FAST 50mm FOR M9

[Chris C]

never thought of that! do u have an image sample?

I don't have the CV 35/f1.2, I'm not too interested in fast lenses, but I've followed other people's interest in the version 2 lens; [usual sources], LUF. RangeFinderForum, maybe here, maybe Steve Huff. There's a lot of feedback on the lens if you search. I thought that it might be an alternative to the fast '50mm' route, a cropped M9 file to the equivalent of a 40 to 50mm field of view will still deliver a quality file, and could be a better option than some other suggestions. Maybe worth consideration.

Another, far cheaper alternative is to stick with your Summarit, and buy yourself a Manfrotto 685B monopod. It's super fast to use [check it out - Michael Reichman video-reviewed it on Luminous Landscape]. But don't use it to balance the camera on, rack it out so you can jam it in your armpit; heavily lean into it, making it and you a more stable 'tripod' platform for more stable hand-held shooting. That's how I often work in windy weather on rocky ground. [Hand-holding whilst leaning on a fast-erecting tripod also works well when there isn't time to set a camera properly on the tripod ------- try it, you'll be surprised at how stable your Summarit will become......]. Oh yes, make sure the tripod comes up to your [wait for it] ....................... armpit.

Good luck.

.............. Chris

 

[250swb]

A side note:

I've heard this mention of filing the lug on the 40mm lens mount a couple of times. Anybody have a picture of exactly what needs to be done and where?

The Nokton 40/1.4 and M-Rokkor 40/2 are two of my favorite lenses and the 35mm frame lines do fit better than the 50mm.

Here you are Godfrey

http://photo.net/leica-rangefinders-forum/00CcwG

I did it on my 40mm Nokton and I think the key is that when you know where to take the material off just file it in small goes until the frameline changes, then just one more sweep of the file for luck. I don't think the flange of the Nokton is the same in shape as a 40mm Summicron as in this example, and I filed it square across because the Nokton is already square and without a ramp. If I eyeball mine now it can only be 0.5mm to 0.75mm (at the maximum) of material removed that makes the difference between framelines.

I did think hard about this before doing it and figured two things, plenty of people seem to succeed with less mechanical experience than me, and as it is a brass mount under the chrome it is easy to build the spot up again with solder and try again. But that shouldn't be the goal of course

Steve

 

[Godfrey]

Here you are Godfrey

http://photo.net/leica-rangefinders-forum/00CcwG

I did it on my 40mm Nokton and I think the key is that when you know where to take the material off just file it in small goes until the frameline changes, then just one more sweep of the file for luck. I don't think the flange of the Nokton is the same in shape as a 40mm Summicron as in this example, and I filed it square across because the Nokton is already square and without a ramp. If I eyeball mine now it can only be 0.5mm to 0.75mm (at the maximum) of material removed that makes the difference between framelines.

Thanks Steve! That's a handy reference.

Just occurred to me that I can also check the flange depth on my 35 and 50 mm lenses to see how the 40 differs, now that I know which flange I'm looking at. Time to get out the dial calipers again. It at least provides a sanity check.

 

[Moonshine]

Somewhat off-topic but my morning rant ...

I'm somewhat allergic to Reid Reviews due to the miserable flash implementation, horrid white on black text, inability to adjust the font or font size for easy reading, inability to save an off-line copy of the articles so I can read at my leisure without having a high bandwidth network connection and a BIG monitor and keyboard in front of me, no way to search an article's text since it is presented in flash, poor choice of font, etc etc.

Sean writes well and $33 a year for a 12-article subscription is a little pricey if in line with other boutique magazines of similar information quality. But he'd do well to hire a book/magazine designer and re-think using flash as a delivery mechanism. I mean, jeez, a secure PDF file would be a MUCH better reading experience than a flash website, and would be accessible on any device that had a PDF reader app. Add some line spacing, a more readable font for a computer screen than "Ariel": it would be far nicer than his current mess.

Ok, rant over. ;-)

i agree but i may still subscribe..

 

[seakayaker]

Super examples Dan, and the Sonnar one sort of blows out of the water what I was going to say about that lens.

But for the record, as I understand it the Sonnar is designed to render a slightly diffused image wide open, to give the classic glow of earlier lenses. This settles down at around f/4 to render images in a modern way. Some people like it, some don't. I like it from images I have seen, but your photo looks every bit as 'modern' as any other lens. Much post processing going on?

If I threw a wild card into the mix, then the 40mm Nokton f/1.4 is a very nice lens (and very small) and the image fits the M9's 35mm framelines very closely, although you would need to file the lug on the lens flange to bring up those framelines (a camera tech could do it while you wait).

Steve

Thanks for you kind words Steve.

I have owned the Zeiss since October and have not really exercised the lens enough to comment outside of the fact that I am happy with it and have not been disappointed with the results.

I did perform some post processing in NIK Silver EFEX 2 to change the contrast to lighten up the image in the upper left and lower right hand conners.

I also have the Voigtlander 40/1.4 and enjoy that lens as well. A nice selection if funding is an issue as well. Can be purchased new for $529.00 and often found used. I believe there was one sold here or on RFF for around $375.00 recently. So it can be an attractive alternative for a low light fast lens.

 

[seakayaker]

Thanks Dan!

This is probably getting off topic, but just how big a difference does the coding make for someone interested primarily in raw capture?

Sorry for the thread hijacking.

Godfrey, I capture all my photographs in RAW format. The primary reason for the coding lens is to capture the information in the EFIX data. My understanding is there is some software correction for wide lens vignetting and color correction as well. Someone else may want to comment on that.

 

[RichA]

See http://lavidaleica.com/content/lens-shoot-out-50mm

The 1.1 Voiglander has the same rough-looking bokeh of my 58mm f1.4. Look much better stopped down to f2 or 2.8. They should start looking at Samyang's offerings, the 85mm f1.4 wide open is really nice.

 

[gplatt]

Somewhat off-topic but my morning rant ...

I'm somewhat allergic to Reid Reviews due to the miserable flash implementation, horrid white on black text, inability to adjust the font or font size for easy reading, inability to save an off-line copy of the articles so I can read at my leisure without having a high bandwidth network connection and a BIG monitor and keyboard in front of me, no way to search an article's text since it is presented in flash, poor choice of font, etc etc.

Sean writes well and $33 a year for a 12-article subscription is a little pricey if in line with other boutique magazines of similar information quality. But he'd do well to hire a book/magazine designer and re-think using flash as a delivery mechanism. I mean, jeez, a secure PDF file would be a MUCH better reading experience than a flash website, and would be accessible on any device that had a PDF reader app. Add some line spacing, a more readable font for a computer screen than "Ariel": it would be far nicer than his current mess.

Ok, rant over. ;-)

Well said. I would get such a head ache trying to read his reviews in the flash reader that I gave up. I tried his recommendations for display settings but the bottom line is that the flash viewer he uses is terrible.

 

[Godfrey]

The 1.1 Voiglander has the same rough-looking bokeh of my 58mm f1.4. Look much better stopped down to f2 or 2.8. They should start looking at Samyang's offerings, the 85mm f1.4 wide open is really nice.

Except that it's not a 50mm lens.

 

[Godfrey]

Godfrey, I capture all my photographs in RAW format. The primary reason for the coding lens is to capture the information in the EXIF data. My understanding is there is some software correction for wide lens vignetting and color correction as well. Someone else may want to comment on that.

Thanks! Sounds like it's not all that important if you can keep track of what lenses you're using on a day's session. Since I tend to carry just one or two at any given time, that's pretty easy. (I do it for the M4-2...

 

[Moonshine]

i'll look for a nokton...
thanks for all the advice!

 

[Moonshine]

Any one know the close focus distance of the nokton 1.5? Does the LTM to M adapter reduce that? Thanks!

 

[Godfrey]

Any one know the close focus distance of the nokton 1.5? Does the LTM to M adapter reduce that? Thanks!

Most RF lenses close-focus limit is at about .7m due to mechanical constraints of the rangefinder mechanism. I don't think the Nokton is any different: according to one report I read it is .9m.

 

[Double Negative]

FWIW,

Review of the C Sonnar T* 1,5/50 ZM
Review of the 50mm f/1.1 Nokton
Lens Shoot-out (50mm) (which compares them together)

Recently picked up a 50 Lux ASPH - will add that to the mix soon also.

 

[wjlapier]

Another lens usually over looked because it needs an adapter is the Millennium Nikkor S 50/1.4. It's been tested against the 50 lux asph and did quite well. Used they sometimes are sold for $800 or so. Amedeo's S>M adapter runs about $250. I have an older Nikkor S 50/1.4 and Amedeo's adapter. At 1.4 lens is sharp but lack contrast. By f/2 sharp as any 50 cron out there. The older Nikkors run about $300 for a nice clean one--look for black. Another suggestion is the LTM Nikkor 50/1.4. Very good lens, but prices are rising.

 

[ramosa]

The place for you to go is Reid Reviews. You have to pay a subscription fee, but when contemplating new lenses for the Leica, this site is a must! Not easy to navigate, but in there you´ll find comparisons between these two lenses and innumerable others. The comparisons are very informative, not just test charts and lpm numbers, but lots of info about bokeh, drawing, flare tendencies, and just plain image quality of the kind that really matters...

I had a subscription for a couple years. I recently decided not to re-up. As you intimate, Reid Reviews has very good content, but a terrible interface! The interface is horrible for use on a computer and unusable on an iPad. I understand Sean's logic with the site design (of disallowing people from saving or copying content), but it makes for an atrocious user experience (at least for me). There's just too much free information online (some of it decent) that I just couldn't justify continuing to pay for a non-user friendly experience on Reid reviews. (I actually emailed him a couple times about this, but to no avail.)

 

[Double Negative]

I had a subscription for a couple years. I recently decided not to re-up. As you intimate, Reid Reviews has very good content, but a terrible interface! The interface is horrible for use on a computer and unusable on an iPad. I understand Sean's logic with the site design (of disallowing people from saving or copying content), but it makes for an atrocious user experience (at least for me). There's just too much free information online (some of it decent) that I just couldn't justify continuing to pay for a non-user friendly experience on Reid reviews. (I actually emailed him a couple times about this, but to no avail.)

Sadly, I'd have to agree. The content is nice, but the experience sucks. There are better ways to create a subscription site - and Flash is not the way. I won't be renewing my subscription either.

 

[Moonshine]

but his content would be really informative for a newbie like me...i'll look for information on line and then if all else fails i'll subscribe to it. the flash issue is a pain

but the nokton 1.5 seems the one for me for a fast 50

 

[D&A]

Recently I tested numerious samples of the 50mm f1.5 Nokton against the Leica 50mm Lux asph. Putting aside bokeh and often a bit of focus shift with some samples of the Nokton and also how the lens draws...these were my observations. The Nokton, resolution wise came within 90% of the the Leica. Like Tamron's 28-75 f2.8 SLR lens where even the best aligned samples have some softness at one side or the other side of the frame (at certain focal lengths) compared to it's Nikon counterpart, so does the Nokton compared to the Leica. Apparently a perfectly aligned Nokton lens comes close to edge to edge sharpness wide open compared to the Leica....but either one edge (side) or the other is a bit soft (blurred or smeared). This is of course observed at 100%. Aside from that, resolution wise it's very close and of course at its price point a superb buy. There may be samples that have perfect edge to edge sharpness wide open, but none that I ever tried did.

Dave (D&A)

 

[Moonshine]

i can't afford the lux but from what ever i've seen of the nokton i think i will buy it soon