Voigtlander 35mm 1.4 Nokton II SC - does hood reduce flare?

[ejg1890]

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I have the Voigtlander 35mm Nokton II 1.4 SC. I did buy this lens for its “older” or classic look. One of the consequences of course is flare. However, there is still flare from other light sources. As seen in the photo below there is still some light flare near the left side of the face and hair. Voigtlander has a vented hood for the lens but is purchased separately. From experiences do you feel a hood, especially a vented hood actually assist with reducing some level of flare?

Thanks for any feedback.  

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[spydrxx]

I have the same lens, but haven't yet used it extensively. The hood flare protection is when light is to a side of the lens; it has no effect when the light is head-on.

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[Ouroboros]

45 minutes ago, ejg1890 said:

I have the Voigtlander 35mm Nokton II 1.4 SC. I did buy this lens for its “older” or classic look. One of the consequences of course is flare. However, there is still flare from other light sources. As seen in the photo below there is still some light flare near the left side of the face and hair. Voigtlander has a vented hood for the lens but is purchased separately. From experiences do you feel a hood, especially a vented hood actually assist with reducing some level of flare?

Thanks for any feedback.  

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Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

You have a light source just out of frame, behind the woman's head at the top and slightly off-centre to the right of the frame as you can see by the  backlit highlight on her hair parting.  This is the  reason for the flare and could be exacerbated by a filter if you had one attached to the lens.  A lens hood might have been useful, it might not and there's only one way to find out.

Personally, I would not use this single coated lens without a lens hood,  especially not in mixed lighting with a lot of point light sources around as in this image.

Edited March 16, 2022 by Ouroboros

[Al Brown]

This lens version is all about flare, hence the S.C (single coated) designation. The coating does not have much to do with any "older" or "vintage" look (unlike the lens formula) apart from adding flare and reducing contrast. You should perhaps take a second look at the regular Nokton 35 II copy (not single coated) if you do not like the intense flaring effects the single coating of this version produces.
I have used the 35 S.C II extensively on assignment in Bosnia documentig the decaying Olympic relics a few weeks ago on my M10-R and have found the flare very much under control, i.e. it stayed where I put it. No hood used, just a Zeiss T* filter.
Here is a pic of the lens on the M2, I have purchased it for this camera specifically.

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Edited March 16, 2022 by Al Brown

[ejg1890]

Thanks all. 

Yes there were multiple sources of light; there’s the lamp post to the left within the picture but also another with the lamp post over her right shoulder almost but not quit over head.  I have just acquired the Leica M10R and is my first range finder so truth is I focused far more on focusing. While I have used manual focus lenses for years on my Nikon z6, the manual focus on the M camera is very different.  I noticed the flare later in the evening after taking several shots. I don’t recall noticing the flare through the rangefinder but that’s one of the things is the rangefinder does not see exactly what the lens sees.  

[anickpick]

This lens is all about flare. I like the picture as it is. Lovely.

[Olaf_ZG]

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I bought the hood for protection, hate lenscaps. The lens flares, so adjust incoming light accordingly if needed.

I use the lens on a mm and sl, but it shines on the first one. 

[Tessar.]

I used a 35mm Nokton Classic SC II extensively over the summer in 2021 (with my M240) and didn't notice flare too much, I think it can be mostly mitigated by adjusting the angle slightly.   

My current 35mm is the MK1 Summicron ASPH and it's much worse in this regard when the sun is just outside the frame, directly above the subject.  I found it was impossible to eliminate it unless I severly under exposed the frame.  Both had lenshoods and no filters as I prefer not to use them.

Edited March 17, 2022 by Tessar.

[lct]

I would not say that the CV 35/1.4 SC v2 is all about flare. The first SC version does flare a lot but the second version significantly less so. Was the OP using a filter? 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Diverse/n-QFBj4/Leica-digital-CL-Nokton-3514-v2-f14/i-5cpszKw/0/a2a4b4bb/X4/C1090554_si-X4.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/Diverse/n-QFBj4/Leica-digital-CL-Nokton-3514-v2-f14/i-dw68Xvx/0/d3da5d7c/X4/C1090863_si-X4.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/Diverse/n-QFBj4/Leica-digital-CL-Nokton-3514-v2-f14/i-fFFd8m9/0/d7c4968b/X4/C1090895_si-X4.jpg

[ejg1890]

20 hours ago, lct said:

I would not say that the CV 35/1.4 SC v2 is all about flare. The first SC version does flare a lot but the second version significantly less so. Was the OP using a filter? 

No I did not have a filter on the lens. 

Actually I do agree the lens is about flare. I have used the lens on a Nikon Z6 with an adaptor. However, this night I used the lens on my “new” M10-R which I received the night before. On the Nikon Z6 I look through the lens and see any flare. I didn’t and don’t see flare through the view finder. Moving forward I’m looking at how to “manage” flare when I don’t see it. I guess one option is to use liveview rather than the viewfinder for the lens. I just don’t like the location. If I could “see” the flare I can locate it appropriately.  

Thanks all.

Edited March 17, 2022 by ejg1890

[giannis]

The simple rule is, if the flare comes from a lightsource inside the frame (i.e. visible in the final photo), the hood will not play a role. If the flare comes from oblique light sources outside the frame, the hood will help.

[250swb]

I have the 35mm SC lens and I always use the hood with it. It's a lovely lens, but you may need to choose your battles. Personally I don't mind the sort of flare it produces, it looks like the way things look when you squint into bright light, and I like to record the impression I see with my eyes and not an overly corrected view. I do tend to think it's better for B&W where flare doesn't also distort colour.

[lct]

16 minutes ago, 250swb said:

I have the 35mm SC lens

V1 or V2? Just curious.

[250swb]

9 hours ago, lct said:

V1 or V2? Just curious.

I have the VII now, but only for six months or so. I had a spell working in colour and didn't like the extreme purple fringing of the V1 that I found difficult to remove in Photoshop. I realise now it was probably a foolish purchase, I like the rendering of the VI a bit better and was working around the focus shift anyway, and then I stopped working in colour and digital as well so I may as well have hung on to the VI. But I have a colour project planned for the Summer so it will get another airing.