Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/11/24
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]>> I'm just curious about this. Everything I read about the 50/1 Noctilux >> says it isn't for general photography and only for low light use. 50mm lenses are very specialized. A lot of people think that the aperture rings are there so that the lenses can be stopped down: this is not true! The aperture control is there only to "turn the lens off" when it is not in use. The Noctilux is ONLY for shooting at f/1. To shoot at f/1.4, switch to a Summilux; for f/2 shooing you should only use a Summicron; that's why they made it. Get out your collapsable Elmar for f/2.8, and you need to have a screw-mount Elmar for f/3.5. If f/3.5 is too wide an aperture for your shot, wait for it to get dark, so you can start using the faster lenses again. >> So what >> would happen if I mounted a Noctilux on my M3 (and don't I wish I could >> afford to!) and took pictures in the noonday sun? Would civilization, such as >> it is, crumble? Why take such a big chance? To be safe, noonday shooting with the Noctilux should be done with ISO 12 film, pulled 2 stops during during processing, so you can use f/1. - - Paul