photonc wrote:
Fred - Do you think you will sell your CV 28 1.4 and pick up the APO or keep both?
The CV 28mm f/1.5 Nokton is still my favorite 28mm, but I no longer chase perfection in lenses. The Nokton has a modern rendering (high in resolution and contrast), but it's not in the same level of the APO, especially off-center. I find the bokeh really interesting, though many would probably prefer the smoother and more uniform rendering of the APO.
That said, the APO clearly deserves its place in the lineup. In terms of optical performance, it is likely the most technically refined 28mm ever made for the M-mount. The 28mm f/2 Ultron comes close but does not quite reach the APO's level of correction or flatness of field.
Among the three, the Nokton has the weakest CA control. The Ultron, while closest to the APO in overall performance and rendering, shows more optical vignetting and is not as well corrected for color fringing and lateral CA. Based on my tests, if you are judging strictly by resolution and contrast, especially at wider apertures, the Leica 28mm Summicron comes in third.
gammarART wrote:
Where do you see the Thypoch Simera 28mm 1.4 in this line of 28mm lenses?
The Simera 28mm f/1.4 blends some of the strengths found in the Cosina lineup. It has the speed of the Nokton but delivers a softer look at wide apertures, which some may actually prefer for environmental portraits. It handles CA better than the Nokton and offers smoother focus transitions for those who like that style of rendering. While it performs like a modern lens overall, it is not as sharp as the Voigtlander lenses when shot wide open. Personally, I still prefer the Nokton, but I can see why many would favor the Simera.
Post-processing was kept minimal, limited to some sharpening and slight exposure adjustments. I used either the Adobe Color or Standard profile to better reflect the lens's natural color rendering. This lens show very high level of contrast which translate to very bold colors.
Vignetting and distortion were not corrected for any of these samples.
LEICA M10-RVoigtlander 28mm f/2 APO-Lanthar lens28mmf/2.21/4000s100 ISO-1.0 EV
LEICA M10-RVoigtlander 28mm f/2 APO-Lanthar lens28mmf/2.21/4000s100 ISO-1.0 EV
LEICA M10-RVoigtlander 28mm f/2 APO-Lanthar lens28mmf/2.01/4000s100 ISO-1.3 EV
LEICA M10-RVoigtlander 28mm f/2 APO-Lanthar lens28mmf/2.21/60s125 ISO-1.0 EV
LEICA M10-RVoigtlander 28mm f/2 APO-Lanthar lens28mmf/2.21/60s125 ISO-1.0 EV
LEICA M10-RVoigtlander 28mm f/2 APO-Lanthar lens28mmf/2.21/60s100 ISO-1.0 EV
LEICA M10-RVoigtlander 28mm f/2 APO-Lanthar lens28mmf/2.21/80s100 ISO-1.0 EV
Fred Miranda wrote:
The Simera 28mm f/1.4 blends some of the strengths found in the Cosina lineup. It has the speed of the Nokton but delivers a softer look at wide apertures, which some may actually prefer for environmental portraits. It handles CA better than the Nokton and offers smoother focus transitions for those who like that style of rendering. While it performs like a modern lens overall, it is not as sharp as the Voigtlander lenses when shot wide open. Personally, I still prefer the Nokton, but I can see why many would favor the Simera.
Thank you for your thoughts on this.
I was a bit disappointed with the Nokton back then, as it consistently showed severe magenta color aberrations when wide open at 1.5.
I didn’t have the 28mm Simera myself, only the 35mm. Generally, I think Simera lenses are good. It’s just that the large size of the 28mm and 35mm lenses is quite voluminous for these focal lengths on the M.
Fred Miranda wrote: Samples 4: Mostly Low Light at mid and close-up distances
All samples shot wide open.
Post-processing was kept minimal, limited to some sharpening and slight exposure adjustments. I used either the Adobe Color or Standard profile to better reflect the lens's natural color rendering. This lens show very high level of contrast which translate to very bold colors.
Vignetting and distortion were not corrected for any of these samples.
That drink mixer looks pretty cool. Did you have it make you one?
Follow up to the character vs modern question Fred.
When chasing away boys, do you prefer a modern aluminum baseball bat, or do you go for the classic wooden feel? You seem like a man of class, so I'd guess something like ash or maple.
This lens looks fantastic, but I am pretty happy with my Nokton at the moment. I think I'll pick one of these up eventually, but I'm not in a hurry.
Regarding the price – yes it hurts knowing that we're paying so much more due to some ill-considered politics. But it's still a strong value for what you're getting, as CV lenses always are.
freddy_hayek wrote:
How are you paying "so much" more? There are bigger things in the world than paying a few bucks more on a luxury item...like out-of-proportion tariffs imposed on US goods by other counties and conceived in the 1950's to help the post-war world recover.
Politics aside judging by the deals being announced, the current administration seems to be targeting a 15% tariff on almost all imported goods. That seems to now be the case with Japanese manufactured lenses like this one. Specifically, it is adding about $150 to the purchase price of this lens. This tariff is just a form of sales tax that is built into the price of the item, and not disclosed separately. Much like a VAT tax in many Countries. I believe that this 15% rate is higher than any sales tax in any State in the U.S.. One could look at this as a backdoor implementation of a National Sales Tax that as often as it has been proposed could never gather enough support in Congress or Presidential Office to be passed. Additionally, this new tax is being implemented without passing laws regarding what the money will be used for as it normally would.
Considering all of that it is actually a big thing in our World. Both financially, and as a precedence on how we run our Democracy. The U.S. Constitution grand Congress the authority to negotiate international trade deals. The President can only negotiate limited deals in scope and duration. His deals must be confirmed by Congress in the end. This means that paying these taxes on current purchases my be an anomaly, and wasted money not charged in the future. There is a lot that must be worked out before we know. This a a separate view of what the functional effects will be on U.S. consumers, and doesn't take in consideration of the Political issues regarding balance of trade and international relationships. Which is a separate and valid consideration that our Constitution provides methods of dealing with.
Congratulations United States. We are now getting a National Sales tax on foreign goods and components of American assembled goods implemented through a back door method. Personally I will do all that I can to avoid paying this tax. Fortunately I can do this by arbitrating different residences. Unfortunately the average U.S. resident cannot.
@Fred Miranda The feeling I can't shake off, having examined the samples, is that the VC 28mm f/1.5 Nokton performance in this review is weaker than in the original E-version review. Is that a sample variation or am I just going crazy?
1bwana1 wrote:
Politics aside judging by the deals being announced, the current administration seems to be targeting a 15% tariff on almost all imported goods. That seems to now be the case with Japanese manufactured lenses like this one. Specifically, it is adding about $150 to the purchase price of this lens. This tariff is just a form of sales tax that is built into the price of the item, and not disclosed separately. Much like a VAT tax in many Countries. I believe that this 15% rate is higher than any sales tax in any State in the U.S.. One could look at this as a backdoor implementation of a National Sales Tax that as often as it has been proposed could never gather enough support in Congress or Presidential Office to be passed. Additionally, this new tax is being implemented without passing laws regarding what the money will be used for as it normally would.
Considering all of that it is actually a big thing in our World. Both financially, and as a precedence on how we run our Democracy. The U.S. Constitution grand Congress the authority to negotiate international trade deals. The President can only negotiate limited deals in scope and duration. His deals must be confirmed by Congress in the end. This means that paying these taxes on current purchases my be an anomaly, and wasted money not charged in the future. There is a lot that must be worked out before we know. This a a separate view of what the functional effects will be on U.S. consumers, and doesn't take in consideration of the Political issues regarding balance of trade and international relationships. Which is a separate and valid consideration that our Constitution provides methods of dealing with.
Congratulations United States. We are now getting a National Sales tax on foreign goods and components of American assembled goods implemented through a back door method. Personally I will do all that I can to avoid paying this tax. Fortunately I can do this by arbitrating different residences. Unfortunately the average U.S. resident cannot....Show more →
Now that the Europe deal got done, I wonder if we see another increase by Leica
I'm impressed and happy Cosina didn't use this lens to introduce new, higher pricing. The $999 original price tag feels very reasonable to me from what I've seen out of Fred's review. I don't expect them to eat the tariffs.
That said, I don't want to eat them either, so mine is being Midnight Expressed from Tokyo and should be waiting in LA for me on Wednesday.
Companies tend to "stay out" of politics, meaning that when they have a price increase coming, they almost always push it downstream, to us consumers.
That being said, I work for a consultancy within Supply Chain and the good news for people in Canada/Latin America is that a lot of companies are now moving their central distribution centers outside USA to avoid any tariffs. I am not sure why Leica hasn't done that yet.
freddy_hayek wrote:
Sadly, everyone everywhere has been living above their means. The piper has to be paid at some point.
Are you referring to the 36 trillion $ dept you guys have ?
Guess who is also going to be pay the piper, starting with a 15% increase on anything coming out of Europe
Well, this thread convinced me to order one. Nearly all of my M lenses are "character" lenses, so this will be a bit different. I had a hard time deciding between this and the other two Voigtlander fast 28s, though.
And I'm glad I massively upgraded my photo kit over the last few years before this tariff nonsense began.
markhout wrote:
Received mine too. Any thoughts on coding?
An option would be Summicron-M 28mm f/2 ASPH (model 11604 - code 011010).
Or no coding at all?
Looking at the images I don't see issues I would want cleaned up with software. Except maybe vignette reduction. It may be worth someone applying a few 28mm codes to compare results side by side.
markhout wrote:
Received mine too. Any thoughts on coding?
An option would be Summicron-M 28mm f/2 ASPH (model 11604 - code 011010).
Or no coding at all?
I tried using the Leica 28mm f/2 Summicron's code, and it works very well. It correctly identifies the lens as a 28mm f/2 and applies a slight vignette correction. That's the only drawback I've noticed, and even then I'm being picky because the vignetting is in line with other 28mm f/2 lenses. So it's not really a negative, just what you would expect.
If you're familiar with how much the Voigtlander 28mm f/2 Ultron II vignettes, the APO is about the same.
