomarried said:

Let me know your thoughts please, I’m curious. Best regards from Spain 

Interesting! For what I can understand looking at web files, the photos look very similar. Considering price, and the 43mm thread, I would love to buy tomorrow the Nokton 1.5 II 😆

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[bcapphoto]

10 hours ago, sergiomarried said:

Sorry for that delay  @Dennis Pushed a bit for more people to enter the game… Anyway, we’ll have more chance of comparing real life photos if you want. 

Top picture - 50 Lux Asph

The other below is made with Nokton 50mm f1,5 v2

All made with M10M.

Let me know your thoughts please, I’m curious. Best regards from Spain 

So fun - thanks for sharing! Yeah, given that they're all web-sized (and different scenes) I'd say they're very comparable. How do you feel about the 2 of them side-by-side with full-res files?

[bcapphoto]

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M-246 Monochrom and Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Aspherical II 

[bcapphoto]

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M-246 Monochrom and Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Aspherical II 

[bcapphoto]

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M-246 Monochrom and Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Aspherical II 

[sergiomarried]

Well, I'll give you my very personal subjective conclusion on these 2 lenses and I'll try to be concise:

• They're both fantastic tools, more than enough for 99% of photographers out there, especially in today's iPhone centric world....
• I absolutely love the size, handling, feel and synergies I find between this Nokton 50mm and my other 35mm f1.4 v2 (same hood, filter size...)
• I rather prefer that the Nokton has a higher number of aperture blades Vs. Summilux, which means rounder bokeh shapes when closing down.....
• .... But having said this, my main intention when I use the 50mm is for close/mid portraits, it's not my usual "go to" lens, it's actually my 35mm which is 95% of the time on my M10M. This is a little bit of an issue because I was a bit hold back with the performance of the Nokton 50mm @f1,5.... I already expected a bit "dreamy" but it's just not enough for my personal standards to use it wide open, which is my most expected use of this lens and exactly where the Summilux excels like no other. I actually don't like much the Lux when closing down partially due to those ninja stars a bit annoying often found in the bokeh area...
• When processing raw files in LR I can tell you that there's a significant difference in the way the files behave... it's very very interesting and curious to see how the raw files made with the Lux are "richer" in tonality, the pixels hold themselves more (I don't know how to properly explain this...?) and you can clearly appreciate how the Leica glass just captures light in a very special and particular way. There's a difference, not dramatic but it's there... 
• Another weird thing was that I appreciated a warmer/yellowish tonality on the files I got with the Nokton... subtle but it's there.
• And the last point I'd say that yeah, there's a strong vigneting on used wide open, which is not the end of the world but when you've been using on of the best lenses out there it's just hard to accept something less in terms of overall quality... 

So, I've decided to return the Nokton. It was not an easy decision (I waited for 3 months to get it!) but for the use I give to this focal length it was hard to move out of the Summilux... There are other small points but this is already long (and boring?) enough, haha.

Happy to answer any other questions,

Saludos!

Sergio

Edited June 25, 2021 by sergiomarried

[Dennis]

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3 hours ago, sergiomarried said:

I find between this Nokton 50mm and my other 35mm f1.4 v2 (same hood, filter size...)

When I got the 35 Nokton I didn't buy the lens hood, cause I had already the original Zeiss hood of my 2.8/35 ZM ... Great. And I knew that the Nokton 50 1.5 II has the same thread.

But until I read your words, I didn't see (stupidly) this: if I'll buy the 50 Nokton, I would be able to use the same lens hood for three different lenses. Which is so great.   

Thanks for your feedback

[bcapphoto]

7 hours ago, sergiomarried said:

I absolutely love the size, handling, feel and synergies I find between this Nokton 50mm

Absolutely! The size of the Nokton is something else, without a question!

 

7 hours ago, sergiomarried said:

This is a little bit of an issue because I was a bit hold back with the performance of the Nokton 50mm @f1,5.... I already expected a bit "dreamy" but it's just not enough for my personal standards to use it wide open

Curious to hear - objectively - what you didn't love about the Nokton wide-open? Was it not sharp enough? Or what are you turned off by? Reason I ask is because every time I've shot it wide open so far, I've been absolutely blown away by it! I don't have a Lux to compare it to, though, it could just be the case of "you don't know what you don't know" haha. 

 

7 hours ago, sergiomarried said:

it's very very interesting and curious to see how the raw files made with the Lux are "richer" in tonality, the pixels hold themselves more (I don't know how to properly explain this...?) and you can clearly appreciate how the Leica glass just captures light in a very special and particular way.

Super interesting point. I'd love to see an example - would you share some RAW files? I've never seen or used a Lux (or the RAW files) to understand this. I don't know how the lens would affect the malleability of the files because that's all on the sensor-side, but maybe there's something here I'm not seeing/understanding!

 

7 hours ago, sergiomarried said:

there's a strong vigneting on used wide open

Definitely! I use the profile adjustments in LR and it knocks it away, but it's there in the RAW file, no doubt! 

[Prosophos]

Finally got it.

This lens is fantastic.

In my case, it's going to be my 50 lens of choice (and I've tried them all).

And the size is a match made in heaven for an M body.

—Peter.

Leica M3, Voigtländer 50mm Nokton f/1.5 II, Kodak Tri-X 400, and Plustek 8200i.

 

[astrostl]

On 6/25/2021 at 6:49 PM, bcapphoto said:

Curious to hear - objectively - what you didn't love about the Nokton wide-open?

For me, I find it too easy to end up with distractingly-swirly bokeh. Vignetting is annoying uncoded too, but easy enough to correct.

[Punkrockemo]

On 6/25/2021 at 6:18 AM, sergiomarried said:

Sorry for that delay  @Dennis Pushed a bit for more people to enter the game… Anyway, we’ll have more chance of comparing real life photos if you want. 

Top picture - 50 Lux Asph

The other below is made with Nokton 50mm f1,5 v2

All made with M10M.

Let me know your thoughts please, I’m curious. Best regards from Spain 

I was tempted to go for the top ones being the Leica mostly due the smoother rendition of the background which seems smoother and consistent with shots i have seen from others. The allotment/gardening shots the subject has clearer seperation from background in the Leica shots also but i was not sure how much the compostion was contributing towards this, also the shots others had posted with the Nokton seemed to show smooth back ground rendition so i kept quiet😃 

[bcapphoto]

19 hours ago, Prosophos said:

Finally got it.

This lens is fantastic.

In my case, it's going to be my 50 lens of choice (and I've tried them all).

And the size is a match made in heaven for an M body.

—Peter.

 

Leica M3, Voigtländer 50mm Nokton f/1.5 II, Kodak Tri-X 400, and Plustek 8200i.

 

Damn this is really beautiful! Nicely done! How did YOU like the Nokton in comparison to the Summilux or Summicron? 

[Prosophos]

4 hours ago, bcapphoto said:

Damn this is really beautiful! Nicely done! How did YOU like the Nokton in comparison to the Summilux or Summicron? 

Thank you kindly my friend.

Honestly, anything objective on this matter was comprehensively discussed by our fellow forum member Mr. "Harpomanic":

As for my subjective observations:

IMHO the 50 'lux ASPH is still the best lens for a portrait shot at near distance at f/1.4 where the subject appears in the centre.  It's also the best lens if shooting at infinity at f/1.4.

For anything else, the Voigt 50/1.5 II would be my choice.  That includes portraits where the subject is placed off centre.

And the size/speed of the Voigt makes it more likely that I will carry my camera with me wherever I go.

—Peter.

Edited June 28, 2021 by Prosophos
grammar (though I may have still messed up)

[bcapphoto]

13 hours ago, Prosophos said:

Thank you kindly my friend.

Honestly, anything objective on this matter was comprehensively discussed by our fellow forum member Mr. "Harpomanic":

 

Yeah - I've read that! Super great - and thorough - comparison!

 

13 hours ago, Prosophos said:

As for my subjective observations:

IMHO the 50 'lux ASPH is still the best lens for a portrait shot at near distance at f/1.4 where the subject appears in the centre.  It's also the best lens if shooting at infinity at f/1.4.

For anything else, the Voigt 50/1.5 II would be my choice.  That includes portraits where the subject is placed off centre.

And the size/speed of the Voigt makes it more likely that I will carry my camera with me wherever I go.

—Peter.

What do you prefer about the Summilux @ f/1.4 for close-up portraits? Is it just sharper? Cleaner bokeh? 

And also - shooting infinity @ f/1.4 - is that a thing?! 🤣 haha

[bcapphoto]

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Leica M6 and Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Aspherical II on Kodak Ektar Edited June 29, 2021 by bcapphoto

[bcapphoto]

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Leica M6 and Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Aspherical II on Kodak Ektar

[WvE]

The Voigt 1.5 II is truly a little gem, it led me to shelf my heavy 50mm Lux BC.

[Beena22]

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Here are a few unremarkable snaps with it on my M9.  It’s the perfect lens for me - compact and renders beautifully. 

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[Dennis]

hey fellows, which lens hood do you use the Nokton 1.5 II with? Anyone using or preferring square (or rectangular, not sure how to call it 🤔) lens hoods? Not sure if the differences are just aesthetics or functional. I always used whatever I had, w/o questioning. But maybe it's time now to know more about it 😁 Thank you.

Edited June 29, 2021 by Dennis

[Beena22]

2 hours ago, Dennis said:

hey fellows, which lens hood do you use the Nokton 1.5 II with? Anyone using or preferring square (or rectangular, not sure how to call it 🤔) lens hoods? Not sure if the differences are just aesthetics or functional. I always used whatever I had, w/o questioning. But maybe it's time now to know more about it 😁 Thank you.

I never bother with lens hoods. I like to run as compact as possible.