Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/11/20
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Guy, I've heard this is an awful lens and if you'll mail me yours I'll put it through a few tests to prove it. :o) Lea Guy Bennett wrote: > 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 - -- Lea Murphy Whiny Dog Press 816-333-9111 Home: http://www.whinydogpress.com Newest: http://www.whinydogpress.com/new.html - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html