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Poor Man's Voigtlander 50mm Nokton f/1 VM


Luke_Miller

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I nominate the little appreciated Voigtlander 50mm Nokton f/1.1 VM.  I bought this lens in 2014 after reading Sean Reid's review and comparison to the f1 and f0.95 Noctilux.  Always wanted a Noctilux, but they were never within my reach, and I thought the Nokton would give me a bit of the Noctilux flavor.  In addition to its size and weight the f/1.1 lens had a few quirks.  Its pronounced focus shift moved the in-focus area behind where the rangefinder focused the lens enough that the focus point was no longer in-focus if aperture was f2 to f4.  More importantly the out of focus areas could be a bit nervous in some situations.  I loved the build quality, but after shooting with it on my M240 and M246 I decided I preferred smaller and lighter lenses.  Despite the very observable focus shift when testing I did not have focus issues even in the problematic apertures.  

My lens received new life with my recent Leica SL acquisitions.  On an SL the lens does not seem too large or heavy and looks and feels like it belongs there. It is acceptably sharp at f/1.1 and gets very sharp as it is stopped down. Focus shift is no longer a problem.  The nervous backgrounds can show up occasionally and provide some "character".  It has become my preferred 50mm on my SL bodies in my event shoots.   No doubt the new F/1 version is better, but I think I'll keep this one.

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I agree with you there. The VC Nokton f/1.1 is a really underrated lens that has always been compared to the Noctilux, which in my estimation is not quite right. The lens is very bitchy, the results hardly predictable, but very strong in character. Well, at least sometimes.
Unfortunately, I traded in my lens when I bought a Noctilux. I thought at the time that the Noctilux would replace my Nokton. That was a misjudgement on my part, as it can actually be used as a complement to the Noctilux.
In the meantime I have the Nokton f/1.0, which exudes a little less of the character of the f/1.1, but is much sharper, in my opinion.
So if you have the Nokton f/1.1, hold on to it and never trade it in or sell it for what has become quite small money. And here comes one of my first shots with the Nokton f/1.1 @f1.1. A street scene in Hamburg. I know it makes no sense to shoot it wide open but it was so tempting at the time.

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1 minute ago, M Street Photographer said:

Could you please insert 1.1 in the title so that there are no confusion and unwanted overlaps. thanks

Looks like the edit opportunity has passed.  My thread title was intended to communicate "Here is a low cost substitute for the Voigtlander 50mm Nokton f/1"

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I still have my copy although, admittedly, it doesn't see much use these days...

Here on the M240. These pictures were taken 10 years ago, almost to the day. Probably @ f/2.8. A hell of a sexy lens!😉

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vor 13 Stunden schrieb Ecar:

I still have my copy although, admittedly, it doesn't see much use these days...

Here on the M240. These pictures were taken 10 years ago, almost to the day. Probably @ f/2.8. A hell of a sexy lens!😉

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I think that are pretty bad examples to show the glory of lens. Many years ago I've learned the one and only rule of photography - which is "Subject, subject, subject". In this photos the subjects distract me from the technical merits of the sexy lens 😉

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57 minutes ago, 01maciel said:

I think that are pretty bad examples to show the glory of lens. Many years ago I've learned the one and only rule of photography - which is "Subject, subject, subject". In this photos the subjects distract me from the technical merits of the sexy lens 😉

If you don't mind, how are Ecar's samples "bad examples" compared to the Hamburg street scene you posted above?

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vor 20 Minuten schrieb hmzimelka:

If you don't mind, how are Ecar's samples "bad examples" compared to the Hamburg street scene you posted above?

It was meant as irony, as I am constantly distracted by the subject when I look at the photos. As such irony, I had also emoticoned it. If that didn't come out in the text, pardon me, it's because I'm not a native speaker/writer

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1 hour ago, 01maciel said:

It was meant as irony, as I am constantly distracted by the subject when I look at the photos. As such irony, I had also emoticoned it. If that didn't come out in the text, pardon me, it's because I'm not a native speaker/writer

Ok, my bad.

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This f/1.1 50mm Nokton did get some amount of attention, from truly talented and serious shooters, in its day. I was very nearly about to order a one, as a way to get more light into older M cameras, when the f/1.0 50mm Nokton ASPH was announced. I knew that the background blur would not always be pleasing, but, sometimes, that extra stop of light would be truly helpful, and a nicely-blurred background is not a factor in all images. I waited for the f/1.0 Nokton, which I ordered along with a 21mm f/1.4 Nokton.

As seen in Ecar’s lovely images, wonderful work can be done with the f/1.1 50mm Nokton.  

A retired public servant, I must consider cost. $9K US, plus 8.25% state tax, for an M10 Monochrom, or any recent new M camera, was/is a daunting prospect. My new M10, in 2018, had cost $6.5K. I am not sure what I paid later in 2018, or 2019, for my pre-owned M Type 246 Monochrom. Voigtlander’s Noktons are helpful, in keeping my “team” of M cameras relevant.

Edited by RexGig0
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Sorry, I did not mean to slight 01maciael’s lovely image, in my above post. 🙂 (Too late to edit.)

Regarding the title, well, I have no problem with the OP’s wording of the title. The f/1.1 Nokton is a logical, lower-cost alternative, for a shooter who cannot afford, or cannot fiscally justify, buying the current Nokton f/1.0 50mm VM. My income has decreased, by about $2K per month, since early last year, when I bought my 50mm f/1.0 Nokton VM ASPH. The interest rate being paid by my larger retirement account took a dive, too. I could not justify buying an f/1.0 Nokton, today, and will increasingly appreciate “poor man’s” lenses, for the foreseeable future.

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3 hours ago, 01maciel said:

It was meant as irony, as I am constantly distracted by the subject when I look at the photos. As such irony, I had also emoticoned it. If that didn't come out in the text, pardon me, it's because I'm not a native speaker/writer

No worries - my post was meant to be somewhat mischievous and the irony in your tongue-in-cheek comment was not missed.😉

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M240 ISO 200 @ 1/250  f1.1 with Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.1 

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Edited by Luke_Miller
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Leica SL @ ISO 100 1/125 f4.0 Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.1

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  • 7 months later...

I recently purchased a M-P 240 and only after realized that my 50mm lens wasn’t compatible(Rigid DR). I purchased the Nokton 1.1 as a “cheap” fix to get me through a trip I’m going on next week, while I find my desired 50mm lens. It looks like I made a good purchase either way by the looks of it. Thank you to those who posted photos of their work and posted their opinions on the lens. These posts really help people like me who are new to the Leica world. 

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