'Cron 50mm Rigid vs Nokton 40mm on an M3

<p>Want to do a "one camera, one lens" project. I am quite comfortable with the 40mm FOV on the M3. More concerned about the resolution and output. The 'Cron has a nice signature but can be soft and not very contrasty. The Nokton is a bit sharper but has less personality Just can't quite choose. Lean toward the Nokton. What say you?</p>

<p>Nokton 40 is a small lens, which I like. A lot of people complain about its focus shift, but I've never seen it affect any of my images. I wish if I had a Summicron 50 to compare it to, but I do not have one of those.<br>

<a title="A Night Portrait, Milan, 9-May-2009 (N1046912) by kyoken74, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kyoken74/3682689293/"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2486/3682689293_abc56440dd_z.jpg" alt="A Night Portrait, Milan, 9-May-2009 (N1046912)" width="640" height="415" /></a></p>

<p>I've used a Nokton extensively and love the speed but I think the Summicron is the better lens. I find I need to stop down a bit to get the Bokeh I like on the Nokton where as the Summicron has really nice Boken at f4. The Summicron is also supremely sharp, especially in the corners. I say this having only used a minolta version but from what I can find it's are the same optical formula as the Leica but with different coatings.</p>

<p>My vote is for the Summicron.</p>

<p>Edit:<br>

Just realized you were comparing the nokton to the cron rigid not the 40mm Summicrom. Defiantly go with the Nokton.</p>

<p>Had you considered the Zeiss 50s? Either the f2 Planar for sharpness or the f1.5 Sonnar for character?<br /> There is also a Minolta 40mm to consider.</p>

<p>duplicated post</p>

<p>Go for the Summicron. Optics and build quality are better.</p>

<p>@Akiva, Clive above mentioned Sonnar and that reminded me that there was a long discussion on Sonnar 50/1.5 in this forum a little while ago. I do realize that your question was about Rigid Summicron vs Nokton 40, but in case you are interested in reading up on Sonnar, here's the link to the thread.<br>

http://www.photo.net/leica-rangefinders-forum/00awyB</p>

<p>I have made many lens comparisons over the years, and the Rigid Summicron showed very high resolution with a lower contrast than what you get with the more modern 40mm Nokton. It held up very well against a battery of new lenses.</p>

<p>The Cron works very well with the M8 and the M9, by the way.</p>

<p>Raid</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Ya but I kind of like the higher contrast of the Voigt.</p>

<p>Sounds to me like you just wanna be told by someone to use the Nokton :-)<br>

The Cron may or may not be better optically but I think more important is the field of view in your case. <br>

I find 50mm to limiting a view for one lens use and would choose a 40 or 35mm. <br>

50mm is not wide enough for so many things.</p>

<p>So I think the Nokton will be better.........are you happy now to go use that? ;-)</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Gadge, no need to be rude. It is just a discussion. Nothing else. No hidden agenda.</p>

<p>I adore my (current model) Summicron 50 and have had some stunning results with it. Resolution wide open, sharpness in the corners, and shadow detail are all amazing. It has a tendency to flare more than I would expect, but maybe I expect too much.<br>

However, ultimately I have found the 50mm FOV too restricted for general use, so I bought the 35mm ASPH Summicron. Now that is really something. Same Summicron 'feel', bitingly sharp detail, very resistant to flare, compact, and of course tabbed. That would be my recommendation, FWIW. </p>