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Voigtlander 35mm f/1.5 Nokton Review

Fred Miranda
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p.7 #1 · p.7 #1 · Voigtlander 35mm f/1.5 Nokton Review

Sample 11: At 1m

Voigtlander 35mm f/1.5 (TOP) | Leica 35/1.4 FLE (BOTTOM)

Dec 06, 2022 at 09:14 PM

rramesh
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p.7 #2 · p.7 #2 · Voigtlander 35mm f/1.5 Nokton Review

Thanks Fred for these wonderful comparison shots. Is there a way for you to share a couple of DNG files so that we could try out if improvements can be made, or are possible, in post processing?

Dec 06, 2022 at 09:19 PM

rscheffler
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p.7 #3 · p.7 #3 · Voigtlander 35mm f/1.5 Nokton Review

Seems the easiest way to ID the VM is picking the photo with the stronger vignetting.

Dec 06, 2022 at 09:36 PM

Fred Miranda
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p.7 #4 · p.7 #4 · Voigtlander 35mm f/1.5 Nokton Review

rscheffler wrote:
Seems the easiest way to ID the VM is picking the photo with the stronger vignetting.

It has me wondering how much the sharpness difference would be noticeable on 24MP?

At these distances, how much does the VM need to be stopped down to match the Lux's sharpness? I suppose the closer, the more is needed to overcome SA. But say, somewhere in the 2m range.

Yes, stronger vignetting, narrower angle of view and less bokeh outlining are the major giveaways for the Voigtlander imo!

The Voigtlander's resolution/contrast improves a lot at f/2 but the problem is that Leica also improves further, so the Voigt is only able to catch up at small apertures. I will post some comparisons at f/2 as well.

Dec 06, 2022 at 10:23 PM

Paul.S
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p.7 #5 · p.7 #5 · Voigtlander 35mm f/1.5 Nokton Review

Fred Miranda wrote:
I was surprised the Leica is that much stronger wide open, especially since the focused area was at mid-field where the Leica is not optimal. I have confirmed this advantage with different subjects and will post a rendering comparison soon.
Yes it's pretty impressive, was hoping that on the m that it (cv) might be a bit better but if you've confirmed that, oh well.
I'll wait to see your comparisons but the cv has some other traits that I like over the lux.....balancing the compromises!!!

Dec 06, 2022 at 11:04 PM

Lumenlabs
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p.7 #6 · p.7 #6 · Voigtlander 35mm f/1.5 Nokton Review

Excellent shots. Looking forward to seeing more comparisons with the Nokton Classic 1.4, especially in vignetting.

Dec 07, 2022 at 01:51 AM

RexGig0
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p.7 #7 · p.7 #7 · Voigtlander 35mm f/1.5 Nokton Review

Thanks, Fred, for these images. The f/1.5 VM is tempting me further. But, then, so is the Summilux-M FLE, as it has been, for some time, even though I have the Zeiss Distagon 35mm f/1,4 ZM. (My eye does see the differences between the Zeiss Distagon images, and the Leica/Peter Karbe images, and, well, I love both.)

So many wonderful Thirty-Fives, and my larger retirement account is earning less in 2023 than in 2022. Sigh. The advent of the FLE II may well facilitate buying a well-preserved, pre-owned FLE.

Dec 07, 2022 at 09:17 AM

airfrogusmc
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p.7 #8 · p.7 #8 · Voigtlander 35mm f/1.5 Nokton Review

RexGig
The 35 Lux FLE is my favorite 35 period and I have shot with a lot of 35s over the decades. If you can swing it financially I would highly recommend it.
Allen

Dec 07, 2022 at 09:29 AM

highdesertmesa
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p.7 #9 · p.7 #9 · Voigtlander 35mm f/1.5 Nokton Review

Fred Miranda wrote:
Sample 11: At 1m

I find myself preferring the Lux rendering because bokeh matters to me only while viewing the entire image. Things like outlining matter zero to me unless they are Thambar-level outlines

The CV wide open looks like all the small CV lenses I've used, like a lens designed for APS-C used on a full frame sensor (with regard to bokeh and vignetting, not sharpness). I think we often give CV too much credit and Leica not enough given how large the Lux image circles must be by comparison.

Dec 07, 2022 at 09:55 AM

RexGig0
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p.7 #10 · p.7 #10 · Voigtlander 35mm f/1.5 Nokton Review

airfrogusmc wrote:
RexGig
The 35 Lux FLE is my favorite 35 period and I have shot with a lot of 35s over the decades. If you can swing it financially I would highly recommend it.
Allen

Thanks for saying this. I agree. The Summilux-M 50mm ASPH is the lens that drew me into adding the Leica M system. I was seeking a very different 50mm, and that grail-quest led me to the Summilux-M ASPH. I was already acquainted with the more modern of the Zeiss SLR lenses, having used the ZE and ZF.2 135mm f/2 APO Sonnar lenses, on DSLRs, and I actually bought a ZF.2 (Nikon-mount) Zeiss Otus 85mm at the same time I bought my (pre-owned) Summilux 50mm ASPH and new M10. (I funded the whole lot by scuttling plans to buy a VERY expensive Nikkor super-telephoto* lens.) Different optics, for different types of shooting. Zeiss mostly for nature photography, and Leica Summilux mostly for photographing people.

Summilux ASPH = perfectly imperfect optical formula, for me, an antidote for the close-range and macro photography of living, breathing crime victims, which had been a solemn, sometimes grim duty, from late 2010 to the end of 2018. (Photographing crime scenes and crime victims became an additional part of my police patrol duties, which had begun in 1984.)

Other Peter Karbe lenses, that then captured my attention, were the 35mm FLE, and the APO Summicron 75mm ASPH, for having some of the same look, that I saw in Summilux-M 50mm ASPH images. Well, I got my APO 75mm ASPH in early 2022. It seems inevitable that the 35mm FLE is going to be next, if I can justify the expense.

*I had tweaked by left rotator cuff, while moving a very heavy, damaged item after a flood, so, would not be hefting long lenses, for a while, at that time, in Spring 2018, when it was finally possible to buy a new M10, without having had to first be on a waiting list. I had been intensely interested in bird photography, at the time. By the time my shoulder healed, in late 2018, I was no longer interested in buying, or carrying-about, 800mm f/5.6, 600mm f/4, or 400mm f/2.8 lenses.

Dec 07, 2022 at 10:41 AM

airfrogusmc
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p.7 #11 · p.7 #11 · Voigtlander 35mm f/1.5 Nokton Review

I have had my 35 Lux FLE since 2012 and it is my favorite lens. The one I use the most for my personal work.

Dec 07, 2022 at 11:06 AM

Fred Miranda
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p.7 #12 · p.7 #12 · Voigtlander 35mm f/1.5 Nokton Review

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Rendering compared to Voigtlander 35mm f/1.4 II Nokton

At first glance, both Voigtlander 35mm f/1.4 II Nokton and the new 35mm f/1.5 Nokton seem to have a lot in common. However, aside from having the same focal length and similar maximum aperture, these two lenses produce very different images. The former has a classic optical design reminiscent of the 1961's Leica 35mm f/1.4 Summilux with lots of character in the form of very defined specular highlights' outlining, uncorrected coma and spherical aberration glow when shooting wide open. On the other hand, the Voigtlander 35mm f/1.5 Nokton is equipped with a modern design capable of higher contrast, smoother rendering and better control of SA & coma.

Here are a few samples comparing the Voigtlander 35mm f/1.5 Nokton and Voigtlander 35mm f/1.4 II Nokton (SC):
All WIDE OPEN. Precisely focused at same exact location for both lenses using the M10-R + Visoflex.

Sample 1: At 2.5m