Re: Where Angels Fear To Tread

[dannyg1@IDT.NET (Danny Gonzalez)]

Christoph/Alf,

repost courtesy J. Barnabus.

>Here is the English translation of the article that many have
>asked about, courtesy of Hans Pahlen.
>
>JB
>-------------------
>
>The Noctilux f/1
>
>I did a four month study on the properties and peculiarities of the
>Noctilux. And after that period I bought one. It is a most difficult lens
>to evaluate. On first impression it has a number of optical characteristics
>(some would say 'defects') not seen in modern production lenses out of the
>Leica stable. At full aperture it exhibits strong light fall-off (more than
>3 stops in the corners) and produces clearly visible coma effects starting
>at =B16 mm from the center of the image circle. The coma however is only
>visible when the lens is sharply focused on light sources at a distance of
>more than 10 meters. When the light sources are out of focus they are free
>of coma. At full aperture the lens does not have the high contrast of the
>Summicron and Summilux and certainly not the definition of fine details.
>
>To give you some reference. The Summilux at f/1.4 is 'better' in these
>respects than the Noctilux at f/1.4. From f/2.8 the Noctilux, Summilux and
>Summicron are equal in most respects. The overall contrast of the Noctilux
>however never reaches the level of the two brothers. The most interesting
>point of the Noctilux at all apertures and especially from f/1.0 to f/5.6
>is the excellent rendition of colour hues and nuances,and a very good micro
>contrast.
>
>The first impression of a Noctilux transparancy is an extremely fine
>rendition of the textures of the surfaces of the photographed object. It is
>also the only lens I know of, that suppresses almost any flare encountered,
>better even than the Summicron-M. Because of this its shadow penetration is
>excellent. It would do this lens an injustice to classify it as a low light
>lens only. The higher inherent contrast of the Summilux makes this lens a
>strong contender in that specific area.
>
>The Noctilux however has a very peculiar finger print and an interesting
>one. Many people assume that one should use a high aperture lens at the
>limits of handholding capabilities. But at 1/8 of a second no lens can give
>its best. The Noctilux at 1/60 or better even at 1/125 with the new
>Ektachromes 100ISO. The Noctilux is one of my favorites for portraits and
>figure studies on location. I even use a tripod to get the most from its
>optical potential.
>
>Just as a very good French wine you have to learn its character before you
>can appreciate it. But do not approach the Noctilux as the champion for
>dark nights only. It has more to offer.
>
>Yes it is heavy and expensive. And it obscures part of the viewfinder. And
>it has an absurdly small depth of field around 3 or 4 metres at full
>aperture. You have to train yourself to get correctly focused pictures.
>Yes, the accuracy of the M6 rangefinder is OK. I made careful tests on this
>point.
>
>Erwin Puts
>-------------