Good bye APSH glass

[Life By Stills]

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I recently sold up all my modern M gear in favour of a Q3, and keeping my hand in the M system with analogue and vintage / vintage looking glass. I have a choice at the moment between picking up what looks to be quite a nice copy of the Summilux 35mm f1.4 pre-ASPH v2 (bearing in mind the age), or maybe the Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 Nokton Classic SC (plus whatever other lenses I can get with the massive savings LOL).

Most of the things I've seen online seem to be about the MC version of the Nokton. Wondering if anyone might have any experiences with the two of these (the Summilux or the Nokton - both MC and SC) and give me some ideas. What would you go for if it were you and why?

Many thanks in advance.

Edited June 29, 2023 by Life By Stills

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[rustyrus]

The MC just has a better all around nature with heaps of character IMO

So if you want a more modern image stopped down, the MC will do a better job at that than the SC. That is where most of the difference lied when I played with them. I grabbed the 35 1.4 MC

 

Very fun little lens to use. For the price, its better than the steel rim IMO.  

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[fotografr]

https://mrleica.com/voigtlander-35mm-f1-4/

[Life By Stills]

37 minutes ago, rustyrus said:

For the price, its better than the steel rim IMO.

Thanks for the sample images, @rustyrus. I'm after a more vintage character look, so will probably look at the SC for that reason. Although I'm curious as to what about the Nokton makes it better than the steel rim. Would love to know so I can make my shopping decision fully armed with various ideas! Thanks mate!

[lct]

I own both Summilux 35/1.4 v2 and Nokton 35/1.4 SC v2. The latter is a modern version of the former so to speak. The Nokton is sharper with less flare and the Summilux has more glow. Both are character lenses and none is as sharp as modern asph lenses anyway. Smooth bokeh in both cases, less busy than the Nokton MC version. Couple of snaps with the Nokton SC v2 at f/1.4 on digital CL below. The last one is a crop to show the glow.

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Edited June 29, 2023 by lct

[rustyrus]

23 minutes ago, Life By Stills said:

Thanks for the sample images, @rustyrus. I'm after a more vintage character look, so will probably look at the SC for that reason. Although I'm curious as to what about the Nokton makes it better than the steel rim. Would love to know so I can make my shopping decision fully armed with various ideas! Thanks mate!

If Character is your only criteria, grab the Steel Rim re-issue. Its an amazing little lens. You have to really want character wide open though. There is no getting rid of it with the steel rim. The Nokton has the character its just a little less so and useable in more situations wide open. 

 

I will post some shots with the SR in a few to compare. 

[rustyrus]

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Steel Rim re-issue with either Cinestill 800T or Tirmax 3200

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[rustyrus]

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[Life By Stills]

@rustyrus Dang, that SR reissue looks really nice. I love that glow and that ethereal-look wide open. Would the vintage v2 of the Summilux be something similar? @lct's samples also has that kind of hazy ethereal feel to it too, although bokeh seems less smooth to my eye.

[pippy]

1 hour ago, Life By Stills said:

...a nice copy of the Summilux 35mm f1.4 pre-ASPH v2......or maybe the Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 Nokton Classic SC...

As far as the Voigtlander is concerned are you talking about the V1 or the V2? The earlier design had a few 'character-traits' which were more-or-less ironed out with the newer version. Whether or not these traits of the earlier version - quite marked barrel-distortion and a fair bit of focus-shift (but really only at certain distances and apertures) - would have any impact on your style of photography is something you would have to decide for yourself. Also as you mention that you will be enjoying your M-Adventures in Analogue-Land the focus-shift in particular will be far less apparent.

Although I don't own a 35 Nokton I do have their 40mm f1.4 in MC form as well as a 1974 v2 Summilux and I agree with lct's assessment ("The latter [Nokton] is a modern version of the former [Summilux] so to speak") regarding these offerings. IMX the Summilux has FAR more 'glow' than the Voigt. until I get down to f2.8 and below - almost a ridiculous amount when shooting 'digitally' at f1.4 - but bear in mind that my Nokton is the MC type.

Best of good fortune with how it all pans out for you. In truth they are all great lenses and you really can't go very wrong with any of them.

Philip.

 

Edited June 29, 2023 by pippy

[lct]

The Summilux v2 is not as soft as v1 (aka steel rim). V2 on M11 below. See details in exif data. The last one is a crop too.

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[lct]

Summilux 35/1.4 v2 at f/1.4 on Kolari mod Sony a7r2

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[Life By Stills]

18 minutes ago, Al Brown said:

Unfortunate that ASPH is misspelled in the title, it will not be found by search engines.

I have had the Voigtlander 35 II SC, 35 pre-asph v2 and the steel rim reissue.
The steel rim is by far my favorite of them all.

LOL too late as I can't edit the title. If anyone sees this and can edit the title, please help haha.

Thanks for the thoughts @Al Brown. I was eyeing up the steel rim reissue too, which would also be helpful as I don't have to worry about all the problems which can come with buying vintage lenses!

[Life By Stills]

3 hours ago, pippy said:

As far as the Voigtlander is concerned are you talking about the V1 or the V2? The earlier design had a few 'character-traits' which were more-or-less ironed out with the newer version. Whether or not these traits of the earlier version - quite marked barrel-distortion and a fair bit of focus-shift (but really only at certain distances and apertures) - would have any impact on your style of photography is something you would have to decide for yourself. Also as you mention that you will be enjoying your M-Adventures in Analogue-Land the focus-shift in particular will be far less apparent.

Although I don't own a 35 Nokton I do have their 40mm f1.4 in MC form as well as a 1974 v2 Summilux and I agree with lct's assessment ("The latter [Nokton] is a modern version of the former [Summilux] so to speak") regarding these offerings. IMX the Summilux has FAR more 'glow' than the Voigt. until I get down to f2.8 and below - almost a ridiculous amount when shooting 'digitally' at f1.4 - but bear in mind that my Nokton is the MC type.

Best of good fortune with how it all pans out for you. In truth they are all great lenses and you really can't go very wrong with any of them.

Philip.

 

I think it'll be the version 2 as will be buying new. I have seen good things said about the two, as well as negative things. But that's the way with most things - pros and cons. I do like the ethereal glow of the Summilux, but having said that, I also want to try and avoid the hassle of worrying about vintage lens things. Like will it last, optics quality, dust, fungus, haze etc etc. Luckily the Summilux I've got my eye on seems like a good copy. But for that price, I could pick up the 35mm Nokton SC, the 50mm Heliar Classic... and maybe more lol.

[lifeandmylens]

I’ve had the SR Reissue, 35 1.4 II SC, and the Pre Asph Lux v2.  Only one I kept was the pre asph lux v2.  It has the “Leica glow” in spades with a smooth focus ring and excellent haptics.  The CV 35 II SC has great build quality and almost the same image as the pre asph lux but without the glow.  I personally love the glow.  So that was a dealbreaker for me.  If you don’t care about the glow, get the CV and save thousands!

The SR Reissue felt like a great in between lens between these two options.  Higher contrast (like the CV) than the pre asph, while still having the glow, albeit a little less of it.  But in the end, I didn’t like the focusing ring, the cheap feeling infinity lock and haptics.  I also preferred the rendering of the pre asph more.  Great looking lens though, 6 bit coded and warranty.

If you choose a pre asph lux, plan on a CLA.  You can even have it 6 bit coded if you want (milled).

[Jeff S]

1 hour ago, Life By Stills said:

I was eyeing up the steel rim reissue too, which would also be helpful as I don't have to worry about all the problems which can come with buying vintage lenses!

 
Are you sure about that?

PS.. Hit the report button (top right of any post) to have mods change title.

 

Jeff

[pippy]

1 hour ago, Life By Stills said:

...I think it'll be the version 2 as will be buying new......I do like the ethereal glow of the Summilux......Luckily the Summilux I've got my eye on seems like a good copy...

 

1 hour ago, lifeandmylens said:

...I’ve had the SR Reissue, 35 1.4 II SC, and the Pre Asph Lux v2.  Only one I kept was the pre asph lux v2.  It has the “Leica glow” in spades......The CV 35 II SC has great build quality and almost the same image as the pre asph lux but without the glow......If you don’t care about the glow, get the CV and save thousands...

As good as the v2 Voigtlander is (and it is very good) if you really do hanker after the 'glow' available at wide apertures then I agree absolutely with the summing-up of lifeandmylens (quoted above) and - IMO - the v2 Summilux would be, by far, your best option.

Philip.

Edited June 29, 2023 by pippy

[lct]

Yes but the 0.7m MFD of the Nokton SC v2 makes a significant difference, also the fact that hand-coding is so easy on it, let alone that it has a regular filter thread and a sturdy bayonet hood with no compatibility issues with filters. If i were on a budget i would go for the Nokton SC v2 personally. I used to have a Nokton SC v1 too in the past but it had too much flare and focus shift for my taste. Subjective matter anyway. YMMV

 

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[Life By Stills]

@pippy Yeah... I am thinking about what I'm after, whether it's just a 1.4 or something more, and I have to say I think it is that glowy character I'm really after. Plus, I think that ethereal glow would look great on film.

Edited June 30, 2023 by Life By Stills

[Life By Stills]

51 minutes ago, lct said:

Yes but the 0.7m MFD of the Nokton SC v2 makes a significant difference, also the fact that hand-coding is so easy on it, let alone that it has a regular filter thread and a sturdy bayonet hood with no compatibility issues with filters. If i were on a budget i would go for the Nokton SC v2 personally. I used to have a Nokton SC v1 too in the past but it had too much flare and focus shift for my taste. Subjective matter anyway. YMMV

 

Yeah I heard about the focus shift issue in v1 which is why I will avoid a Nokton v1 as I'm only using analogue for the M system now. Personally I'm not fussed about the MFD not being 0.7m. I shoot a lot with the TTArtisan 28mm f5.8 which has a MFD of 1m and it's never bothered me, so I don't think the Summilux's MFD not being 0.7m would bother me either.