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How often do you use your Noctilux?


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Alan,

 

Not to hijack your thread but I'm also interested in the answers you get, I have a 50'cron and 75'cron and I'm thinking 50 nocti or 75 lux for "softer" portraits out of the 30% offer. I'm more interested in the Noctilux and would be curious as the answers you get about usability. ;)

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Alan,

 

Not to hijack your thread but I'm also interested in the answers you get, I have a 50'cron and 75'cron and I'm thinking 50 nocti or 75 lux for "softer" portraits out of the 30% offer. I'm more interested in the Noctilux and would be curious as the answers you get about usability. ;)

 

As someone already suggested in another thread the 75 Lux can be easily obtained on the used market for much less. There are very few lenses that are difficult to get used. Perhaps the Nocti, the Lux 50 ASPH... Can't think of any others.

 

Alan

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I have one . It's huge, heavy, and blocks a lot of the view finder. It defeats the who reason i like to shoot my personal work with the M8. If i wanted to shoot with a big, heavy camera, i would just bring my most excellent canon 1dsmkII.

Most of the time i use my other lens 35 1.4 asph. It's super compact and really fast.

One thing i'm really not liking about the M8 is non full size sensor. I wish the lens would stay the same as 35mm film camera. I think this is a most important factor with a pro camera. It's almost a joke.

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Hi Alan, I've had my Noctilux for 5 or 6 years. I also have a current 50mm Summicron.

 

I'd say I use the Nocti about 10% of the time. If I know that I'll be going somewhere that isn't well lit I'll take it along. So when I went to York Minster yesterday I put it in the bag. Night shooting is another example where I'd take it along. It's very stong in both those areas.

 

For normal day to day walking around I prefer the Summicron as it's quite a bit lighter and it focus much more quickly due to the shorter focusing throw.

 

The Nocti has a look that's all it's own, especially with out of focus highlights. These are instantly recognisable and look similar to what I remember from my pre-ASPH 35mm Summilux.

 

In addition to all of the above it's the most flare resistant lens I own.

 

Hope this helps, let me know if you have any more questions.

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As someone already suggested in another thread the 75 Lux can be easily obtained on the used market for much less. There are very few lenses that are difficult to get used. Perhaps the Nocti, the Lux 50 ASPH... Can't think of any others.

Alan

 

Thanks Alan, I know the 75's can be got for sub €1500 2nd hand (non coded) so it's unlikely I'd waste the offer on that. Nocti on the other hand seem to be around €2000+ and given the charge back on vat a new nocti runs the same as a 2nd hand one for me @ about €2000 net of vat. But I'm thinking it's really big (relative to other M lenses) and will only be used for the softness I want or some lowlight stuff.

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Alan, I used a 'nocti for about 10 years and got rid of it because I grew to feel that the images were too cold and harsh. While I had it, I used it more than 90% of the time (many hundreds of rolls of film). I didn't find it particularly heavy (we M users really have it easy in comparison with SLR users when dealing with weight).

 

On the other hand, with the M8, I am using wider lenses more. I use the 24 (32 effective) most of the time, and the 35 (47) after that. My 50 'lux (67) has become a portrait lens, and the 75 'lux (100) is more so. Use of the lenses is:

 

24 - 50%

35 - 30%

50 - 15%

75 - 5%

 

If that totals to 100% I get 2 points on the SAT.

 

I would think that there will be some 30%-coupon arbitrage going on before too long. :)

 

G'luck.

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I am considering getting the Nocti with my 30% discount. Just wondering for those of you who have that lens how often do you use it? or is it a novelty that wears of after the first month?

Thanks in advance.

Alan

 

i was able to try the Noctilux and Lux 50mm, i will go for the Lux, it is smaller, lighter and the bokeh is so close to the Noctilux that i see no reason to get a Noctliux. I think the Noctilux is a "nice to have" item, but no "need to have" item.

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I am considering getting the Nocti with my 30% discount. Just wondering for those of you who have that lens how often do you use it? or is it a novelty that wears of after the first month?

Thanks in advance.

Alan

 

Buy it, and if you find you don't like using it you can likely sell it for as much or more than you paid for it. I keep mine, even though I have the 50 asph, because it has such a unique look in the way it renders the OOF areas. I use it only for specific purposes and not very often, but when I do come across something I want to use it for, I'm always happy I have it available.

 

My opinion is different from Jan's. I think the 50 asph and the Nocti have very different bokehs.

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I have used one for the last six years. Recently with the M8 it has become a very good portrait lens and I estimate that about 20% of my M8 images have been taken with it despite my having many other lenses. It's winter and a higher proportion of my pictures are taken indoors. The IR problems with indoor lighting are however horrendous – either the colour is all over the place or the out of focus IR image just spoils the image quality. Should be OK when we get the filters.

 

The $64k question is: "Would I buy one today?" The answer is no. If I were in the market today for a 50mm, (which I regard as something of a specialist focal length on an M8), I would have no hesitation in buying the f/1.4 Summilux ASPH. It is better than the Noctilux in almost every respect. With the M8 I simply don’t need the extra speed of the Noctilux though it was very handy with film. As I have posted elsewhere I suspect that the f/1.4 may become the only 50mm lens to survive in the medium term.

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If you want a soft, expensive, fast lens, how about this one:

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I almost never used the lens for film, but now that I have an M8, I use it much more often, now that it's a 66.5mm rather than a 50mm (on the M8). It is stiff to focus, and blocks a lot of the viewfinder, but the B&W files I'm getting, shot at f1.0 at 1250 ASA are incredible. even compared to Tri-X and Acufine. Plus, what else is out there for really dim light (besides flash, of course).

 

Now, if I had the Summilux, I'd probably shoot it even more, but with one less stop, I'd have to shoot it at 2500 ASA with a lot more noise. So, I guess it's a compromise.

 

One more thing -- for a lens that costs four thousand buck, why did Leica put that cheap-ass plastic shade on the thing, that won't even stay extended?! Couldn't they have put a metal one on there? One more reason to buy the older one, with the fixed shade.

 

PS: I meant ISO, not ASA. Guess I'm an old guy now.:D

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Well, I have only 2 lenses, so in my case is relatively straightforward: 75% 28 summicron, 25% noctilux. The noctilux stays at home most of the time, where is often used to shoot indoor at available light, unless I know that I am going to need it. It is BIG, but if you need f1, there's nothing else. However, I agree about the Canon 0.95: you can find some in M mount at almost half price of the noctilux and it has its own character.

If Leica gives me a 28 summilux, I don't need anything else.

 

Giulio

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I am considering getting the Nocti with my 30% discount. Just wondering for those of you who have that lens how often do you use it? or is it a novelty that wears of after the first month?

Thanks in advance.

Alan

 

 

Every day wintertime. Hardly nothing summer part of the year. If you are living in the Nordic region with sun just up 3 - 4 hours a day during winter, you see the Nocti as a survival tool. But it's big and bulky, so during the summer it tends to never find it's way down in the photobag.

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Thanks everyone for your advise. I think I probably will go for it. You see I have contracted this terribly contagious desease that is being spread by the M8. This desease is far more serious than any banding, magenta cast, battery/electrical problems etc. I was perfectly fine last November wth my collection of relatively complete, but older, Leica lenses. But as soon as I touched the M8 I started to have this irresistable urge to acquire the latest ASPH or most expensive Lux's, Cron's, and now, the Nocti. It's only been 2.5 months and I am already up 4 lenses with the Nocti in my sights. No cure...

 

Alan

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Alan, I use the Noctilux almost exclusively! I have shot the Noctilux in both of it's variants since it was first made (1966 f1.2) I made an entire carrer out of the Noctilux shooting fashion. There was a time in Italy when it was all I would shoot! I would carry an M2 with the Noctilux around my neck and when asked by the magazine art directors/editors what I wanted to shoot, I would reply "anyhting I can shoot with this" while pointing the the camera around my neck. It is big, heavy, obstructs the viewfinder, hard to focus, and the best lens Leica/Leitz has ever made! Maybe not on the bench but in the real world. It is unique and beautiful. Best of luck, mark

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Alan,

Thanks for starting this thread, and thanks to those that offered up such a diverse and interesting set of experiences. I am also debating adding the Nocti to my kit, and with the 30% discount, it is starting to seem more like a good way to use that offer. I am shooting with a CV 35/1.2 Nokton now for low light stuff, and it is almost the same size and weight, so not really too worried there. Good luck with your final decision. I may be joining you in that selection myself.

 

LJ

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