Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/11/20
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I recently got a Noctilux, and having had a couple of weeks to use it, I thought I'd share some first impressions. To date, I've put about 5-6 rolls of film through an M6/0.72 mounted with the lens, which I've used in a variety of contexts and situations, ranging from relatively bright to virtually no light. The negs are impressive, but haven't had time to make any prints yet... First of all and contrary to what I expected, it doesn't feel that big or that heavy, though I know that as M lenses go, it's one of the biggest/heaviest. I have a bunch of chrome lenses, and they can get pretty heavy, esp. the 90 & 24 Elmarits. Being used to their weight, I haven't found the Noctilux particularly heavy. It does block a bit of the VF, but that hasn't been a problem thus far. One just composes as one normally would. If you're aware of the general background, the bit covered by the lens protruding into the VF area isn't that troublesome. At least it hasn't been for me. Build quality is great, as it is with every other Leica lens I have. Focus and aperture rings are smooth and tight. The focus throw is a bit long, and that has felt slow to me on a couple of occasions. For that reason I find myself trying to anticipate the distance between camera and subject and adjust the focus roughly before even lifting the camera to my eye. That makes focusing a bit quicker. The one thing that really bothers me - and I guess that this is my main criticism of the lens - is the plastic extensible hood: it feels flimsy to me, and I'm not particularly convinced of its effectiveness. It seems that if you're not careful, you might even break it if you pull it out too quickly or roughly. I don't mind the plastic hoods on other lenses (Summicron 35, Elmarit 24), but this one I just don't like. Does anyone else feel the same way? What were the previous clip on hoods for earlier versions of the Noctilux like? As for images produced with the lens, they remind me of those produced by the Summicron 50, which is a fantastic performer. They have a beautiful, creamy bokeh (I should say that I never stop down beyond 4-5.6) that makes the subject just pop out against the background. The great thing is that it is obviously a hell of a lot faster than the 2.0 of the Summicron. I've used the lens a lot wide open, and the shallow DOF and out of focus background produce a really unique quality. Thus far, I haven't had a problem with getting the focus where I want it. I've so far used both 400 and 1600 speed film with it, and in both cases have managed very easily handholdable speeds indoors in low light. Last Friday night I shot a roll of Neopan 1600 at a poetry reading at a local literary center. The room in which the readings are held is entirely black: walls, windows, everything is painted black. I sat in the front row about 6 feet in front of the readers, who stood at a podium illuminated by spotlights: the negs are stunning. Incredible detail (hair, fabric in the clothing, etc.), dark shapes that were not visible to the naked eye are there on the negs, just barely coming out against the almost black background. These pix were made at 1.2/1:4 at about 1/60th. Anyway, just some initial thoughts on the Noctilux, which is a really exciting lens. You definitely have the impression you can use it anywhere for any kind of shooting. Guy - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html