Lmst

One Year with the Voigtlander 40mm 1.4 Nokton MC

Since buying, shooting and writing about the Voigtlander 40mm 1.4 Nokton MC, I feel like I see this lens everywhere! I didn't realise how popular it is. The blog I wrote about it is my third most viewed of all time, I see it mounted to many of the cameras that I read reviews of and a shooter at the Leica Store was even using it to photograph Dave Burnett at his gallery opening last October, one of the last big events I attended before COVID struck.

I re-read my original comments about the lens and while they're still valid a year later, I found that in practice, I really like the lens despite my initial disappointment. I probably was expecting or hoping for too much. In fact, I used it exactly as I'd first intended for a few shoots before COVID wiped out much of my wedding work and bar-hopping and it excelled beautifully. I figured I'd share some of those photos, which turned out to be some of my favorites of 2019 and early 2020, and take a deeper dive into the characteristics and uses of, what is for many, their go-to M-mount lens.

By the way, these images were taken on my Leica M6 TTL .85.

Here we go…

Leica M6 TTL .85 | Voigtländer 40mm 1.4 Nokton MC | Kodak TMAX 100 | Kodak HC110b |
© 2019 Johnny Martyr

I took this photo of a forgotten Ford truck on my way to a wedding shoot in Thurmont, Maryland in the fall of 2019. It was probably close to high noon, hence the straight down shadows. For portraits, this light would have been terrible. But between the low grain Kodak TMAX 100 and the super sharp Voigtlander 40/1.4, the harsh light was perfect for rendering an image that out-resolves my meager Epson flatbed scanner. Who needs gimmicky classic car HDR filters when you're packing these ingredients? The 40mm focal length was great for a standard establishing shot at a low quarter angle. The scene was so ideal that I didn't even bother taking any significantly different versions of it, just a couple aperture brackets because I had time for it. I think this was f8 by the way.

Leica M6 TTL .85 | Voigtländer 40mm 1.4 Nokton MC | Kodak Tri-X 400 | Kodak HC110b |
© 2019 Johnny Martyr

This photo shows quite the other end of the spectrum. I arrived at the ceremony location early, in order to acquaint myself with the people and place that I'd be working with. While doing some establishing shots, I took this image of the couples' sand ceremony set-up. I was on Tri-X and topped my shutter out so as to open the Voigt Nokton as wide as possible. I also focused it to near full minimum distance. The Nokton actually focuses closer than my M6 TTL can so one can play with that a little to bottom out the depth of field. As you can see, the lens has a strong vignette and displays a bit of swirlios that I don't see discussed in reviews very often. So the 40 Nokton can also be used as an effects lens if desired.

Leica M6 TTL .85 | Voigtländer 40mm 1.4 Nokton MC | Kodak Tri-X 400 | Kodak HC110b |
© 2019 Johnny Martyr

And here are the couple whose wedding I was shooting. You may already know the groom by his writing. This is fellow film blogger, Mark from The GAS Haus. Mark hired me to shoot candids of his woodsy wedding but, you know, everyone wants a few posed shots. I used my 90mm Leitz Summicron for most of the ceremony but took some of the posed shots with the 40mm so as to include some context of their beautiful outdoor ceremony. On a faster film, with a wider aperture and overcast lighting (from the tree covering), the 40mm Nokton softens up as one wants for portraits. And the lack of barrel distortion allows this wider lens to meet the challenge of accurate rendering of faces.

Leica M6 TTL .85 | Voigtländer 40mm 1.4 Nokton MC | Kodak TMAX 100 | Kodak HC110b |
© 2019 Johnny Martyr

Switching back to TMAX 100, I thought this dramatically lit door provided a good scope on the range of performance of the 40mm Nokton in one image. You've got super crisp, in-focus areas revealing gobs of detail with a fast fall-off into smooth bokeh, featuring playful out-of-focus points of leaf light. Notice the slight fringing on the bokeh balls. For color shooters the Nokton's OoF areas may be distracting but in b&w, there's not enough CA to really bother me. I knew this shot would be a keeper and probably took ten versions of it before the light shifted and the moment was gone.

For another 2019 wedding, I was using my 1930 Leica with 1936 Summar as my main normal lens but I also squeezed off some shots with the 40mm Nokton.

I was on Tri-X rated at 400 for both of these but I was beginning to lose light during cocktail hour so I opened up considerably. You can see that the second image, of the blonde smiling, was at full aperture because the OoF points of light are perfectly circular and we see some of that swirling from earlier. While the 40 Nokton loses a lot of resolution as you open it up, the 10 blade aperture diaphragm and classic optical formula make for some really painterly bokeh that I enjoy, particularly when rendered on contrasty Tri-X in HC110b (and a little bump in black levels!)

The two photos above are only a couple apertures apart and give you an idea how fast the Nokton sharpens up/softens as you move to and from full aperture.

These three shots above were taken on different days of the wedding, but all were with Tri-X at 1600 ISO and demonstrate how highlights from the Nokton glow gently, a la it's "Classic" namesake.

Here's another glowy 1600 Tri-X shot of guests on a party boat for the rehearsal dinner. I think it really demonstrates how you can use the slightly wider perspective of the 40 to differentiate work from a boring 50mm. The lines of the ceiling tile, as well as window frames and the bar just emit from the subject and run out of the corners of the frame with a speed that wouldn't happen with a 50. And many 35's would have distorted the lines. More examples of those cool bokeh balls and playful, perhaps somewhat busy but fun bokeh.

The next wedding images were shot on TMAX P3200 rated and pushed to 6400 in HC110b. This is an important reason why I wanted a sharper, fast lens. For low, available light work with a grainy film, as a I noted in a blog a couple years back, you need a sharper-than-average lens because the grain gets overly mooshy with a softer one.

Below are some photos from when I went out drinking for New Year's Eve. Little did I know that it would be the last time I'd be enjoying the downtown Frederick bar scene for the rest of 2020.

This is my friend and muse, Denise warming up beside one of those outdoor heater things. Notice we've got some out-of-focus points of light and you can tell by the lack of perfect circles that I was stopped down slightly. Oddly, you'll note that even though the 40mm Nokton has 10 blades, OoF points of light render with seven sides. If anyone understands this, please, let me know in the comments! Images with leading out-of-focus elements show again how the 40mm focal length can pull the viewer in; a key reason that there is a small but dedicated crowd who prefer 40 to 35 or 50mm.

Here's Denise huddled by the heater again. I like how isolated the focus is here and how smooth the fall-off is.

I know you're supposed to start with the best and end with the best but I was dragging my shutter for this image of a crowd at Firestones in downtown Frederick, MD. It's not a good demonstration of the Voigtlander 40mm 1.4 Nokton MC at all because there's some shutter blur to it. But I really love this image because it feels, to me, like a final glance at a personal moment within a sea of people before they all disappeared from public life shortly after 2020 commenced.

I haven't shot much with the 40 Nokton in 2020. The few weddings I had were in the daytime and consisted only of ceremony and posed shots due to venue restrictions for COVID. And the only barhopping I've done has been from my kitchen to my living room to my porch then back to my kitchen. Reviewing these images has been a fun reminder of 2019 and the ambition of buying a new lens and having a number of exciting uses lined up for it.

Do you use the Voigtlander 40mm Nokton MC or SC? Any recommendations on other uses? I really need to do more automotive and architecture! What do you love and hate about this curiously cheap, high spec little hunk of glass and aluminum?

Thanks for reading and happy shooting!

_Follow, Favorite, Like, Add, Insult, ContactJohnny Martyr _

#filmphotography #frederickmd #kodak #leica #lensreview #martyrmusings #portraits #reviews #voigtlander #weddingphotography #2020 #35mmfilm #40mm #40mmcompactlens #40mmlens #availablelight #bw #bars #blackandwhite #blackandwhitefilm #bokeh #candid #compact #compactlens #competitor #coronavirus #cosina #covid #covid19 #documentary #documentaryphotography #downtown #existinglight #existinglightlens #fastlens #german #japanese #johnnymartyr #kodakalaris #kodakprofessional #kodaktmax #kodaktmax100 #kodaktmaxp3200 #kodaktrix #kodaktrix1600 #leica35mmsummilux #leica35mmsummiluxclone #leica35mmsummiluxcopy #leicaclone #leicacopy #leicalensclone #leicalenscopy #leicam #lensfornoflash #little #lowlight #lowlightlens #mlens #naturallight #naturallightlens #nighttime #noflash #nokton #normallens #pancakelens #pandemic #photographer #photography #photography2020 #popularlens #professionalphotographer #pushprocess #rangefinder #rangefinderlens #sharplens #sharpnormallens #slightwideanglelens #small #smallfastlens #smalllens #tiny #tinylens #tmax #trix #vmlens #voigtlander40mm #voigtlander40mm14 #voigtlander40mm14noktonmc #voigtlanderlens #voigtlandernokon #weddings #weirdlens #wideanglelens #year2020

An Odd Length; Voigtländer 75mm 2.5 Heliar

Most prime lens SLR kits are a 28-50-85 or 135. Most rangefinder kits are a 28 or 35-50-90. 75mm is an odd focal length. I don't think it's even available for SLR's and most rangefinder shooters fall on the side of either 50 or 90 - the distinction between normal and portrait focal lengths. 75. What is it? Is it a short portrait lens or a long normal lens? Is it for capturing details, documenting events or posed portraits?

Lately it seems that most shooters who are daring or confused enough to hazard this question are using a Cosina Voigtländer 75mm 1.8 Heliar. Reviews generally concede that this popular lens is quite fine. A buddy of mine, photographer John Nelson lent me his for a few weeks and I honestly didn't take a single frame behind it. Optically, I'm sure it's great but the Heliar 1.8 is just too long, particularly with a hood. I didn't find that it balanced well on any of my cameras.

Admittedly, I am biased because I cut my rangefinder teeth on the older Voigtländer Heliar 2.5. Yes, obviously the 75 Heliar M is a good deal faster than it's LTM predecessor but what I really enjoyed about the 2.5 was it's size and handling, which seemed totally ignored in the speed-centric upgrade. Big apertures are wonderful, but they aren't everything!

A candid that I'd have never gotten with a wider or larger lens - Leica M6 TTL .85 | Voigtländer 75mm 2.8 MC Color-Heliar | Kodak TMAX P3200

You see, the CV 75/2.5 is about the size of most 50/2's, even with it's smart-looking circular hood screwed on. The lens balances very nicely on my Leica M6 TTL and also my Voigtländer Bessa R2, keeping the weight of the camera planted in the palms. The 75/2.5 even seems right at home on my Leica IIIc. A proper brightline finder is rare and costly but how cool to have a telephoto on a Barnack that is not front-heavy or blocks the finder?

So while the 75 is very short for a telephoto, I like that it gives you some reach while maintaining compactness and discreetness that not even a Pinocchio 90/4 Elmar or Elmarit can offer. This is great for preserving a casual approach while still getting in tight on a subject. Additionally, the 75/2.5 was one of the few lenses that that I also felt comfortable with shooting handheld below the reciprocal. I'd often use it a 1/60th or even 1/30th and was satisfied with the results.

This photo was featured in PhotoKlassik in a discussion about CV 75's. I believe I was at 1/60th. - Leica M6 TTL .85 | Voigtländer 75mm 2.8 MC Color-Heliar | Fuji Pro 400H

The 75/2.5 is one of those special lenses that really delivers the sharpness of in focus areas and the smoothness of out of focus areas in healthy amounts. The multi-coating and relatively complex 6 element/5 group design prevents veiling flare and highlight blooming too.

Leica M6 TTL .85 | Voigtländer 75mm 2.8 MC Color-Heliar | Kodak TMAX 100

This balance and precision makes it wonderful for detail shots as well as portraits. And with regards to portraits, it's stealthy enough to be as adept at candids as its performance is for posed work.

Leica M6 TTL .85 | Voigtländer 75mm 2.8 MC Color-Heliar | Kodak Ektar 100

But to answer the initial question, I may still be scratching my head as to what subject matter, exactly, the 75mm length is best suited for. As I look through my images with the 75/2.5, subject is rather all over the place!

Voigtlander Bessa R2 | Voigtländer 75mm 2.8 MC Color-Heliar | CVS 200

Leica M6 TTL .85 | Voigtländer 75mm 2.8 MC Color-Heliar | Kodak Portra 160

Leica M6 TTL .85 | Voigtländer 75mm 2.8 MC Color-Heliar | CVS 200

Leica M6 TTL .85 | Voigtländer 75mm 2.8 MC Color-Heliar | Fuji Superia 200

Sadly, I'm currently without this wonderful little lens. My copy seemed prone to the aperture assembly falling apart for no good reason. Twice, while minding its own business in my camera bag, I reached for it and happened to see that aperture blades had scattered around its insides. Once, I sent it back to Stephen Gandy for repair and then the second time, I decided to put more effort into my expensive, tough-as-nails 90mm f2 Summicron Pre-ASPH instead of labor over this cheap troublesome Cosina product. I sold my copy of the 75/2.5 as it was and wiped my hands of it for several years.

However, as I look through my photos taken with the Voigtländer 75 and remember how much I liked that lens, I have found myself scanning the interwebs for a replacement. As noted, I find the Voigtländer 75/1.8 Heliar too large. It's actually about the same physical length at my 90 Cron and that seems ridiculous. The 75/1.5 Nokton looks even more bloated and heavy. Bessa rangefinders probably don't have enough EBL to even focus these lenses and they're both M mount, so I could only use them on my M6, not my R2 or LTM's. The Leitz 75's are beautiful but crazy expensive. And while I like this odd length, I'm not sure I like it THAT much! There are some weird new 75 M lenses by Kipon, 7Artisans, and Meyer Optic. I don't know, I am just not taken with rendering I've seen with any of these. And honestly, I do like buying LTM lenses when possible because it's fun to use them on my knob-wind Leica's.

Leica M6 TTL .85 | Voigtländer 75mm 2.8 MC Color-Heliar | Kodak TMAX 100

This image of an abandoned house was picked up by 120 Clicks. - Leica M6 TTL .85 | Voigtländer 75mm 2.8 MC Color-Heliar | Ilford XP2

So where does all this leave me? Well, I think that if I found one at a low enough price to gamble my negative perception of its durability again, I'd still choose a Voigtländer 75/2.5 Heliar. I see from eBay listings that it's very common for these lenses to show some hazing, presumably from lubricant evaporation. I have yet to see any discussions of the aperture blades falling out like mine did though, so maybe I had a lemon. Haze is something that's easy enough to address with cleaning and re-lubricating, so maybe I should add the cost of a CLA to the purchase. But do I really need an unreliable lens with an odd length in my kit? Would it serve merely as a distraction from the 50 and 90? Or could it be that perfect hybrid of length, size and performance that would make it a daily carry, general purpose lens?

Leica M6 TTL .85 | Voigtländer 75mm 2.8 MC Color-Heliar | Kodak Tri-X - This was the last photo that I took with the Heliar 75/2.5 and was perhaps a great end to a meandering path.

Currently, with the pandemic largely shutting down my paid photography work, I have no good reason to buy another 75, or any photo gear at all really. But when I look at this last photo that I took of my daughter with the 75 Heliar, and remember how much I used to use this lens, I can't help but consider picking one up again!

Oh and by the way, I usually used my 75/2.5 with an LTM adapter on my M6 TTL. If you want to use this lens on a screw mount body, you'll need a brightline finder.

How about you? Do you use a 75mm lens? Which one? Would you consider using one if you don't currently?

Thanks for reading and happy shooting!

_Follow, Favorite, Like, Add, Insult, ContactJohnny Martyr _

#filmphotography #leica #lensreview #martyrmusings #portraits #reviews #voigtlander #35mm #35mmfilm #75mm #75mm15nokton #75mm18heliar #75mmlens #7artisans #aperture #apertureblades #bw #bessar2leicaiii #bokeh #cameralens #color #compact #cosina #cosinavoigtlander #detail #details #durability #film #flaring #generalpurpose #goto #haze #heliar #hood #kipon #leicaiiic #leicam6ttl #lemon #lens #lenshood #ltm #ltmlens #mlens #meyeroptic #performance #portrait #precise #rangefinder #rangefinderlens #rangefinderlensreview #recommendation #reliability #repair #sharp #sharpness #shorttelephoto #small #smooth #telephoto #thoughts #tiny #voigtlander75mm25heliar #voigtlanderbessa #voigtländer