Then umm buy one? Theres shit loads of them on Ebay? ;-) *shock* I sold mine recently and bought a voigtlander 40mm f1.4 cheap (as I tended to use the f0.95 @ f1.4 and I may go apsc sensor later on...waiting on if the Nex 7 delivers) Now dont get me wrong...the voigt f0.95 is bloody superb...worth every penny...especially for the build..but I was having a heart attack taking it out and about....and its not exactly the most portable of lenses. The best lenses are the ones you use...the old saying goes. The 14mm f2.5 I used more than the Nokton. I wont spend over £300 on a lens anymore. I do miss the Nokton f0.95 for the optical versatility but my heart feels better (as does my wallet)
I got one 2 weeks ago. If you think it's heavy try walking around with full frame bodies and 2.8 zooms. The Nokton and GH 2 is like a feather in comparison ;)
I heard it's like having 2 primes. One at 0.95 and the other at 2.8 and higher. Super shallow DOF and super deep DOF. Also film like photos. http://m.slrclub.com/v/panasonic_forum/74475/?page=2&divpage=14 Great for video. 0.95 is just one of many good things about this lens.
Yeap I'm selling some lenses just to get it. No my wife wouldnt' know the price.
>One at 0.95 and the other at 2.8 and higher. Super shallow DOF and super deep DOF. But it still can give very shallow DoF at 2.8 or higher, just depending on the distance to the subject. I found 1.4 to be a nice run&gun aperture, sharp but enough depth to make most shots look like a 50mm on a FF sensor.
You guys may also want to consider the CV 40/f2 - i have the ais version so I also use it on my D700. Its small well built and comes with a macro filter. Performance is excellent. It goes great with the Nokton.
I think it's really good lens, but I would not buy it right now. BHPHOTO listed it for $819. But, not in stock... In Ebay, it costs about $1200. If the lens is discontinued one, maybe I would think to buy at that price, but I don't have money anyway... For about $400 difference, I better wait till BHPHOTO get it in stock. But, still too much money for me... I think if Panasonic release new 25mm lens, the price of the Nokton lens will be down. Look at the Lumix 20mm 1.7 price now, it's less than before. Since I moved to micro four third, I consider more sharpness at fast stop, not only shallow depth of field and bokeh.
IMHO it is worth it. Luckily I was able to pick it up for 1k USD which is the lowest price that you can find now. I was debating to get a 28/2 ZF2 as I could use it on my D700 but the Nokton is special enough to warrant a dedicated lens purchase.
It's a wonderful lens. I own it and it won't be sold anytime soon :-) However please note this is not the sharpest lens at 0.95f. I often go up to 2.0 or 1.4 to get more sharpness and not go overboard with DOF (like some of the videos posted).
Nevertheless I long for a fast wide lens. The 12mm 2.0 seems perfect, but is too expensive IMO.
I found the lens at its best when not using filters ...especially at f0.95 (no f0.95 lens is super sharp anyways but the Nokton peforms very well) Some reason the filters I used (even a expensive uv pro) soften things up. the lens has too much power! haha
And...my god that middle video on the above post (day) is shockingly pure japanese pretentiousness! plus dont get me started on the insects with EXCITING rock music video...which im guilty of shooting things like this in the past ;-)
You mean sharp, right? I am not knocking the NoKton. I want one. However, it is really only usable in the F1.4 and up range. The 25mm F1.4 will cover that very nicely for about half the cost.
actually i found the look of the ant video rather ugly and with the teleconverter it was just heinous. but i did really loved the lens for the japanese girl video, really creamy for the closeups of her face. it sold me on it, i'll save for one without a doubt.