Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/10/07
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]From: B. D. Colen <bdcolen@earthlink.net> Sent: Thursday, October 07, 1999 20:29 Subject: RE: [Leica] noct performance > Fer God's sake, Anthony, you buy a Noctilux for one > reason and one reason only - you want to shoot in new > light at f 1. Then why does it stop down to f/16? Wouldn't it be cheaper to optimize it for performance only at f/2 and below, if that's all it is good for? > You don't buy it because at f5.6 it is or isn't as > good as, or better than, a Nikkor zoom. Who cares how > it compares to any other lens, except at the maximum > aperture? It's an important consideration, because it helps determine whether you can use the Noctilux alone for general purposes at that focal length, or whether you need to buy a separate 50-mm prime for shots beyond f/2. To make the decision, you need to know what quality the Noctilux will provide at smaller apertures--if it is as good as a Nikkor AF-S 28-70, and the latter is satisfactory to you, you need not invest more in another prime; but if it is worse than the Nikkor, then you'll need to get a separate 50-mm lens for the smaller apertures. The difference is $1800 or so, if I'm not mistaken, which is not trivial. -- Anthony