should I trade Voigtlander 35/1.5 for Voigtlander 35/1.4?

[brickftl]

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the trade being offered by MPB is that I give them my Voigtlander 35/1.5 VM ASPH I Nokton plus $149 in exchange for getting from them Voigtlander Nokton Classic MC 35mm f/1.4 II VM which is in mint condition.

I bought the 35/1.5 used for $550. I'm considering selling it because of raves I've read about the 35/1.4 (including from Fred Miranda who says it's one of his favorites) that it compares nicely for much less money to the 35/1.4 summilux pre-asph.

Thoughts?

Edited March 25, 2024 by brickftl

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[jaapv]

149 $ ? I'm sure that tis cannot be a deal-breaker. Just try it. At these prices you can always switch back.

[brickftl]

6 minutes ago, jaapv said:

149 $ ? I'm sure that tis cannot be a deal-breaker. Just try it. At these prices you can always switch back.

yeah that's the great thing about buying used Voigt lenses. Buying/selling lux lenses? not so much.

[Al Brown]

The 1.5 is a COMPLETELY different lens to 1.4 wide open.
Rent and test first. Never trust reviews.

I got the Voigt 35/1.4 (v1) because it has all the characteristics of the Steel RIm (it is mostly comparable to the re-issue) but is without the glow and sharper wide open. The v2 is even more like the new Steel Rim. The anecdote goes Cosina boss was a huge fan of the Steel RIm.

Edited March 26, 2024 by Al Brown

[hansvons]

What Al says. And for the full Steel Rim experience, I’d buy the SC version. I had both and sold the MC because the Nokton f1.4 is all about flaring and glowing, no reason to mitigate that with modern coatings. Perhaps you want to keep both?

BTW, the Nokton f1.4 and the 35mm Summarit make a great pair on a budget as they offer very different characters.

[Al Brown]

This ugly magnolia tree was shot with Nokton 1.4 v1. Bokeh is busy on all versions.

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[lct]

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Not the same beasts. As far as the SC v2 is concerned, the Nokton 35/1.4 is a kind of modern Summilux v2 with less glow, less flare, more sharpness and more distortion, while the Nokton 35/1.5 asph is a sort of compact Summilux FLE with less acutance and smoother bokeh. 

[RexGig0]

Cameraquest, the USA distributor for Cosina/Voigtlander, is running a price promotion on the Nokton f/1.4 II now, which makes the offer from MPB seem MUCH less attractive, especially at this point in time.

Edited to add: As Al Brown advised, testing the Nokton f/1.4 II, first, is the only way to be sure, except that buying the Nokton f/1.4 II seems to be a good deal, at the moment. (I realize that we all have differing capabilities to act immediately to buy a lens.)

Edited March 26, 2024 by RexGig0

[RexGig0]

3 hours ago, lct said:

Not the same beasts. As far as the SC v2 is concerned, the Nokton 35/1.4 is a kind of modern Summilux v2 with less glow, less flare, more sharpness and more distortion, while the Nokton 35/1.5 asph is a sort of compact Summilux FLE with less acutance and smoother bokeh. 

This is what I have seen, in test images posted at Fred Miranda’s site. If I had to start from a point of owning no M-mount 35mm lenses, I could see myself wanting to acquire both the f/1.4 II and the f/1.5 Noktons, plus an APO Lanthar. (I have test-shot with a friend’s f/1.4 II MC, but have yet to see an f/1.5, in the wild.) The distortion in Nokton f/1.4 II images is there, but did not bother me, for images of people photographed in a coffee house, though I probably would select another 35mm lens for the task of specifically shooting architecture.

Edited March 26, 2024 by RexGig0

[brickftl]

I'm all over the place on this decision, now I'm thinking I should bite the bullet and get the lux 35/1.4 pre asph. I can get a mint condition German one for $4k. 

Does anyone have thoughts if that's a reasonable price or is it too high?

[RexGig0]

4 minutes ago, brickftl said:

I'm all over the place on this decision, now I'm thinking I should bite the bullet and get the lux 35/1.4 pre asph. I can get a mint condition German one for $4k. 

Does anyone have thoughts if that's a reasonable price or is it too high?

I have seen, handled, and test-shot a really a really clean, clear, well-preserved Canadian Summilux v. 2 lenses, with the hood that holds the proper filter, with the filter included, selling for $3K US, listed by a highly-reputable official Leica dealer, last June. I would have considered paying $4K for a similar-condition German-made version.

What I actually did, however, was pay just a bit less than $4K for a new Re-Edition Steel Rim Summilux, when Leica USA showed to have a few of them in stock, last July. I got a good one, with no problems. No regrets. If I could afford to be a “collector,” however, yes, a German-made v. 2 would be nice to have.

[jdlaing]

Didn’t we have a discussion a while back regarding “I’m happy and don’t need any more lenses” or words to that effect? 😃😃😃

[brickftl]

yes, and I suffer from Leica insanity. It's very similar to Alzheimers

[lct]

24 minutes ago, brickftl said:

I'm all over the place on this decision, now I'm thinking I should bite the bullet and get the lux 35/1.4 pre asph. I can get a mint condition German one for $4k. 

Does anyone have thoughts if that's a reasonable price or is it too high?

If we were 15 year ago i would say yes at the price i got for a mint German copy then (980€) but i would not pay much more for a lens i'd acquire only for its glow. I use my Summilux less and less now that i have a Nokton 35/1.4 SC v2 though. YMMV.

[RexGig0]

One more thought: You will not find a 35mm M-mount lens that provides a rendering/character to be a complete match with that of your Summilux-M 50mm ASPH. Nothing is a complete, perfect match for that particular ‘Lux.

The Summilux-M 50mm ASPH was the lens that lured me into trying, and then buying into the Leica M system. Almost six years later, nothing rivals my first love, among Leica M lenses. The closest would be the APO Summicron-M 75mm ASPH, which Peter Karbe intentionally designed to be like the Summilux-M 50mm ASPH, inspired by Walter Mandler having based the Summilux-M 75mm lens on one of his pre-ASPH Summilux-M 50mm designs.

Edited March 26, 2024 by RexGig0

[Smudgerer]

I own both the Voigtlander Nokton Classic SC 35mm f/1.4 II VM and the Leica 35mm Summilux SR Re-issue and both the lenses are "keepers" for my usage, but I have to say that I prefer the physical design and handling of the Voigtlander over the Summilux, ( and yes the Voigtlander is in my favored Black finish whilst the 'Lux is in silver but that's another "thank you Leica" frustrating story now! )..............Image-wise , depending how hung up / anal you are on bokeh, there's not a lot between them except costs of course. The VM has some barrel distortion but unless your obsession is with brick walls and bookshelves there's nothing that cannot be simply addressed with a click in PP.

[FrozenInTime]

44 minutes ago, brickftl said:

I'm all over the place on this decision, now I'm thinking I should bite the bullet and get the lux 35/1.4 pre asph. I can get a mint condition German one for $4k. 

Does anyone have thoughts if that's a reasonable price or is it too high?

The Nokton costs relatively little; it is a fun character lens; buy one and see if you like the style before spending significantly more on that extra 5% more character an original will give you. I have both the 35/1.5 and 35/1.4-II but not yet found justification for the either the rerelease or original Summilux.

[brickftl]

I'm kind of put off by the busy boca of he 35/1.4. Thoughts on that?

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[lct]

7 minutes ago, brickftl said:

I'm kind of put off by the busy boca of he 35/1.4. Thoughts on that?

Same for me if you mean the Nokton 35/1.4 MC v2. The SC v2 has not the same though. Here on M11 @ f/1.4

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[Al Brown]

The steel rim re-edition has terrible bokeh as well.

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