Head to Head | Voigtlander Nokton Classic SC vs. MC vs. Summilux 35mm FLE

[@ianpan2316]

Jimmy I'm addicted to your videos. The bilingual technical reviews of such quality are very rare, especially in Chinese and English. This channel is a gem that I wish more Leica lovers can find and subscribe! 加油年轻人，未来可期！

[@JimmyCheng]

谢谢！I'm so glad you enjoyed it!

[@alriteigiveup]

I've used the 35 MC ver. II. Have to say, it renders the slightly-out-of-focus mid-tone & highlights quite beautifully. Some might call it "glowing", for lack of a better term.

[@JimmyCheng]

it is a bit like Summilux pre-a which is famous for that Leica glow. But it's just a fraction of the cost with very similar rendering (better sharpness even!). What a bargain.

[@mwales2112]

I'm kinda new to Leica and the 35 1.4 MC II was my first M mount lens and is also my favorite that stays glued to my M240..

[@JimmyCheng]

The more you “climb up the ladder”, the more you’d appreciate this lens : p

[@mwales2112]

@@JimmyCheng Thanks Jimmy. I don't think I need to climb any higher as far as a replacement for this lens. It just works and works well. It's small, light and sharp enough for anything most people would need. I also have the CV 28 f2 Ultron v1, 75 2.5 Color-Heliar LTM and TTArtisan 50mm 1.4. That TTArtisan lens is amazing and does a great job and for the price can't be beat IMO.

[@joseuribe430]

great info! I'm planning on getting the MP so this is very helpful

[@Wazio]

Just ordered the 33mc 1.4 and the 50 1.2. Thank you for the great comparison videos!

[@JimmyCheng]

great choices, well covered

[@Errys]

your subtitles for MC and SC is incorrect. in the comparisons, they both say SC

[@chenglinzhou8014]

那么好的频道 关注量怎么那么少。。。希望Jimmy做视频的热情永远不减！

[@JimmyCheng]

谢谢🙏

[@marcusoutdoors4999]

Greetings from England. Superb video. Please keep up the great work.

[@JimmyCheng]

🙏

[@marcusoutdoors4999]

@@JimmyCheng I watched your Leica F1 vs F1.2 test this morning which was again fantastic, however both lenses were our of my price range. I was thinking "what if you only had a $1000 for a lens, how would the Voigtlander Nokton 50f1.2 fare, also how would it compare with the Voigtlander Nokton 50 F1.5ii? I live in the middle of no where so it is hard to compare lenses, so apart from being great to watch, your honest reviews and useful technical comparisons are much appreciated.

[@JimmyCheng]

@@marcusoutdoors4999 hey Marcus, I happen to have owned the 1.2 and reviewed the 1.5 v2 on this channel. The 1.2 is dreamy yet sharp after f2, but a bit chunky. The 1.5 is sharp and has smooth bokeh as well, but the heavy vignette might put you off. Also bear in my there’s a new 1.5 helio classic coming out soon (forgot the name but sth close), which is supposed to be a character lens and I’m hyped. In short, if you want a all-rounder take the 1.2, which is effectively 2 lenses in 1. If you want it small take 1.5. If you fancy some vintage bubbly bokeh look forward to the new lens.

[@marcusoutdoors4999]

@@JimmyCheng Thanks for the advice, much appreciated. I did watch your excellent review of the Voigtlander 50 f1.5ii and agreed with your assessment. It probably would be perfect if it has re-engineered with say a 46mm front element to let in a bit more light across the frame and tackle the vignette problem. This is such a first world problem though, I oscillate between thinking that a) I could use the vignette creatively b) work around its limitations, or c) accept the compromise of a larger / heavier lens with the f1.2. As you can see I am firmly sat of the fence! All the best, Marcus. PS. As a side note, I have the 75mm F1.5 Voigtlander which is very interesting and very good, you may want to take a look. It is quite small and light and at f1.5 it is still sharp, but with lower contrast to give a wonderfully dreamy look. At f2 it changes completely, still wonderful, but with an amazing boost in colour and clarity and in my opinion great bokeh. 75mm is a slightly odd focal length, but I find it far more flexible than an 85mm.

[@TheCWO]

Thanks for this Jimmy, definitely helped in pulling the trigger!

[@klarkolofsson]

That's certainly true for me, I care about the mechanical handling of the Leica rangefinder, not their overly hyped glass.

[@leespeakman296]

Jimmy thanks for the video! I was wondering if you could do a comparison with the Zeiss C-Biogon 35mm F2.8 if you have that lens? Perhaps against the ultron and summilux.

[@JimmyCheng]

Hey Lee, while I don’t have that lens on me right now, I did shoot with it extensively. For one, I don’t like Zeiss’s fit and finish, especially that small knob. Also it’s too contrasty to my taste. Lots of ppl praise that lens but oddly for me it was the least favourite 35mm I’ve ever used. I even prefer the cheapo vm color skopa over that lens. You should take a chance and handle them side by side and you’ll get what I meant. Handling is a very important aspect when it comes to rangefinder lenses IMO.

[@leespeakman296]

@@JimmyCheng yes I handled the Color skopar, absolutely tiny but to a fault. Kept knocking the aperture when adjusting focus!

[@KosmitaZplutonu]

biogon is so sharp that will cut your retina when you look through, be careful

[@mr_cramberry]

Nice review. Please can you provide links to unprocessed jpegs/raws

[@JimmyCheng]

I've yet find a good place to share them, any suggestions?

[@georgechang6162]

any review on the lastest Voigtlander 28mm 2.0?

[@JimmyCheng]

I've not had a copy personally but I think Benj reviewed it and it is amazing.

[@sunnysfu]

Hi Jimmy! Thanks for this review! I actually went ahead and bought the 35mm after watching this but sadly i had to return it. I wonder if you had the same issue where focusing in the ranges between 0.7m to about 2m though the rangefinder would give incorrect focus result? I tried 2 more copies of this lens and all 3 had the same issue where close focus was off by a lot. I even notice when turning the focus ring at a consistent speed from infinity to 0.7 that the movement of the center patch slows down after about 2m. Did you notice anything similar?

[@JimmyCheng]

Hmm that’s odd, are they all brand new version ii? Mine has no issue focusing with the rangefinder. I’ve shot a few rolls with it and have never missed focus.

[@sunnysfu]

@@JimmyCheng yeah V2, tried MC and even SC just in case lol i kinda suspect it might be my camera but what's weirder is that my other 2 voigtlander lenses (which btw I also chose thanks to your reviews hahah) work perfectly. The only difference i see between the other two and the 35 is that on the 35 he focusing helicoid is exposed and on 28 and 50 it is hidden. Could the helicoid be touching the focus arm? I'm not quite sure how the RF works on Leica, pretty new to the system.

[@JimmyCheng]

@@sunnysfu wow that’s even weirder now. Hmm, I guess it might be slightly off but at larger aperture it sort of makes it seems more obvious? I’m not too sure tbh.

[@sunnysfu]

@@JimmyCheng ehh alright no worries and thanks for your replies anyway! :)

[@colinzhang9064]

Voigtlander has great build quality. I have a 50mm f1.2. I love it not only because of the image quality but also how the lens is built in the way of vintage looking. Thank you Jimmy for another amazing comparison video delivery. I'm curious how did you brass your black paint M3. Any tips? I only have one in hand, def don't want to mess it up. lol

[@JimmyCheng]

Exactly, vm lenses have got great build quality and the focus ring on your 50 1.2 should be smoother than most Leica glasses(that’s how I felt when I got mine). As for the m3, I brassed it myself with spongy sand papers which cost next to nothing and 3 hours of patient polishing.

[@stevehoffman9735]

Very helpful, thank you.

[@psychoanima]

Hey Jimmy, awesome comparison. From your experience, is there some difference between mc and sc voigtlander lenses in terms of sharpness, i know that they are different in contrast but i don't mind that. I am thinking of 35mm sc version you have, but want to be sure if i am losing something from mc.

[@JimmyCheng]

yes there is but actually the diff is very very small. the most noticeable one is flare resistance, but even then, it's not that one is better, just different behaviour is all. you really won't go wrong with either since the lens itself is a masterpiece.

[@alawisnu6990]

Great comparison, thanks for the video! How about Voigtlander Nokton 75mm f1.5 compare to Leica Summilux f1.4? Any words about that? Thanks!

[@JimmyCheng]

I’ve not tried the nokton 75mm yet. Not a huge fan of 75mm focal length. Sorry about that.

[@AdamAllen]

Great vid, thanks!

[@JimmyCheng]

Thank you!

[@dipsygenius]

I’ve used 35MC ver I. In my opinion the distortion can’t not be igonre.

[@JimmyCheng]

yeah it depends on how you approach it. the v2 I have used briefly is not entirely free of that but it's more manageable I think. You might want to give it a try.

[@charruaporelmundo]

I think many sony user buy this 40 mm 1.4, specially if you have techart pro

[@ahmadfirmansyah4969]

less display the results of the flare effect on the lens,30 degewws or 90 degrees from the sun up to down or side

[@mamumonkan]

too bad that Voigtländer lenses go blind so quickly and can not be repaired due to inferior lens cement ( I have a whole heap of them 15, 21, 2x 28, 3x 35mm,40, 2x50mm,75, 85 all withing garbage 10- 20 years ) Spoke to Stephen G. he doesn't want to about hear it ... he knows what's up ( just look at all the discontinued glass they have been putting out ! )

[@JimmyCheng]

the new ones or old lenses? most of their new offerings haven't been on the market for more than 2-3 yrs so can't really tell from a longevity perspective. I hope they improved things because as far as optical quality goes they are incredible.

[@mamumonkan]

@@JimmyCheng even their new offerings such as the 21/3.5 for Sony E has issues ( myriads or microscopic droplets causing hazy Highlights around open light sources ) Hope this helps !

[@JimmyCheng]

@@mamumonkan thanks for the info

[@beyourself9162]

I thought these videos are made for making a purchase decision easier for the recipient. But without real life pictures and a HR download link these kind of videos tell not a lot. I would love to see myself in LR pictures to make a calm and wise decision where I put my money…

[@JimmyCheng]

@@beyourself9162 sorry about making it more confusing to you by not showing real life photos and not uploading raw files. These are some of my earlier attempts and I was just getting my hands on these stuffs. Hope you would understand.

[@beyourself9162]

@ no problem was no offense from my side, there are so many confusing videos out, that I miss something calm clear and with good advice…

[@GKhanKutar]

I think Zeiss 35mm F1.4 lens is better than all

[@JimmyCheng]

No it’s not, unfortunately. Optically yes, it’s a hair better than even the lux. However, size & handling wise it’s one of my least favourite unfortunately. And handling is a important aspect when we are talking about manually focusing lenses, because it inspires you. But that’s just my opinion.

[@GKhanKutar]

@@JimmyCheng yeah I was talking about optical performance. It has best 3d pop.