[Leica] Monster High-tech 50mm 1.4 from Sigma and everyone else - distortion now Nikkor 28/1.4

[henningw at archiphoto.com (Henning Wulff)]

At 8:28 AM -0500 2/8/09, Marty Deveney wrote:

>
>One of my good friends here on the LuG has a 1.2 Nocti.  I am 
>waiting with great anticipation to visit him, hoping that I can 
>borrow the lens and try it out.  I have never even seen one.  To try 
>to build it commercially in the 1960s shows how dedicated and/or 
>insane Leica really is.
>


I, as well as some other LUGgers had a 50/1.2 in the late 60's, and 
generally got the 50/1 after we had a chance to compare them. The 
best that can be said about the old Noctilux, as far as I remember, 
is that performance was more even across the field, and that it 
didn't vignette as much. The biggest gain for the 50/1 is in the area 
of flare reduction, where it still shines. That, a half stop and 
slightly better performance in the centre was enough.

In practice there was little lost in trading for the new lens. I got 
mine after it had been out a year or two, and by that time the older 
lens was already becoming desirable to collectors and other people 
who had really wanted one but had never gotten around to it before. 
In any case, I came out ahead financially as well as photographically 
by switching.

I sold it in the late 80's as I hadn't been using it enough, but (of 
course) regretted it not too long after. In the early 90's I found a 
mint one here locally for less than I had sold the older, more worn 
one. So I've done reasonably well, Noctilux-wise. I might have to 
wait a bit though until the financial conditions are such that I can 
get a 0.95 one for the price I'm able to sell mine for. :-)

-- 

    *            Henning J. Wulff
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