Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/04/24
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]As you know I bought a Noctilux last year and have been steadily beating it to death by channeling vast quantities of light through it. There is no doubt about it that it is huge and heavy by 50/2 standards. But, golly, is it ever a pleasure to view the results. I use mine without hood or filters and the darn thing is flare proof. Front side light, back light and jolly well any light you can think of and no flare! It is particularly beautiful with colour film as it loves nuances and subtle differences in hue. I was very fortunate with mine as it focuses perfectly with all my bodies. It does get a little hit and miss wide open on the 0.58x but it just shines on the 0.72x. Focus is precise and easy to achieve even in very low light. Do I miss occasionally wide open? Not too much but it does depend on the enlargement. Projected slides with a five foot screen definitely show a few more slight misses than any 8 x 10 prints do. I would also say that if you are just using your Noctilux wide open then you are missing out. While it may not be quite as crisp as the Summicron stopped down, it is very close. Its freedom from flare beats the Summicron (and the Summilux judging by other people's comments) hands down. As I used to carry around a motor driven Nikon F2 and several lenses, the weight is OK by me. Should everyone buy a Noctilux? Definitely not! It is not a street shooter's lens and any fast moving action is impossible to follow with its ponderous focus action. Heck some people even hate the f1 look. So this is a love it or hate it lens but I am firmly in the love it camp. Every now and then I get to thinking that I could have half its worth plus a lens that is only a stop slower and a heck of a lot smaller. Then I go and turn the projector on... John Collier - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html