Re: [Leica] Should I buy a Noctilux?

["Simon Lamb" <simon@sclamb.com>]

Sorry , I was being a bit flippant before - I should have assumed you would
not be out under the midday sun.  I think your scenario is an ideal example
of the benefit of the Noctilux.  You have 100ASA film loaded and shoot in
reasonably bright light perhaps at apertures of f/2 to f/11.  However, you
then go into a gorgeous temple and find the light such that you can meter
1/60sec at f/1.  With people moving around in flowing robes you probably
want a fairly decent shutter speed to freeze them, and using the Noctilux
allows that.  With the Summicron on the lens you would be at 1/15sec and
perhaps not getting the clarity in the images that you want.  As I said
before, quicker to change a lens that the film, and even quicker to use the
Noctilux and not change lens at all.

I agree that at f/1.4 the vignetting starts to disappear and by f/2.8 the
Noctilux is getting close to the Summicron for image quality (at least to
the human eye, if not on the operating table of scientific analysis!)

Simon

ray tai wrote:

> Simon,
>
> I usually use the Noctilux indoors for portraits of my children by window
> light and with 100 ASA film I can shoot at f/1 or f/1.2 at 1/125 sec or
> there abouts.  Under these situations I don't notice so much the
vignetting
> since the background is at least a few stops below the foreground.  I used
> the Noctilux for scenics wide open for the first time last month in China
at
> the inner court yard of this lovely temple with defused natural lighting.
> It is the kind of place with really old architecture and monks in golden
> robes floating around.  I was using Kodachrome 64 and in some areas I was
> metering f/1 at 1/60.  By daytime lighting I don't mean high noon
lighting!
> If I had Provia F400 I could have used the Tri-Elmar but since I had the
> Noct with me I wanted to use f/1 when the lighting really didn't call for
> it, I guess!  What I got was a bright center with a 3 stop (?) drop at the
> corners.  It was just my inexperience with this lens with this film under
> these conditions.  Next time I can either composed the shot with this
> characteristic in mind or just use a smaller aperture.  I did use the
> Noctilux a lot that day at f/1.4 and was very impressed with the results.
> In the end I suppose I don't really *need* the Noctilux, rather just
faster
> film.
>
> Regards,
> Ray
>
> >
> >Ray
> >
> >What film do you use with the Noctilux at f/1 in daytime lighting - ISO
> >0.5?
> >;-)  Even with ISO 100 film and using the Sunny 16 rule, you would be
well
> >over 1/1000sec at f/1 which the M6 will not support.  I really believe
the
> >Noct is a lens for the twilight hours and if a 50mm is required for
> >daylight
> >shots then the Summicron is the lens to use.  In available darkness the
> >vignetting is not so bad and in many cases not noticeable.
> >
> >Simon
> >
> >ray tai wrote:
> >SNIP:
> > > I find I simply cannot live with the vignetting at f/1 especially so
> >when
> >I use it in day time lighting.