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Noctilux 0.95 - stiff focus


sm23221

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I received my Noctilux today and my first impressions are good. Beautiful lens - I guess it should be for $10,000! Never having owned the prior version, I was suprised that it is quite heavy but not as large as I had imagined it would be. The focus is quite stiff. How many times do I have to rotate the focus ring to loosen it or is it made to stay fairly stiff? Thanks in advance.

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I received my Noctilux today and my first impressions are good. Beautiful lens - I guess it should be for $10,000! Never having owned the prior version, I was suprised that it is quite heavy but not as large as I had imagined it would be. The focus is quite stiff. How many times do I have to rotate the focus ring to loosen it or is it made to stay fairly stiff? Thanks in advance.

 

I guess few guys here could share the experience... btw, lucky you man! I look forward to see some samples... :)

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Michael - nice images in your gallery. I can't speak to the Nocti, and maybe you have not had this problem with other Leica lenses, but certain lenses are just stiff in their focus ring until, through use, they loosen. I have that problem with a 35 Summilux, though it's working fine now. JB

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My 50 Lux is stiff (new), my 35 lux is smooth(used) and my 75 summarit is like silk(was new). My old nocti was very smooth as well, BUT if its stiff, just give it some time and it should loosen up a bit.

 

You have a great lens there!

 

Steve

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My 50mm lux is stiff compared to the other lenses but I prefer that way. I guess it is personal preference.

 

by the way, what a wonderful web site. You photos are incredibly crisp.

 

cheers

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I received my Noctilux today and my first impressions are good. Beautiful lens - I guess it should be for $10,000! Never having owned the prior version, I was suprised that it is quite heavy but not as large as I had imagined it would be. The focus is quite stiff. How many times do I have to rotate the focus ring to loosen it or is it made to stay fairly stiff? Thanks in advance.

 

Your photos are outstanding, please show some with you new 50 when you have a chance. Thanks

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I think it's important to distinguish between a heavy focussing action and a sticky one. The new Summiluxes have a smooth but heavy focussing action, there's lots to do as you turn the focussing ring, however my examples are very smooth, it's easy to make fine adjustments to focus without the focus first sticking and then jumping.

 

Not so my old Noctilux which was very sticky and made fine focussing impossible. Leica replaced the mount and it is better, though hardly 50mm Summicron smooth.

 

Don't have the new Noctilux yet but providing I can make those micro-adjustments, it will be fine. With a heavy lens barrel and the extra complexity of the floating lens group which the older lens does not have, it is bound to be a heavier focussing action, just like the 50mm Summilux ASPH.

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I think it's important to distinguish between a heavy focussing action and a sticky one. .....

 

Thank you Mark. I should qualify what I stated. The focus is VERY smooth and I must admit extremely accurate even at f/0.95 (from my limited picture taking opportunities). It is not sticky at all but seems to take more effort than what should be required to turn the focus ring. Perhaps the grease isn't as fluid as it should be yet? My 50 cron is "as smooth as a baby's bottom" but I realize the comparison in lens complexity is not justified. Thank you for your input, much appreciated.

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I think, as Mark stated, that you are feeling the floating element. The new wide Summiluxes are the same.The extra movement requires a bit more effort, but indeed silky smooth.

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I think, as Mark stated, that you are feeling the floating element. The new wide Summiluxes are the same.The extra movement requires a bit more effort, but indeed silky smooth.

 

I have handled three 24 luxes and found that stiffness varies quite a bit from sample to sample. My own 24 lux is not noticeably stiffer than my other lenses. The two others I tried were both tighter and one was VERY hard to turn. Although I am not now speaking from experience, I would guess that there is similar variation among the new Noctiluxes.

 

David

Edited by dalippe
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When Leica designed the M rangefinder, the distance the focussing roller moves as you focus down from infinity to closest focus was likely not chosen by waving a finger in the air. It's about the distance the lens barrel moves out in a 50mm lens and means these lenses can use a single helicoid with a profiled cam attached to the lens barrel pressing against the roller.

 

If you then go to 21mm or 90mm, the distance the lens barrel moves is very different compared to the distance the roller (still) has to move. Very small in the 21mm, much larger in the 90mm. That requires a double helicoid with different pitches so that turning the focussing ring moves the lens barrel at one rate and the focussing cam at another. If there's a close focussing group, this has to be moved as well adding more complexity and friction to the focussing mount, hence the heavier focussing action.

 

I do wonder how they fit everything into the available space in the Noctilux lens mount. It's very full in the old lens (which does not have close focus correction), it's very full in the 50mm Summilux ASPH which does, so how they fit f0.95 and close focus correction in there will be interesting to see.

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