February 15, 2021

A Quick A/B covid-19: day 329 | US: GA | info | act

I thought I would compare Ernest’s Voigtländer Nokton 1.5/50 that I’ve been using the last couple of days with my Takumar 1.4/50 8E. The hardest part was getting Henry to give me a similar pose from a similar position. These are the best two.

• 

  Nokton

• 

  Takumar

Interesting results; these are both with minimal adjustments in post—and no sharpening was applied to either. The Nokton seems to have a more rapid focus fall-off, even though it is a touch slower than the Tak. The Tak is noticeably warmer (probably the coatings) and actually appears a bit sharper to my eyes. That said, I’m beginning to notice that the Tak is really sharp in the center, but as the focus leaves the center, it gets a vintage glow to it. It may not lose sharpness, but it picks that ’60s-feel to it.

I also think the Tak’s image is a bit more detailed—though that’s not the right word. It’s more pleasing to my eye—a bit less contrasty. The bokeh from both are very similar, though the Tak’s appears just a bit more creamy. It definitely has more elliptical shapes near the edges. You can tell the Nokton is a more modern lens.

I like them both. This is educational, and I should it more often. That said, I have a new lens on-order that I can put up against both of these very soon.

Leica Camera and Lens Information

📷: Leica M8 (09/2022–) • Leica M (Typ 262) (01/2017–12/2020) • Leica SL (Typ 601) (12/2020–). Leica Lenses: Leica Summicron-M 2/50 (Typ IV) • Leica Summicron-M 2/35mm ASPH (Typ V). Other Lenses: Asahi Super-Takumar 1.4/50 8-Element • Asahi Super-Takumar 1.8/55 • Asahi Super-Takumar 2.5/135 • Canon 1.4/50 LTM Helios 44m-4 2/58 • Industar 61 2.8/55 • Jupiter-8 2/50 • Jupiter-9 2/85 • Konica Hexinon AR 1.8/40 • Meyer-Optik Görlitz Trioplan 2.8/100 • Olympus Zuiko 2.8/24 • Olympus Zuiko 2.8/28 • Olympus Zuiko 1.8/50 • Olympus Zuiko 2/85 • Vivitar 2.8/28 • Voigtländer Nokton Classic 1.4/40 MC • Voigtländer Ultron 1.8/21 • Voigtländer Ultron 2/28. Processed with Capture One Pro.