most of the earlier voigtlander lenses were designed with film in mind and not digital. The single coated were especially designed with film in mind. It's why we keep seeing new versions of the same lenses but formulated for digital work.
Nice video and thanks for sharing. I have bought and sold two of these lenses (one was MC and one SC). I thought the SC was giving too much colour fringing when shooting in colour and a bit of "soft edges" as well (lack of crisp contrast on edges of objects noticeable in BnW as well) so I went to the MC which was fine but I ended up selling that one and "jumping" on a relatively "affordable" Summicron 35mm ASPH. Although all was good on the Summicron, but not jaw-dropping (sorry for the Leica-fans) I missed the shallow DOF (combination of shorter field of view and faster aperture of the 40mm makes for a very noticeable difference especially when shooting up close as in portraiture), I ended up selling the 35mm ASPH which helped me finance a great deal on an M240 that actually came with a Voigtlander 40mm f1.4 MC which has been hacked (one of the notches at the back where the attachment ring fits into the leica mount is filed down a fair bit) and the 35mm frame pops up in the viewfinder which is a bit more precise than having the 50mm pop up. So I'm back to this wonderful lens and am very happy BUT you are correct: there is a slight focus shift when shooting at wide open (which is the reason we choose such a lens with f1.4) and I find myself that moving back a few inches after having focused on what I'm aiming at helps achieve nearly spot on focus. It's become a second nature now whenever I select f1.4. Live view and focus peaking of the M240 is a definite plus compared to the M9 in this case. Maybe this will help you and those who would like to go for this lens which is a great overall lens, very compact, almost distorsion free, low vigneting, good bokeh and nice contrast from f2.8 on: just need to be cautious at f1.4 but at the price they're sold, it's a steal!!! Thanks for your videos
Hello there, Sorry for my delay in answering. Very interesting comment and points you bring up! Interesting that you owned both versions. Thanks for sharing your thoughts as well. Take care!
The framelines are set mechanical by the lens. So nothing you can choose. The VL 40, is made to show 50mm framelines on a M camera. To me this a bit annoying, since the 35mm would have been better and closer to what you get. So I use this lens mostly on the SL system instead. Other than that both the SC and the MC versions of this nice lens are fantastic.
Hello John ! Thanks for stopping by and yes, it is indeed better for b&w. Am surprised I didn’t mention it?? Oh well, I did in my M9 street photography video. Take care!
Thank you so much for making your background black during your photos. I don't know why other UA-camrs make the background white which is basically a flashlight in your face.
Hey Matt, thanks for the feedback - much appreciated! I guess as a photographer, it would disturb be too having to have the bright light in my face. Never even thought about it tho - guess it came naturally 😉 Take care!
most of the earlier voigtlander lenses were designed with film in mind and not digital. The single coated were especially designed with film in mind. It's why we keep seeing new versions of the same lenses but formulated for digital work.
Very true Jeff! Thanks for the input - appreciated
Nice video and thanks for sharing. I have bought and sold two of these lenses (one was MC and one SC). I thought the SC was giving too much colour fringing when shooting in colour and a bit of "soft edges" as well (lack of crisp contrast on edges of objects noticeable in BnW as well) so I went to the MC which was fine but I ended up selling that one and "jumping" on a relatively "affordable" Summicron 35mm ASPH. Although all was good on the Summicron, but not jaw-dropping (sorry for the Leica-fans) I missed the shallow DOF (combination of shorter field of view and faster aperture of the 40mm makes for a very noticeable difference especially when shooting up close as in portraiture), I ended up selling the 35mm ASPH which helped me finance a great deal on an M240 that actually came with a Voigtlander 40mm f1.4 MC which has been hacked (one of the notches at the back where the attachment ring fits into the leica mount is filed down a fair bit) and the 35mm frame pops up in the viewfinder which is a bit more precise than having the 50mm pop up. So I'm back to this wonderful lens and am very happy BUT you are correct: there is a slight focus shift when shooting at wide open (which is the reason we choose such a lens with f1.4) and I find myself that moving back a few inches after having focused on what I'm aiming at helps achieve nearly spot on focus. It's become a second nature now whenever I select f1.4. Live view and focus peaking of the M240 is a definite plus compared to the M9 in this case. Maybe this will help you and those who would like to go for this lens which is a great overall lens, very compact, almost distorsion free, low vigneting, good bokeh and nice contrast from f2.8 on: just need to be cautious at f1.4 but at the price they're sold, it's a steal!!! Thanks for your videos
Hello there,
Sorry for my delay in answering. Very interesting comment and points you bring up! Interesting that you owned both versions. Thanks for sharing your thoughts as well. Take care!
The framelines are set mechanical by the lens. So nothing you can choose. The VL 40, is made to show 50mm framelines on a M camera. To me this a bit annoying, since the 35mm would have been better and closer to what you get. So I use this lens mostly on the SL system instead. Other than that both the SC and the MC versions of this nice lens are fantastic.
Nice! 😉
The single coat is meant for B&W primarily, you get contrastier images with the S.C. vs the M.C. in B&W
Hello John ! Thanks for stopping by and yes, it is indeed better for b&w. Am surprised I didn’t mention it?? Oh well, I did in my M9 street photography video. Take care!
I use it on my Sony A7III and it's the best lens I ever had, so much fun to shoot with 🥰
Am sure!! I’d love to see the results with a Sony camera 😅
I have this lens. It was made for B&W film, not digital or colour and it was made for the Bessa series.
Exactly 👍🏼
It looks very interesting on a digital M tho 😊
Thanks for the video. What do you think about the minimum focusing distance?
Hello there! Thanks for your message. Unfortunately I haven’t used and had to lens for over 4 years and I can’t recall the minimum distance - sorry 🤦🏻
Thank you so much for making your background black during your photos. I don't know why other UA-camrs make the background white which is basically a flashlight in your face.
Hey Matt, thanks for the feedback - much appreciated!
I guess as a photographer, it would disturb be too having to have the bright light in my face. Never even thought about it tho - guess it came naturally 😉
Take care!