This is my very first video taken with the Noktor 50mm lens. All images have been taken at f/0.95.
The images with the two women were taken inside a Pizzeria. My goal was to move from one person to another and see how well I can focus when recording with f/0.95 aperture. The focus ring from the Noktor is very smooth but you also have to rotate very long from 60cm (distance of the young lady) to 2-3m (distance from the “older” women). That was the main issue I had because I needed to rotate the focus ring two times (with a short stop in between). That’s why you see the delay when I try to focus from on person to the other. The good news is that images do look pretty decent. Focusing the eyes of the person is easy when you shoot indoors (on the Olympus E-P1
One thing I did not like was the position of the focus ring which is close to the mount. I would preferr to have the aperture ring close to the mount and than the focus ring and not viceversa.
My first impression is that the Noktor lens is far more usefull for video purposes than photography (at f/0.95). I will add more videos soon.
Let me know what you think and what you want me to test for you!
10 Responses
Would be interesting to see low-light situations, such as a variety of night-time street scenes. And probably worth using a tripod to increase imagine quality (because YouTube’s relatively low bitrate still doesn’t render significant movement too well).
“imagine quality”? I meant image quality…
A Download of the original File would be awesome.
“imagine quality” is a Freudian slip; a common phenomena when talking about Noktor lenses.
The noktor does seem somewhat soft at f/0.95, on the other so do hand most ultra fast lenses @ max aperture. Have you tried closing the aperture down a little bit? I would be interested to see samples taken at 1.4 or 2.0.
I did like the bokeh on most of the shots, and the close up of the dog at the end of the clip. Not all of his face is in focus, of course, but I like the effect and the way you can tell he’s wagging his tail by the way his head is moving from side to side 🙂
The Angenieux 0.95/25mm is noticeably sharper wide open BUT it does have it’s faults.
First, it commands a $1500 (or upwards) price tag in the used maket (if you can find one). On top of that it does not cover the entire sensor, has very pronounced distortion (especially when shooting close ups), and is prone to show flares and ghosts when shooting directly into light sources. The focus ring on the Angenieux is very close to the mount, like a lot of other c-mount lenses.
On the other hand it is tiny, and can produce great(!) results when used smartly – making the most of its strength and working around its faults.
All in all, I think the Noktor is an acceptable offer for people who have to have an f/0.95 at an (arguably) reasonable price.
““imagine quality” is a Freudian slip; a common phenomena when talking about Noktor lenses.”
Sounds opretty good…
But it is a nice video. And seems to be a nice lens…
Karl
I would think the focus ring is designed nearer to the mount to minimize the vibrations caused by the hand? I think I would prefer it that way despite being inconvenient closer to the mount, but I haven’t tried it yet so I wouldn’t know.
“The noktor does seem somewhat soft at f/0.95, on the other so do hand most ultra fast lenses @ max aperture.”
Very true, generally. The Canon 85mm 1.2 though, is dang sharp at full opening.
“My first impression is that the Noktor lens is far more usefull for video purposes than photography (at f/0.95).”
The lens is rather too soft for my taste. I’ve seen several still shots with this lens and the Bokeh is just so ruff and scaly for me. However, I think I agree that it is probably more suited for video than photography.