Have You seen the new 35/1.4 Nokton?

All this talk about lens resolution, flare, bokeh, ... reminds me of a tale that I was once told by Bob Schwalberg. A famous photojournalist friend of his had asked
him about a new lens that had just been released. After Bob painstakingly
explained the lens design, the friend said, "Hmmm, so they made the lens
sharper." When Bob said that that was indeed the case, the friend said, "I
wonder if the manufacturer thinks that by doing that it would reveal more
thruth."
 
rlouzan said:
All this talk about lens resolution, flare, bokeh, ... reminds me of a tale that I was once told by Bob Schwalberg. A famous photojournalist friend of his had asked
him about a new lens that had just been released. After Bob painstakingly
explained the lens design, the friend said, "Hmmm, so they made the lens
sharper." When Bob said that that was indeed the case, the friend said, "I
wonder if the manufacturer thinks that by doing that it would reveal more
thruth."
Thoughtful point. I'd think a sharper lens with better control of abberations, flare, etc, may reveal more fact. Truth is another matter.
 
Krosya said:
Ultron is not 1.2, but 1.7 and its not that large really. Maybe you are thinking of Nokton 35/1.2?
Ultron's signature is more close to Nokton 35/1.2, while Nokton 35/1.4 looks to be more like a Nokton 40/1.4, which is a lot less $$ as well.
Depends on what you like, really.

I have the 1.7 and the 1.2 and I don't think it's signatures are really similar. Both are nice lenses, but the 1.2 is just pure butter and definitely has a "look" that the ultron can't match. The ultron is nice, but not as distinctive. It's harder, edgier, while the 1.2 is smooth and refined. I bought the 1.2 because I wasn't really satisfied with the 1.7.
 
Doug said:
I'd think a sharper lens with better control of abberations, flare, etc, may reveal more fact. Truth is another matter.

I'd think the more a photographer talks about esoteric disciplines like "bokeh" and better control of whatever he reveals the fact that he is a technology buff. And regarding amateurish lens tests: truth is another matter.
 
Got the camera( R2A) and lens (35/1.4 M.C.) last Thursday. Shot one roll (mainly at f16 and 1/60 of a second in afternoon light), printed a contact sheet and 12 - 8x!0's. The lens is extremely sharp and very well made. I'm still in the process of becoming familiar with the camera and getting comfortable with the finger focus knob but wanted to thank everyone for their input.
 
Another from the CV35/1.4 on M8. Nothing too challenging - F4, focus on the middle of the row of houses. I like the handling (small, very positive focus action), flare resistance seems good, colour rendering is subtle, and somehow the 'drawing' is attractive. I find the attached photo just draws you into it (although this is a little hard to see at 900pix width).

Nice, but no lens is perfect.

Cheers,
Kirk
 

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Well, after about an hour of reading all of this, looking at samples on various sites, I am sticking with my plan of getting the Summilux 1.4 Asph.

Don't get me wrong, for the money, the CV looks great, but I am only going to live once and need the sharpest most colorful 35 1.4 I can get for my project.

Thanks for posting all of this, it really did help me to decide.
 
Can't use the 1.4 Nokton on a R2 with tripod

Can't use the 1.4 Nokton on a R2 with tripod

Aparat form the optical benefits of the new lens I found out that it's impossible to use it on a tripod with my Bessa R2. The focusing grip is blocked by the tripod because it rotates below the base of the camera (sorry about my poor description). Does it also happen with the newer R2M/R2A cameras? Leica's are not affected because their tripod socket is not in the center of the camera.
 
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One solution, Travelbug, would be a spacer plate between the tripod top and camera bottom.
 
One solution...

One solution...

To the focusing tab / tripod problem... A couple of weeks ago I posted this question. Seems nobody makes anything to help get around this, so, being a bit familiar with machinery, I made a spacer to go between my R3A body and the tripod. This spacer raises the body just under 1/2 inch and moves it forward so that the focusing tab on the Nokton lenses clears everything. It's made out of black Acetal (Delrin) plastic stock (2" w. x 1/2" thick) so it's very tough yet non- marring. The screw seat is steel. The attaching screw is brass and is coin slotted, but could be steel if desired. The plate is 2" wide and made for a Manfrotto quick detatch plate, but also works on a bare tripod.
Just a note: I do not manufacture these, this is a one-off. But if anyone would be interested in manufacturing this or offering it for sale, I think there might be a bit of a market...
See attached images..
 

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I saw it and joined the club. As I was saving up for the Color Skopar this thing came along. Glad I'm a slow saver upper.

For me bokeh is not the most important. Size, speed and price is though. This is just right for me. I have learned the hard way, that it is not the expensive equipment that makes a good photograph. It's the brain (or lack of it) behind the camera that does.

I don't want to nitpick at technical stuff. I'll just go out and shoot my fast, little lens. :)
 
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