Voigtländer 40mm f/1.4 Nokton

C and H.

Favourite, Film, Inspiration, Kodak Tri-X 400, Life's Little Moments, Portrait, Scanner - Plustek 120, Teaching point, Voigtländer 40mm f/1.4 Nokton

(About a girl and her dog)

This was taken at bedtime, under very dim light.  The film was therefore pushed quite a bit during post processing to lighten things (I should have instead “pushed” it during development).

I’m actually amazed that I ended up with an image that I like, given my previous attempts to capture such scenes in my kitchen without the aid of daylight have never produced satisfactory results, with digital cameras (M9, M8, D3S, D3, D700, etc.) anyway.  Although film doesn’t make up for poor lighting, it certainly is more forgiving.

—Peter.

C and H

↑Leica M3, Voigtländer Nokton 40mm @ f/1.4, and Kodak Tri-X 400.

Unscientific (M240 vs. M9).

Inspiration, Leica 35mm Summicron ASPH f/2, Leica M Type 240, Portrait, Q&A, Teaching point, Voigtländer 40mm f/1.4 Nokton

Please don’t write to me and tell me this comparison is not scientifically valid —  I’ve named this post Unscientific for a reason.

I will, however, acknowledge that the M240 was at a significant ISO disadvantage vs. the M9.

However, low light shooting is the main reason I bought the M240.

Perhaps those with better post-processing skills could have done better with the M240 file.

Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t.

—Peter.

Unscientific (M240 vs. M9 Prosophos comparison)

Voigtlander Color Skopar F2.5/35mm Pancake II.

Inspiration, Q&A, Teaching point, Voigtländer 35mm f/2.5 Color Skopar Pancake II, Voigtländer 40mm f/1.4 Nokton

Voigtlander Color Skopar F2.5:35mm P II

Introducing the Voigtländer Color Skopar F2.5/35mm P II.

I’ve been experimenting with this lens for the last 24 hrs and, so far, I like it.  Small, sharp, smooth.  Its strength is in daylight shooting, not just because it is limited to a maximum aperture of f/2.5, but because of the way it holds highlights.

Images will follow — maybe in a few days — so you can judge for yourself.

Voigtländer always delivers great lenses, so I shouldn’t be surprised at the results.

In the meantime, feel free to re-visit my report on one of my favourite lenses, the Voigtländer Nokton 40mm f/1.4.

—Peter.

My current equipment.

Inspiration, Leica 28mm Elmarit ASPH f/2.8, Leica 50mm Summilux ASPH f/1.4, Leica 90mm Summicron APO f/2, Leica M Monochrom (CCD Lives!), Q&A, Teaching point, Voigtländer 40mm f/1.4 Nokton

I’m asked this almost weekly (even though I name the gear used to take each image I post, below each image I post).

For the record, these are the cameras/lenses I’m currently using.

—Peter.

______

Cameras

Leica M9:

Leica-M9

Leica Monochrom:

Leica M Monochrom

–

Lenses

Leica 28mm Elmarit ASPH:

Leica 28mm Elmarit ASPH

Leica 50mm Summilux ASPH:

Leica 50mm Summilux ASPH

Leica 90mm Summicron APO:

Leica 90mm Summicron APO

Voigtländer 40mm Nokton:

Voigtlander Nokton 40 1.4

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–

–

The grocer.

Film, Inspiration, Portrait, Street, Teaching point, Voigtländer 40mm f/1.4 Nokton

For anyone in doubt about film having a different look from digital, look carefully at this image.

Noteworthy observations: the colours, the tonality.  There are other differences that I’ve never been able to put my finger on — call it the “je ne sais quoi” factor.

As an aside, I’ve always found that the Voigtländer Nokton 40mm, the lens used to capture this image, performs exceptionally well on film.

—Peter | Prosophos.

The grocer

↑Leica MP, Voigtländer Nokton 40mm @ f/1.4, and Fuji Superia X-tra 200.

Q&A: My lenses.

2012, Inspiration, Leica 50mm Summicron f/2, Leica 50mm Summilux ASPH f/1.4, Q&A, Voigtländer 40mm f/1.4 Nokton

One of the more frequent email questions I receive is:

What lenses do you use?

Most of the time, it’s easy to tell if you follow my daily posts, because I list the specific lens (and camera) used beneath each image.

However, I’ve been known to frequently re-jig my set-up — as I’ve done recently.

So, currently, I’m using:

1. The Leica 50mm Summilux ASPH.

2. The Leica 50mm Summicron.

3. The Voigtländer Nokton 40mm.

And…

If you want to view images taken with any of the equipment I’ve ever used, you can search for specific lenses in the Category Cloud.  It looks like this:

You can find it on the bottom of the page…

Just click on a specific category (link) and all the images associated with it will be displayed.

Hope that helps,

—Peter.

***Answer*** to: “Smooth” [Which Lens?].

2012, Inspiration, Q&A, Teaching point, Voigtländer 40mm f/1.4 Nokton

Yesterday, I posted this image, taken with my Leica M9…

(please click on the image to view)

…and asked you to guess which lens was used.  Many of you were generous with your time and responded.

I appreciate the effort (and guts!) of all of you who took the time to record your best guess.

Moreover, reading the analysis behind each choice was very interesting and educational (I urge those of you who haven’t read through the comments of the original post to please do so).

So now, without further delay — the answer.

And the answer is…

_

(a) Voigtländer Nokton 40/1.4.

(b) Leica 50 Summicron.

(c) Voigtländer Nokton 35/1.2.

(d) Leica 50 Summilux ASPH.

(e) Leica 35 Summilux FLE.

_

Yes, the little Voigtländer Nokton 40mm.

(If you want to read an old write-up of mine on this lens, please see here.)

Thanks for playing :),

—Peter.