Re: [Leica] Loss of Red Dot & more! ;-)

["Ted Grant" <tedgrant@home.com>]

Hi Rolf,
Hey cool answer and a great alert for all the Noctilux folks so they can
acquire good "red dot" insurance to compensate for throwing the Nocti away.
:-)

I knew there was some kind of Nitro-gas thing attached to the Noctilux, but
I thought it had something to do with the high concentrations of Uranium
around Midland where the original Noctilux was designed and manufactured.

My Noctilux on occasion, when the conditions are just right on a very very
cold Canadian night,  55.5 degrees below zero and the Northern Lights are
flashing all over the skies, the Noctilux will kind of glow as an exposure
is made and a sort of "flashing the film" must be compensated for @ an
exposure factor of + 3.

And at times like this it is best to rate Delta 100 at 1600 to avoid
unnecessary exposure of the "over active Nitro gases within the Noctilux."

I bet there are many Nocti owners didn't know this before this very post. I
do think the two of us have now cleared the air on the glowing Noctilux
question and the Leica glow that is the marquee of Leica lenses!

Hey folks we're two very serious guys! :-)
ted



Ted Grant Photography Limited
www.islandnet.com/~tedgrant
- ----- Original Message -----
From: "Rolf Katzenstein" <rgk@farmington.com>
To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Sent: Saturday, February 10, 2001 1:17 PM
Subject: [Leica] Loss of Red Dot


> I had to throw my Noctilux away after the dot fell off. It would not focus
> accurately anymore. No more depth of field at f1.0. Apparently the red dot
> keeps the nitrogen charge in place and the nitrogen is critical to focus.
I
> was relieved to find that out before I wasted any more film. After giving
me
> the explanation, the guy at Cambridge was kind enough to dispose of it for
> me. Now I put some superglue around each red dot.
>