2022 a year in photos

2022 the year that all goes back to "normality".

At least what everyone consider as normality. In hindsight just being exponentially more outside, being with friends and seeing people, seems to have done wonders to my photography (IMO).

A little bit of everything in this post. Remembering what a year was 2022 and hoping for an even better 2023 (or what’s left of it).


Canon 50mm F1.4 - LTM - Review

Cako


Characteristics


  • Lens Mount: M39 - LTM (Leica threaded mount)
  • Type: Prime lens
  • Focusing: Manual
  • Construction:
    • Lens Groups: 4
    • Lens Element: 6
    • Aperture Blades: 9
      • Straight
  • Min. Aperture: 1.4
  • Max Aperture: 22
  • Min. Focal distance: 1.0 m
  • Filter Size: 48 mm
  • Length: 41.7 mm
  • Weight: 246 gr
  • Hood: Yes.
  • First year of production: 1959, August
  • Original price: 25.000 Yen
  • Price (used - Good Condition ): Starting in 250 USD, and beyond.

Introduction


Canon had a full line up of LTM (Leica thread mount or M39) lenses, 59 of them to be exact. They were developed and released from 1946 to 1964. The LTM mount was the first mount developed in Leica (by Oskar Barnack) and is fully compatible with modern L mount bodies and easily adapted in mirrorless cameras.

The 50mm F1.4 was released in November 1957 at a price of 25.000 yen (180 USD) or $2,040.41 USD (2023) adjusted for inflation.

Let see how well does this 66 years old lens in a digital world.

  • All the photos in this review are from a Sony α7 C camera.
    • 24mp full frame sensor.
    • On body stabilization.

Construction


Being a nearly 70 years old lens, the construction is outstanding. Full metal and brass elements, manually put together. All the engravings are painted and the lenses are coated to reduce reflections and distortions. Although today, this coating is somewhat problematic. More on this further below.

The registered weight is 246g, feels solid but no too heavy for a lens of this minimum aperture. In terms of that, the aperture ring has full stops clicks, and depending on the overall condition of the lens, the rotation will vary from tight to somewhat loose. This, because the time and use degrades the grease of the movable elements. Lastly, there is an infinity lock on the lens barrel, that is somewhat obtrusive if not accustomed to them.

An official hood exist for this lens, the S-50 Hood. I have no information about this but I’ve read and seen auctions of lenses that have with them the S-50-2 hood. I’m assuming that this also work.

On Camera


The lens itself balances pretty well in the A7C body (with adapter) and in a Canon P body. Although, certainly looks way better in the Canon P.

Handling


With such an old lens, handling will vary among copies. Mainly because the grease used to rotate the components might be deteriorated or stuck. Lenses that have been serviced will operate better than those who have been neglected over time.

  • Full stop clicks from F 1.4 to F 22, although if you want it you can leave the aperture in between stops.
  • It has an infinity lock that comes really handy in certain situations.
    • Although is important to check if the focus is, in fact, in infinity. Mainly for variances with the adapter or the lens itself.
  • The blades are curved and you start to notice a “ninja” star patter from F2.8.
    • Check the images in the Bokeh Section.
  • With my copy is possible to achieve a very precise focus using digital zoom in the A7C (and other mirrorless cameras). The groves in the focusing ring allow for a comfortable grip.

Adapter for digital use


The LTM mount is easily adapted to any other mount. In this case I have an Leica M to E Mount adapter (K&F – here or here) and a LTM to M adapter as one. There are a lot of LTM to M adapters to choose, being that they cover different focal lengths. The one i Have mounted is a Fotodiox LTM to M for 50mm to 75mm (Here). Although works decently, it has some play when you move the lens to focus. A direct LTM to E mount adapter will be better suited.

Hood


Common Problems


Time deteriorates everything and it shows in these lenses. The common problems are with the coatings and the cement of the inner elements of the lens. Element separation is the worst offender, mainly because it is very hard to solve and degrades the image considerably. Minor scratches and peeling of the coating are somewhat less obtrusive in the final image, but it’s undeniable that changes the render characteristics. Sometimes for the better, others not. The last major problem is the grease itself, it can drip to the lower element or leave a general mess if not treated correctly.

It’s important to test the lens in film and in digital. Mainly because film is more forgiving with this defects than digital. Although, as I said, sometimes these defects gives a “character” that is difficult to emulate. But we all want the best of the best, so check carefully if you intend to buy one of these.

F-Stops


At F/1.4 you have a strong separation from your background, although the 1 Meter minimum focusing distance helps immensely with this. At F/8 and onwards all but the extreme corners are focused. It doesn’t change that much at F/11, but I’m guessing that my copy is somewhat faulty in this regard.

ILCE-7C - Canon 50mm F1.4 LTM - f/1.4 - 1/30sec - ISO-100 - 50mm
ILCE-7C - Canon 50mm F1.4 LTM - f/2 - 1/25sec - ISO-100 - 50mm
ILCE-7C - Canon 50mm F1.4 LTM - f/2.8 - 1/15sec - ISO-100 - 50mm
ILCE-7C - Canon 50mm F1.4 LTM - f/4 - 1/8sec - ISO-100 - 50mm
ILCE-7C - Canon 50mm F1.4 LTM - f/5.6 - 1/5sec - ISO-100 - 50mm
ILCE-7C - Canon 50mm F1.4 LTM - f/8 - 1/2sec - ISO-100 - 50mm
ILCE-7C - Canon 50mm F1.4 LTM - f/11 - 1sec - ISO-100 - 50mm
ILCE-7C - Canon 50mm F1.4 LTM - f/16 - 2.5sec - ISO-100 - 50mm
ILCE-7C - Canon 50mm F1.4 LTM - f/22 - 6sec - ISO-100 - 50mm

RAW photos are developed in Lightroom with the profile for Canon FD 50mm F1.4

Bokeh


An assortment of bokeh situations. In digital and film. Can you spot the difference?

Distortion


As there is no direct profile in Lightroom or other application that can handle automatically the distortion of the lens, I’ve used the “Canon FD 50mm F1.4” profile that’s bundled with Lightroom. The results are “ok” to my taste, any further improvement could be done manually.

Gallery - Digital


Photos are processed in Lightroom, primarily are color corrected and adjusted for personal preference. There’s no extra sharpening, added texture or clarity on them.

Gallery - Analog


Conclusions


Overall it’s a great lens but it has to be used while recognizing its limits. Those limits arose from the age of the lens itself, the minimum focusing distance and handling. Certainly this lens could be categorized as a “character lens” more than a “clinically perfect” in regards of image quality. With that, the “character” is expressed in digital and film likewise, so either medium choice can use the full potential of this lens. But as usual, it depends on what are you looking in the image.

Being a small lens by today’s standard and using the 50mm focal length means it can be used as a “do it all” lens. Street, portrait, landscape or stay on your camera. Although the only one that stands out is in the portrait category, IMO.

If you happen to catch a good offer of this lens and assuring that the elements are in good condition, could be an excellent option for those looking to have fun with the camera more than getting the perfect image. Although the prices tend to vary a lot and in someway is way too much for what it really does. Transforming this one in a collectors item more than an useful tool.

In that regard, there’s a lot to choice in the 50mm F 1.4 category and the prices and performance vary as well.

Get one!


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Cami - Spring 2022

Cako

Enjoying a little bit of sun with Cami.


Chovellen - 2022

Cako

To travel again, was something almost magical. Here’s to more of that and to the “normality” that we took for granted, so long ago.

The sea and a good friend.

As a much needed break from the mundane, we set our destiny to the coast of the VII region of Chile. Visiting Cauquenes, Pelluhue, Chovellen and more. A weekend of rest and travel was, indeed, something sorely missed.


Voigtländer 40mm f1.2 Nokton Aspherical - Review

Cako


Characteristics


  • Lens Mount: FE (Full frame)
  • Type: Prime lens
  • Focusing: Manual
  • Construction:
    • Lens Groups: 6
    • Lens Element: 8
    • Aperture Blades: 10
  • Min. Aperture: 1.2
  • Max Aperture: 22
  • Min. Focal distance: 0.35 m
  • Filter Size: 58 mm
  • Length: 59.3 mm
  • Weight: 420 gr
  • Hood: Yes, included in the retail package.
  • Extras.
    • Manual aperture ring can be de-clicked.
    • Focus peaking is activated automatically when focusing through the lens.
  • Price (new): USD 1049 / February- 2022
  • Price (used): USD 700 - USD 1100 / January - 2022

Introduction


As a lens brand, Voigtländer have maintained an excellent reputation creating lenses in different mounts and camera generations. Nowadays, Voigtlander (Voigtländer) lenses are produced by Cosina (Japan) maintaining the line of top notch construction and image quality.

Although the 40mm length is an unusual one (from 35 of 50) this offers great versatility as an everyday carry, excelling in portraits and landscapes. Thanks to his large aperture, this lens is ready for a plethora of task.

In this review we’re going to check the Sony E mount version. Let see how it handles.

Manual

Download here

Updates

May 6, 2022: Added Bokeh section.

Construction


At this price point, one can expect nothing but the best regarding construction. This lens is all metal (barrel, mount, hood) and you can feel it. At 420gr is neither light or heavy but it couples really well in the camera (tested in α7 II or α7c). Although, far from being a portable lens, even with the hood it is quite acceptable and easy to carry.

The lens has its marking engraved, the F stops on the outer ring and the distances markers in feet and meters. The lens posses a mechanism that allows a seamless rotation of the aperture or in other words, a “clickless” mode.

Part of the appeal of this lens aperture and the compact size. To achieve a 1.2 aperture you need a lot of glass, and the 8 elements in 6 groups denote that. The 2 aspherical elements in part allow this an introduce desired correction that enable the use of this lens in the maximum aperture with an excellent center performance.

One possible criticism in this section is that the lens do not possess weather protection. At this price point is debatable whether this is necessary or not in this lens, but a little protection would be nice.

On camera


As said, at 420gr is neither light or heavy. Probably with taller bodies the camera will tip towards the front of the lens. I’ve tested in a Sony α7 II and α7c and this is the case. Although in the case of the α7c is barely noticeable.

One aspect that is often discussed about this lens, is that the grip to remove the lens is in an awkward position, making it more difficult than it should to get it out of the camera. I have to say, that using it for a long time, you get used to the motion.

Hood


The hood, as it shown in the pictures, is not that big. Depending on the position of the light source can offer some protection from it. Rather, I recommend using the hood to protect the lens and the front element itself. It doesn’t add too much to the lens and can be deciding factor between a dent in the hood or the lens itself.

Description of Parts - Voigtlander 40mm f1.2 Manual
Construction design of Voigtlander 40mm f1.2

Handling


Manual Focus

This lens posses electronic contacts that communicate information to the camera. This translate in two things, if you have the magnifying option activated, whenever you rotate the focusing ring the zoom kicks in and second the distance meter appears in the screen, whether you have activated the magnifying option or not.

The focus ring is big and easy to grasp, the resistance rotating the ring is smooth and precise. This allows for fine adjustment of the focus and with muscle memory one can accomplish this fairly easy. There’s about 130° of rotation available and the lens extends about half a centimeter from infinity to the closest focus distance of 0.35 m.

There’s hardly a better experience in modern manual focus lenses than this lens can offer.

Aperture ring

The aperture ring works wonders in this lens, is tactile feedback is on point and you have stops between the usual ones to adjust accordingly (between f/5.6 and f/8, f/6.3 and f/7.1 are available).

As previously stated there’s an option to activate a clickless mode of the aperture ring.

To accomplish this follow the next steps.

  1. Push the aperture control ring (3) towards the aperture ring (4)
  2. Turn the aperture control ring 180 degrees.
  3. Aling the 2 indexes (9) and (11)
    1. The white dot indicate a click stop mode
    2. The yellow line indicate a clickless mode

F-Stops


At minimum distance and with the highest aperture value (f/1.2) the bokeh is buttery smooth. The focus plane is razor sharp and any vibration would result in miss focusing. High shutter speed are highly recommended or a sturdy tripod.

ILCE-7C - Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.2 Aspherical - f/1.2 - 1/40sec - ISO-100 - 40mm
ILCE-7C - Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.2 Aspherical - f/1.4 - 1/40sec - ISO-100 - 40mm
ILCE-7C - Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.2 Aspherical - f/1.6 - 1/30sec - ISO-100 - 40mm
ILCE-7C - Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.2 Aspherical - f/1.8 - 1/25sec - ISO-100 - 40mm
ILCE-7C - Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.2 Aspherical - f/2 - 1/20sec - ISO-100 - 40mm
ILCE-7C - Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.2 Aspherical - f/2.2 - 1/15sec - ISO-100 - 40mm
ILCE-7C - Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.2 Aspherical - f/2.5 - 1/10sec - ISO-100 - 40mm
ILCE-7C - Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.2 Aspherical - f/2.8 - 1/8sec - ISO-100 - 40mm
ILCE-7C - Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.2 Aspherical - f/3.2 - 1/6sec - ISO-100 - 40mm
ILCE-7C - Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.2 Aspherical - f/3.5 - 1/5sec - ISO-100 - 40mm
ILCE-7C - Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.2 Aspherical - f/4 - 1/4sec - ISO-100 - 40mm
ILCE-7C - Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.2 Aspherical - f/4.5 - 1/3sec - ISO-100 - 40mm
ILCE-7C - Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.2 Aspherical - f/5 - 1/3sec - ISO-100 - 40mm
ILCE-7C - Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.2 Aspherical - f/5.6 - 1/2sec - ISO-100 - 40mm
ILCE-7C - Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.2 Aspherical - f/6.3 - 1/2sec - ISO-100 - 40mm
ILCE-7C - Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.2 Aspherical - f/7.1 - 1/1sec - ISO-100 - 40mm
ILCE-7C - Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.2 Aspherical - f/8 - 1sec - ISO-100 - 40mm
ILCE-7C - Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.2 Aspherical - f/9 - 1.3sec - ISO-100 - 40mm
ILCE-7C - Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.2 Aspherical - f/10 - 1.6sec - ISO-100 - 40mm
ILCE-7C - Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.2 Aspherical - f/11 - 2sec - ISO-100 - 40mm
ILCE-7C - Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.2 Aspherical - f/13 - 2.5sec - ISO-100 - 40mm
ILCE-7C - Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.2 Aspherical - f/14 - 3.2sec - ISO-100 - 40mm
ILCE-7C - Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.2 Aspherical - f/16 - 4sec - ISO-100 - 40mm
ILCE-7C - Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.2 Aspherical - f/18 - 5sec - ISO-100 - 40mm
ILCE-7C - Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.2 Aspherical - f/20 - 6sec - ISO-100 - 40mm
ILCE-7C - Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.2 Aspherical - f/22 - 8sec - ISO-100 - 40mm

RAW photos are developed in Lightroom with the default profile for Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.2 Aspherical

Bokeh


Some extreme examples of the bokeh produced by the lens are shown here. Overall very pleasant experience and can add a lot to an scene when used right.

Distortion


At higher aperture values this lens has a strong falloff mainly in the borders. Depending on the scene this can be useful, like in portraits or closeup / macro photography, but at lower F stop values this falloff tends to  disappear and the overall image image gets an even distribution of exposure.

Nevertheless, Lightroom and other photo editors include the correct lens profile for this lens. In my opinion, using this profile improves considerable the overall exposure values in higher f stops.

Gallery


Photos are processed in Lightroom, primarily are color corrected and adjusted for personal preference. There’s no extra sharpening, added texture or clarity on them.

Conclusions


I love this lens, has been stuck to my camera ever since I bought it. Being somewhat compact and with a focal length that allow it to be an everyday carry, is an obvious choice for me. The construction and feeling of use, as stated, is superb and the manual focus is as good at it gets in modern lenses. Higher apertures are not always useful in all lenses, but in this case the f1.2 aperture really is. I have used it in extreme cases and the photos obtained are usable and with a surprising level of detail (in the center of the image). That is, if you nail the focus.

There aren’t many native alternatives in this focal range, either you adapt an old lens or buy an M mount with an adapter. Another option would be to go down to 35mm or go up to 50mm.

Either way, the high price is no joke. I can not tell you if it is worth it or not, that is something that each one must decide. But as a personal opinion, I do feel that it’s worth every penny I paid for it. In particular, it is worth checking the sales of used lenses from a well-known or reputable store (I bought it from amazon, used).

As a final note, I think that the photos produced by this lens speak for itself. Thy have a character and a distinctive signature that can be enhanced by the eye of the photographer. Voigtländer maintain their reputation and quality and why a lot of photographers recommend their lenses.

Get one

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