Category Archives: Leica M

Review: Voigtländer VM 50mm 1.0 Nokton

November 5, 2023 BastianK 35 Comments

Introduction

Voigtländer VM 50mm 1.0 nokton fle review sharpness comparison leica m10 24mp 42mp 61mp m11 bokeh vignetting coma — Voigtländer VM 50mm 1.0 Nokton on Leica M10

The Voigtländer VM 50mm 1.2 Nokton is a lens, which I always found to hit a sweet spot: a very fast lens that is also sharp with very nice bokeh in a compact package at a still somewhat reasonable price.
This is why I did not expect Cosina to release this more complex Voigtländer VM 50mm 1.0 Nokton so shortly after.
Going by price and technology (grinding aspherical, floating elements) this is Cosina’s flagship fullframe lens, so let’s find out what it is capable of in this review.
This lens will be reviewed on the 42mp Sony A7rII and the 24mp Leica M10.

Sample Images

Continue reading Review: Voigtländer VM 50mm 1.0 Nokton →

Comparison, Leica, Leica M, Mr. Ding Studio, MS-Optics, Voigtlander, Zhong Yi

Comparison: Super Fast 50mm M-mount Lenses

October 22, 2023 BastianK 41 Comments

Introduction

comparison super fast 50mm m-mount leica 24mp 42mp 61mp sharpness contrast bokeh vignetting noctilux 0.95 zhong yi speedmaster voigtländer vm nokton 1.0 1.2 MS-optics ISM mr. ding 1.1 — Leica 50mm 0.95 Noctilux | Zhong Yi 50mm 0.95 M | Voigtländer VM 50mm 1.0 Nokton | MS-Optics 50mm 1.0 ISM | Mr. Ding 50mm 1.1 | Voigtländer VM 50mm 1.2 Nokton

The M-mount seems to be more popular than ever, thanks to plenty of manufacturers – old and new – from Europe, Japan and China designing and releasing countless of new lenses every year for this bayonet.
Super fast 50mm lenses are especially popular here, so many manufacturers designed one as their “flagship” lens.
Thanks to a reader and very cooperative companies I managed to get 6 of these lenses on my table at the same time, so let’s see what each of them is good at – to help you figure out which one might work best for your needs.

Continue reading Comparison: Super Fast 50mm M-mount Lenses →

Leica, Leica M, Review

Review: Leica 50mm 0.95 Noctilux-M Asph

October 15, 2023 BastianK 15 Comments

Introduction

leica 50mm 0.95 f/0.95 m 24mp m11 m10 m10r sharpness contrat resolution bokeh vignetting review — Leica 50mm 0.95 Noctilux-M Asph on Leica M10

For one decade (2008-2018) the Leica 50mm 0.95 Noctilux-M Asph was Leica’s most expensive M-mount lens and it is still the fastest lens in their line up to this day.
Now in 2023 there are many f/0.95 lenses from China available for your mirrorless camera of choice, but in 2008 – when most people were using (D)SLRs – this was a unique offering and something you could only find in the M-system.
But is this lens (still) worth the asking price? Let’s try to find out.
This lens will be reviewed on the 42mp Sony A7rII and the 24mp Leica M10.

This lens is also part of my Comparison of 6 Super Fast 50mm M-mount Lenses together with the Zhong Yi 50mm 0.95 M, the Voigtländer VM 50mm 1.0 Nokton, MS-Optics 50mm 1.0 ISM, Mr. Ding 50mm 1.1 and Voigtänder VM 50mm 1.2 Nokton.

Sample Images

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Analogue, Leica, Leica M, MS-Optics, Voigtlander

Analogue Adventures – Part 26: Kodak Portra 800 ECN-2

October 10, 2023 BastianK 6 Comments

kodak portra 800 analogue leica m6 contax canon fd olympus om — Kodak Portra 800

In 2023 Kodak Portra 800 is the fastest (or rather most sensitive) color negative film that is still in production. Ever since using that awful Cinestill 800T I was curious what results from a real ISO 800 color film will look like, so here we are.
Exposed as ISO400. Processing (ECN-2) and scanning was done at Silbersalz35 in Germany.

Continue reading Analogue Adventures – Part 26: Kodak Portra 800 ECN-2 →

Leica M, Minolta, MS-Optics, Review

Review: Minolta/MS-Optics 40mm 1.7 Rokkor-QF

October 6, 2023 BastianK 12 Comments

Introduction

review minolta ltm m39 leica 40mm 1.7 hi-matic e miyazaki sadayasu modified lens contrast resolution m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting — Minolta/MS-Optics 40mm 1.7 Rokkor-QF on Leica M10

In 1971 – two years before the Leitz/Minolta CL with its 40mm 2.0 lens – Minolta released the Hi-Matic E, a compact fixed lens 35mm rangefinder camera with a 40mm 1.7 Rokkor-QF lens.
While this lens is manual focus its aperture is being controlled electronically, which is why it is very difficult to turn it into an interchangeable lens that can be used on other cameras.
There might be only one person crazy enough to salvage the lens elements from such a Hi-Matic E camera, design a new housing for them and adding a manually controlled aperture diaphragm and that is Miyazaki Sadayasu from MS-Optics.
I came across one of these rare lenses in a small camera shop in Hong Kong and as this was a bit of a “once in a lifetime opportunity” I bought it without really knowing what I am getting myself into, so here we are.
This lens will be reviewed on the 42mp Sony A7rII and the 24mp Leica M10.