[Leica] Noctilux

[vick.ko at sympatico.ca (Vick Ko)]

Thanks Henning

I was pondering which was the "best 50? to keep

I have all three Nocti's, and I really like the f1.2 because of its 
size. Not much bigger than the Summilux lenses.

And I have the ASPH and spherical Summiluxes.

And the 'crons - DR, rigid, and modern.

Yeah, thinking of culling, but can't decide.

Vick



On 31/12/2013 1:17 AM, Henning Wulff wrote:
> The 0.95 is as good as it gets at high speed, with the well understood 
> downsides of price and size. At smaller apertures the pictures are hard to 
> distinguish from Summilux-ASPH pictures, but the large size and price 
> remain. Focus shift exists but is quite manageable. It is the only one of 
> the three that can be considered an all in one lens, if you can live with 
> the size. This lens, like the other Nocti's focusses down to only 1m, 
> which is a distinct limitation in comparison to the slower current 50's 
> and in my opinion its main operational failing.
>
> The f/1 is of much lower contrast at wider apertures, but also sharpens up 
> nicely with the downside of considerable focus shift. It has incredible 
> flare tolerance which allows it to capture images that no other lens seems 
> capable of. A lens shade is largely pointless. This is a lens that is not 
> easy to master and renders in a unique way, but the rewards are great. Our 
> Dr. Ted did most of his medical photography for his books with this lens, 
> and mostly at f/1. True mastery!
>
> The f/1.2 is pointless unless you plan on placing it in an honorary 
> position in your collection. Current prices are exorbitant, and it is not 
> as good a lens overall as the f/1 while being slower. It is a much softer 
> version of the old Summilux 50. The Nokton f/1.1 is definitely a better 
> lens overall.
>
> If you have the Summilux ASPH and an M240, the 0.95 is not as necessary as 
> it was with the M9, but it of course still allows a little but lower light 
> subjects to be recorded successfully (as long as they are at least one 
> meter away) with shallower dof, but the f/1 will allow a different vision, 
> if you are willing and able to master it.
>
> I used to have an f/1.2, have used the f/0.95 and the Nokton f/1.1 and 
> currently have the f/1 and the Summilux ASPH.
>
> Henning