Noctilux price drop

[Nick De Marco]

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Has anyone noticed how much used Noctilux's have fallen in price recently?

 

I have learnt the hard was, deciding to sell my near mint last version 50mm f1. I bought the lens just over a year ago from the Leica shop in Vienna. It was and still is in lovely condition. It was the most expensive lens I ever bought, even as a second hand lens. I would not knock it at all, but the truth is however lovely it was it wasn't really for me. The size and weight (even though less than the 0.95), and the fact it is rare I need to use f1, as opposed, let's say to f1.4, meant I didn't use it a 10th as much as lenses costing much lens.

 

And so, in part to justify my order of the new Q, I decided to sell it. It was one lens I thought was a pretty good investment - they were always quite hard to come by and kept their prices. But prices for used Noctilux's in London are now nearly a £1,000 less than they were a couple of years ago. I even saw one go for £2.5k the other day. Apparently it's to do with the price of the 0.95 coming down and the fact you can get Noctis in HK for less now. Check out Red Dot, Ivor has more than I have ever seen in one go, or Aperture (where my 50 f 1 is on sale) and you will see. A good time for Nocti buyers, not so good for Nocti sellers!

 

Anyway, even though mine hasn't sold yet (but I'm pretty sure at the price it will) I could not help "replacing" it with something more practical. I bought a used silver 50mm Summilux ASPH. I always wanted the new Summilux but have had less expensive (and perfectly good) alternatives - especially the 50mm Nokton f1.5 ASPH. But I then tend to just use my 50mm Summicron f2 M last version on my M instead. The Summilux (which has 6-bit), so far seems a real gem. I can shoot easily at f1.4 without so much fear of missing the focus (as with the Nocti), it's sharp and a nice size, with great handling. I have already eaten in to the money I was going to buy the Q with, but for me the Summlux is certainly I much more useable lens than the Nocti was - I'm not doing a very job trying to sell mine though am I...

[wda]

Nick, thank you for your honest confessional in public. Perhaps it would have been better to wait until your lens actually sold. But there you go!

 

I guess you are not alone in realising the Noctilux is not for you. Weight alone was enough to deter me from investing heavily in a cult lens. I say cult because the extremely shallow depth of field is its USP, but is a characteristic which needs to be used sparingly. I have no doubt that your new used Summilux will serve you rather better; but don't be surprised if your faithful Summicron continues to find a place in your everyday bag. Mine does!

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[luigi bertolotti]

The winner is always the Nocti 1,2....   http://arsenal-photo.com/Leica-M-12-50-mm-Noctilux-Version-1-very-clean-with-hood-Ultra-rare-Leica-Lens

[JHAG]

A difficult lens, but so rewarding, with a unique cachet. I don't use it so much for its lowlight abilities,

than for its unmistakable footprint, which tells a story per se.

Bear in mind servicing it with Leica, as I did last time I was in Wetzlar in december, makes it more

accurate to use.

Edited June 13, 2015 by JHAG

[wattsy]

It makes sense to move stuff on if you are not using it but I'm not sure I'd sell a timeless lens like the F1 Noctilux for a digital camera (of any kind, let alone a mirrorless 'compact'). Sounds like you saw reason and have bought a Summilux instead.

Edited June 13, 2015 by wattsy

[rodluvan]

why are you buying a Q if you just bought a 'lux? 

 

take a deep breath and dig where you stand instead of buying new gear 

[Nick De Marco]

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You would have to read my post on the Q section to answer that in full, Rod.

 

But in short 28mm is my favourite walk around lens (50 my second). There are a number of things that appeal to me about the Q, but as a second camera, to accompany certainly not replace the M. What it will mean, when I have the Q, is that it is more likely I use a 50mm on my M. I may even end up selling my 28mm Summicron ASPH, but only if the Q is really outstanding as I love that 28mm lens.

 

Thus, having the best lens in 50mm for various conditions on the M, and the Q for 28mm, may well be as near to perfection as I want. I therefore bought the Lux to replace the Nocti, to have a lens that can be both fast and good for f8, sharp and not too large, and very happy I did.

[SiOnara]

I paid about £3500 for my used F1 Noctilux. I can see the price has dropped a bit over the 2 years since I purchased.

 

Most of the time I shoot my Summicron. Usually between f5.6 - f8 but when I get that urge to shoot wide open with amazing out of focus rendering the Noctilux comes out.  On the M246 it's really stunning and can be handled easily using the EVF. 

 

I will probably never my Noctilux now as for me it satisfies my bokeh craving. 

[Daedalus2000]

Yes, I have absolutely seen the drop in price. I was looking recently for Noctilux 0.95 lenses on ebay and I saw that they were going for about £4.5K. I have also seen some others asking for 5K+ and not selling. The dealers still have them for more of course.

 

One reason may be the fact that other companies do similar lenses now, for Leica and other systems. For example Voigtlander, Mitakon, etc.. Who knows.

 

The thing that stopped me buying one is the fact that I realised through some reviews that a 50-lux will be a better solution for the reasons you mentioned. Also, I was not sure I could use a Noctilux in the best possible way... I managed to get a Canon 50/0.95 (converted to M mount) which has a very special look so that satisfied my bokeh needs (at least for the time being...)

[MarkThailand]

As for the current market prices,

 

1) the Leicashop in Vienna just sold a Mint (Grade A) Noct F1 V3, complete with box and hood, for 4,500 Euros and

2) Westlicht just auctioned/sold an almost Mint (Grade A/B) Noct F1 V3, 6-bit coded, complete with box and hood, for 3,800 Euros (plus 20% buyers premium = 4,560 Euros).

 

So, from these two data points, at least for a Mint Noct F1 V3, complete with box and hood, the market price is currently 4,500 Euros.  In US dollars, at the current exchange rate of 1.11 USD/Euros, it would be US$5000.  So, I think there might be a period of adjustment between what the sellers are willing to accept what the buyers are willing pay.

 

Btw, I am in the market for a Mint to near Mint Noct F1 V3 or V4....

 

Mark

[MarkThailand]

The winner is always the Nocti 1,2....   http://arsenal-photo.com/Leica-M-12-50-mm-Noctilux-Version-1-very-clean-with-hood-Ultra-rare-Leica-Lens

Westlicht just auctioned/sold a near Mint Noct F1.2 for 15,600 Euros, including the 20% buyers premium.

 

In addition, a Mint Summilux 35mm Aspherical (AA), complete but without box and papers, was auctioned/sold for 10,200 Euros, including the 20% buyers premium.  This lens (as per serial number) was listed on eBay with a Buy Now price of 14,000-15,000 Euros for several months previously.

 

Mark

Edited June 14, 2015 by MarkThailand

[BerndReini]

Sorry for posting this here, I recently posted it in the photo forum. I felt the same way about my Noctilux and had thought about selling it to fund a 50 Apo. Since the prices have dropped so much I decided instead to make it a point and shoot with it. Then this happened. Needless to say, I am renewed my vows with the Nocti (and definitely the f1 for me!)

 

 

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[Pangur Ban]

I'd certainly have another Noctilux if the prices become reasonable again: I'd happily pay £1k for an older one but, to me, what they do is not worth spending more than that. I had one, liked it, sold it. 

 

I did the same with the Summilux 50mm - I could see it was a good lens but didn't keep it, not quite the look I was after. I wouldn't bother with another Summilux but would like another Noctilux. 

Edited June 14, 2015 by Pangur Ban

[honcho]

I sold my last last version f1 Noctilux a couple of years ago for what I felt was an absurd amount of money (in my favour) at the time. It was a lens I had bought new 7 years previously but had little realistic use for, invariably preferring the 50mm Elmar-M f2.8 instead on my MP.  Most Noctiluxes are successively sold on and he trend is obvious by the number of f0.95 Noctiluxes that are currently waiting for their 2nd or 3rd owner to take them off dealer's shelves  (none of those sellers are seeing much return on their 'investment' are they!), let alone earlier f1 versions.  Unless you are going to habitually shoot at full aperture and get all wet about bokeh, a Noctilux doesn't make much sense.  I don't do either of those things and the Noctilux for me was a bloated hindrance.  I happily offloaded it to take the pile of cash I was offered.

 

It was interesting, but not surprising to me in some ways, that the person who bought my last one complained after a couple of days that it was 'soft'!

[MarkP]

Sorry for posting this here, I recently posted it in the photo forum. I felt the same way about my Noctilux and had thought about selling it to fund a 50 Apo. Since the prices have dropped so much I decided instead to make it a point and shoot with it. Then this happened. Needless to say, I am renewed my vows with the Nocti (and definitely the f1 for me!)

 

Beautiful photograph.

 

The 1.0 Noctilux is a very different beast to the 0.95. It's aberrations are what make it so special (as demonstrated here). I have no interest in the 0.95 as my Summilux does the job perfectly for me.

 

 

Fortunately mine was given to me on 'permanent loan' by a professional photographer friend in 2010 and whenever I offer to return it he refuses as he no longer uses it. 

I think it's a fantastic lens and I'm very lucky to have it - it is NOT my everyday 50  but my 'art lens', and no, I don't usually shoot it at f1.0.

Edited June 14, 2015 by MarkP

[rodluvan]

 Then this happened. 

it's a nice photo, no doubt, but for me no single photo coming about at random could justify a lens costing that much

 

do you think it'd looked much different had you used a 'lux or even the APO? 

[BerndReini]

 

 

do you think it'd looked much different had you used a 'lux or even the APO? 

Define much different. It would have looked different, but whether the difference would have been dramatic enough to justify the price I don't know. I do have a 50lux aspherical and it is my most used 50. Fact is though that I might not have taken this photograph with it, not because it wouldn't have been good, but because I might not have "seen" it. I put on the Noctilux consciously looking for photographs that show off its magic. Flare with the 50lux can get ugly and distracting while the Noctilux does best with backlight and a dappled background at a medium distance, so I was kind of looking for that scenario. I therefore don't think the photograph came about at random and I will certainly use the lens more often and probably get more nice photographs with it.

 

I actually used to like the Noctilux most with color negative film because it handled the soft transitions and vignetting better than digital. With the digital color Ms there is also the purple fringing that can get in the way. The MM is so sharp that I figured the Noctilux might help counteract the clinical rendering you can get with some modern lenses.

 

I am not saying that you can't get great photographs with a cheaper lens, but any piece of equipment that inspires me and gets use is worth its money. I have had a lot of cameras and lenses that just didn't speak to me, and they had to go. The Noctilux stays, and for me personally, the 50lux and Noctilux combo beats owning just the new Noctilux .95, and it seems that as far as price is concerned, that was the decision I had to make.

[M9reno]

Any Noctilux is invaluable if you shoot film in low light - a point easily forgotten in these digital days.

[BerndReini]

 

 

Any Noctilux is invaluable if you shoot film in low light - a point easily forgotten in these digital days.

Yup. As is ND.9 unless you want to shoot f8 with a film M during the day. I sometimes forget about that 1/1000s shutter and might as well have brought the Tri-Elmar instead of the Noctilux. 

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[asiafish]

Nick, thank you for your honest confessional in public. Perhaps it would have been better to wait until your lens actually sold. But there you go!

 

I guess you are not alone in realising the Noctilux is not for you. Weight alone was enough to deter me from investing heavily in a cult lens. I say cult because the extremely shallow depth of field is its USP, but is a characteristic which needs to be used sparingly. I have no doubt that your new used Summilux will serve you rather better; but don't be surprised if your faithful Summicron continues to find a place in your everyday bag. Mine does!

50 Summicron remains my favorite 50 for most use.