[Leica] Re: Poor man's Nocti

[lrzeitlin at optonline.net (Lawrence Zeitlin)]

On Feb 2, 2007, at 10:23 AM, Didier wrote:

> That's the rare and sought after "1.2" version. Another one went  
> for 4600 EUR ($5.9k) recently. The "1.0" version - more useful for  
> shooters who want max speed - can be found for $2.5k when one is  
> lucky. I have the poor man's nocti - the Canon LTM 50/1.2 - and am  
> wildly satisfied with it. It's so soft, all old ladies love the  
> pics I made from them with that lens (from the shadow side of  
> course :-)

You answered the question I was about to ask. I have a mint condition  
Canon 50 mm f1.2 that I use on my M3. It is my favorite lens for  
wedding pictures since everyone always looks so lovely. But how does  
it really compare to the Nocti?

About the softness. There is no question that it is soft wide open.  
Objects have a hard core with a halo around them, probably due to  
uncorrected spherical aberration. But when the lens is stopped down  
beyond f 2.0, the halo disappears and the image becomes quite sharp.  
Not as good as an older f 2.0 Summicron, but better than an f 3.5  
Elmar. Except for the weight, I would mount it on the M3 all the time.

I've heard so many varying opinions about the Canon, some mutually  
contradictory, that I'm wondering about variability in lens  
manufacturing. Are all Canons alike?

Larry Z