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Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

josh-himes
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p.26 #1 · p.26 #1 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

highdesertmesa wrote:
If the focus patch doesn't align at the hard stop, it would be an instant return for me, especially at this price point.

Yep, that's the way I'm leaning. Just trying to gather all the info I can. I'm actually more concerned that it focuses well past infinity at the hard stop, because it will be really tough to find exact infinity focus without an EVF, unless I stop down.

Jan 28, 2023 at 12:05 AM

laveen123
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p.26 #2 · p.26 #2 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

Jan 28, 2023 at 02:18 AM

highdesertmesa
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p.26 #3 · p.26 #3 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

josh-himes wrote:
Yep, that's the way I'm leaning. Just trying to gather all the info I can. I'm actually more concerned that it focuses well past infinity at the hard stop, because it will be really tough to find exact infinity focus without an EVF, unless I stop down.

My second copy of the CV 50 f/1 lens arrived this morning, and I've done a few quick tests, at least what I can given I'm adapting it to the SL2-S and not using it on the M11.

Lens is perfectly centered – check.

Infinity focus is at hard stop wide open at f/1 – seems to be. It just dawned on my that I'd messed around with adjusting the hard stop on my M adapter when I recently got my LLL 35 8E, so I simply re-adjusted the macro adapter's hard stop to match this copy of the CV 50 f/1 at infinity and f/1. Surprisingly, or maybe not surprisingly, my LLL 8E is now better focused at the hard stop wide open at f/2. I know this doesn't help you much, but I can at least report that its infinity hard stop matches my two other M lenses, which are two copies of the 8E. If I end up getting another M body someday and there's an issue with the lens being calibrated correctly with the rangefinder patch at infinity, I'll just sent it to DAG for adjustment rather than have to try another copy that might not be centered or sent it back to Voigtlander only to have it returned with nothing done to it.

Infinity focus in general: this copy is nothing like my last copy with regard to infinity focus. Focus does NOT get softer in the center when stopping down from f/1 to f/8, and the corners fall in line slightly behind the center for sharpness at every aperture, even f/1. Midfield sharpness is not weak at f/8. This copy is so much more flat field at infinity than my last copy, it makes me wonder: Did I get a copy with poor focus calibration the first time and this one is simply better assembled? – Or did they make a change on the production line recently?

The conclusion for me for now is, assume nothing with this lens unless you're like Fred and have tested several copies. But do know that you can get one that doesn't have wild field curvature at infinity like my first copy.

Perfect-sized for the SL2-S

Jan 28, 2023 at 03:15 PM

ftllens
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p.26 #4 · p.26 #4 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

nice youre back in the 501 family, i need to test the hard stop on inf as well

it's still my favorite lens to date, i uploaded some more mono samples on my flickr

Jan 28, 2023 at 03:36 PM

josh-himes
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p.26 #5 · p.26 #5 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

highdesertmesa wrote:
My second copy of the CV 50 f/1 lens arrived this morning, and I've done a few quick tests, at least what I can given I'm adapting it to the SL2-S and not using it on the M11.

Lens is perfectly centered – check.

Infinity focus is at hard stop wide open at f/1 – seems to be. It just dawned on my that I'd messed around with adjusting the hard stop on my M adapter when I recently got my LLL 35 8E, so I simply re-adjusted the macro adapter's hard stop to match this copy of the CV 50 f/1...Show more →

Cool. Thanks for the info. I think you got a good copy this time! Do you still see the mid-zone drop at wider apertures that clears up around F8? At what aperture would you say this copy hits acceptable sharpness edge to edge?

It's snowing here, so waiting on some decent conditions to resume my infinity tests.

Jan 28, 2023 at 03:45 PM

highdesertmesa
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p.26 #6 · p.26 #6 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

ftllens wrote:
nice youre back in the 501 family, i need to test the hard stop on inf as well

it's still my favorite lens to date, i uploaded some more mono samples on my flickr

Looks great. You should add your Flickr URL to your profile here so it shows up on the left side of your posts under your username. I found one of your old posts and got to your Flickr via one of the links below one of your posted images

Jan 28, 2023 at 03:53 PM

highdesertmesa
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p.26 #7 · p.26 #7 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

josh-himes wrote:
Cool. Thanks for the info. I think you got a good copy this time! Do you still see the mid-zone drop at wider apertures that clears up around F8? At what aperture would you say this copy hits acceptable sharpness edge to edge?

It's snowing here, so waiting on some decent conditions to resume my infinity tests.

I need to test for midzone at more apertures and will report back. So far it looks good at f/8, but maybe it clears up before that now.

Jan 28, 2023 at 03:55 PM

highdesertmesa
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p.26 #8 · p.26 #8 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

ftllens wrote:
nice youre back in the 501 family, i need to test the hard stop on inf as well

it's still my favorite lens to date, i uploaded some more mono samples on my flickr

I just looked at all your mono 501 shots full screen. Damn, this lens really shines on that sensor, plus your shots are incredible. You should use them to make a YouTube video talking about the lens.

Jan 28, 2023 at 04:12 PM

ftllens
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p.26 #9 · p.26 #9 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

oh just took your advice and added the link to profile, and thanks for the kind words!

i'm gonna use it on a cine cam too, so maybe i'll make a video about it then. the focus breathing on it is actually not horrible

Jan 28, 2023 at 04:27 PM

lifeandmylens
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p.26 #10 · p.26 #10 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

highdesertmesa wrote:
The conclusion for me for now is, assume nothing with this lens unless you're like Fred and have tested several copies. But do know that you can get one that doesn't have wild field curvature at infinity like my first copy.

Looks great on your SL2-S! Glad you got a good one.

I've been eyeing this lens and would use it mostly on my SL601, but also on my m11. That said, I've had some bad luck with CV lenses. Half or so were either not calibrated for the rangefinder, were decentered, didn't stop at infinity etc. What's the best way to get an optimal copy? Order 3 and keep the best?

Jan 28, 2023 at 05:12 PM

highdesertmesa
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p.26 #11 · p.26 #11 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

lifeandmylens wrote:
Looks great on your SL2-S! Glad you got a good one.

I've been eyeing this lens and would use it mostly on my SL601, but also on my m11. That said, I've had some bad luck with CV lenses. Half or so were either not calibrated for the rangefinder, were decentered, didn't stop at infinity etc. What's the best way to get an optimal copy? Order 3 and keep the best?

Pretty much, or just do the merry-go-round of exchanges. I've had better luck with Leica lenses, but I've gotten duds from them, too. Voigtlander quality control seems to get worse as the price of the lens gets lower. The 50 f/1 is probably just very difficult to get perfect, so I'd consider it an outlier.

Jan 28, 2023 at 05:26 PM

lifeandmylens
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p.26 #12 · p.26 #12 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

highdesertmesa wrote:
Pretty much, or just do the merry-go-round of exchanges. I've had better luck with Leica lenses, but I've gotten duds from them, too. Voigtlander quality control seems to get worse as the price of the lens gets lower. The 50 f/1 is probably just very difficult to get perfect, so I'd consider it an outlier.

Makes sense thanks.

Jan 28, 2023 at 08:00 PM

josh-himes
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p.26 #13 · p.26 #13 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

highdesertmesa wrote:
Looks great. You should add your Flickr URL to your profile here so it shows up on the left side of your posts under your username. I found one of your old posts and got to your Flickr via one of the links below one of your posted images

Focus at infinity and f/1 is such a razor-thin variable, the slightest change, and it's way out of focus. I have to wonder if CV designed this lens to hit infinity just a hair before the hard stop in case of variables like temperature, minor differences in flange distance, etc.

I'm beginning to believe that's the case and that if you are trying to nail infinity at F1, it will require careful focusing. In my case, that is just short of the hard stop on the M11. Infinity at F1 is likely a pretty rare use case though.

I was able to test mine further at infinity and it really is pretty good. I tested against the Elmar-M f2.8, the 50 1.2 VM and also the 55 Otus, to provide a few reference points.

The Leica gets left in the dust quickly and never catches up (but it is acceptable at f8-11 and the small size is beneficial). The Otus is amazingly good at f1.4 compared to the VM lenses, but is obviously huge and not a great fit for an M body. At 5.6 both VM lenses pretty much catch up to the Otus, with the f1 ahead of the f1.2. At f8, the 50 f1 looks best across the frame. To my eye, it is slightly better than both the Otus and 50 1.2 VM. My lens does have the small rangefinder calibration error near MFD, so still trying to decide whether to exchange. Its appears to be very well centered, so may just keep it and depend on the EVF for wide open use.

Jan 29, 2023 at 11:12 AM

highdesertmesa
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p.26 #14 · p.26 #14 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

josh-himes wrote:
I'm beginning to believe that's the case and that if you are trying to nail infinity at F1, it will require careful focusing. In my case, that is just short of the hard stop on the M11. Infinity at F1 is likely a pretty rare use case though.

I was able to test mine further at infinity and it really is pretty good. I tested against the Elmar-M f2.8, the 50 1.2 VM and also the 55 Otus, to provide a few reference points.

The Leica gets left in the dust quickly and never catches up (but it is acceptable...Show more →

It's also possible your rangefinder is off just a little, made noticeable by the f/1 DOF.

Jan 29, 2023 at 12:12 PM

josh-himes
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p.26 #15 · p.26 #15 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

highdesertmesa wrote:
It's also possible your rangefinder is off just a little, made noticeable by the f/1 DOF.

That could definitely be the case. It seem spot on with all my other lenses, but F1 is pretty demanding.

Jan 29, 2023 at 12:42 PM

highdesertmesa
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p.26 #16 · p.26 #16 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

josh-himes wrote:
That could definitely be the case. It seem spot on with all my other lenses, but F1 is pretty demanding.

Tough call then. I would lean toward exchanging it for another copy. Up close and wide open is the main use case for this lens.

Jan 29, 2023 at 03:33 PM

HelenaN
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p.26 #17 · p.26 #17 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

highdesertmesa glad to hear that you are happy with your new lens. Looking forward to see more photos from you and others.
ftllens, had a look at your Flickr and your photos are really good and inspirational! Please post some in this thread too.

Snowy horses.
A7II and CV 50mm/1 VM

Jan 30, 2023 at 07:11 AM

highdesertmesa
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p.26 #18 · p.26 #18 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

HelenaN wrote:
highdesertmesa glad to hear that you are happy with your new lens. Looking forward to see more photos from you and others.
ftllens, had a look at your Flickr and your photos are really good and inspirational! Please post some in this thread too.

Snowy horses.
A7II and CV 50mm/1 VM

https://helenasphotography.com/keep/2023/20230126_010_a7ll-cv50f1b.jpg

https://helenasphotography.com/keep/2023/20230126_004_a7ll-cv50f1b.jpg

https://helenasphotography.com/keep/2023/20230126_005_a7ll-cv50f1b.jpg

Thanks Helena. ^ Beautiful shots as always.

Your samples in the CV 40mm f/1.2 thread have put that lens on my list of potential next purchases

Jan 30, 2023 at 10:36 AM

HelenaN
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p.26 #19 · p.26 #19 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

highdesertmesa wrote:
Thanks Helena. ^ Beautiful shots as always.

Your samples in the CV 40mm f/1.2 thread have put that lens on my list of potential next purchases

Thank you very much! Yes, CV 40/1.2 is also a good lens, but I prefer CV 50/1. I find the field curvature on the 40mm too annoying (the 50mm has it too, but not as bad, even though it's VM and the 40mm is E mount and I use both on Sony) and CV40 has deeper DoF at the same apertures. And even though I'm not very picky about such things the onion ring bokeh does bother me sometimes.

The main reasons though are that my CV40 has issues. The aperture blades sometimes get stuck and it also has electronic issues. Also, I have found that I prefer 50mm focal length.

Jan 30, 2023 at 11:37 AM

highdesertmesa
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p.26 #20 · p.26 #20 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

HelenaN wrote:
Thank you very much! Yes, CV 40/1.2 is also a good lens, but I prefer CV 50/1. I find the field curvature on the 40mm too annoying (the 50mm has it too, but not as bad, even though it's VM and the 40mm is E mount and I use both on Sony) and CV40 has deeper DoF at the same apertures. And even though I'm not very picky about such things the onion ring bokeh does bother me sometimes.

The main reasons though are that my CV40 has issues. The aperture blades sometimes get stuck and it also has electronic...Show more →

Thanks, that's very helpful info – it will really help with the decision-making.

Jan 30, 2023 at 11:45 AM

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