Anyone own all three Noctilux lenses?

[enboe]

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So, simple topic for morning conversation.  Does anyone out there own all three Noctilux lenses, 1.2, 1.0, and 0.95?  If so, what are the relative objective and subjective merits of each based upon your use.  I'm struggling with the desire vs. the merit of buying the 1.2 to complete my trio.  It's a lot of money.

 

Thanks.

 

Eric

 

P.S.  Bonus karma points if you can point me to a user-grade for $10K.  Well, I can wish!

[TheGodParticle/Hari]

They are 3 totally different lenses.

 

All they have in common is that they:

1. are all called Noctilux

2. are expensive

3. are super fast lenses

4. have a very distinct and individual signature

5. will make you lust and eventually cave in and get them. welcome to the 1 kidney club.

 

The 1.2 being the oldest has a very old school rendering. Sharpness is not its forte but gorgeous color, size/weight comparable to the 50Lux pre-ASPH and the weakest of the 3 when it comes to contre-jour performance. Works very well for b&w as well as color.

 

The 50/1 is a visibly bigger, heavier and more modern lens. My fav is the v4 that delivers gorgeous pastel colors, medium contrast and has a long focus throw. Built in hood and a standard filter size makes life easier.

 

0.95 is the biggest, heaviest and most well corrected of them all. Logical as it's the newest of the bunch and still in production. Sharpest of the 3, highest contrast and the shortest focus throw.

 

All 3 have selectable and dedicated profiles on the digital M's.

 

50/1 and 50/0.95 also benefit from the 6bit coding, the 1.2 usually has no coding and I don't know if Leica will code them for you. I'm not aware of a 6bit coding profile for the 1.2

 

Anything in particular you want to know?

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited April 15, 2016 by TheGodParticle

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[NB23]

With the noctilux f1.2 I'd go all over the world. Up in the Tibetan mountains to pray, down in India to kill a tiger, in Russia to drink a few bottles, in Mongolia to witness an eagles fight and so much more. All on Portra 160, Tri-X and pan-F.

 

With the f1.0 I'd shoot in eastern Europe.

 

With the 0.95, I'd shoot a few weddings locally.

[james.liam]

For the sake of the tiger, hope you never get an f/1.2. 

[Herr Barnack]

With the noctilux f1.2 I'd go all over the world. Up in the Tibetan mountains to pray, down in India to kill a tiger, in Russia to drink a few bottles, in Mongolia to witness an eagles fight and so much more. All on Portra 160, Tri-X and pan-F.

 

With the f1.0 I'd shoot in eastern Europe.

 

With the 0.95, I'd shoot a few weddings locally.

I have to ask - what is it about the f/1.2 that captivates you?  What does it give the user that the f/1.0 and f/0.95 ASPH can't?

[FrozenInTime]

I've owned the f/1 and currently the f/0.95.

Regrettably sold the f/1 in the late '90s as I did not understand the focus shift issues ( before the internet publicized such things ).

Never had or desired the f/1.2 ( heard tales of variability and little chance of finding a good one at any cost ) 

 

The thing with Leica's path to better image quality has resulted in increasingly large lenses:

So I also use the 50/1.1  Sonnetar as its more compact than a Summilux so easier to leave on the camera.

Obviously image quality is more classical than the Noctilux lenses.

 

As an aside, I once had the 58 f/1.2 Noct-Nikkor ( hand ground aspherical ).

I found it terribly unsharp at infinity and prone to very large balling  of point sources; the 50/1 Noctilux far superior.

 

The Konica Hexanon 50 or 60/1.2 lenses might be interesting - but not sure of the high prices and value vs. hype ratio.

[enboe]

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Thank you all for the replies.  The Noctilux 1.2 is not a trivial purchase for most.

 

I do worry about the reported sample variability, especially if purchasing without the chance to try first.  I don't see any for sale in Southern California right now.

 

And for the attraction, for me it is 50% subjective based upon images I have seen, especially the out-of-focus rendering, and 50% just because it is there and I've wanted it for over a decade.

 

Time to get ready, stop by the camera show, and shoot a few rolls with the M7.

 

Eric

[Herr Barnack]

I would have to say that all things considered, you can't go wrong with the #11 822 Noctilux f/1.0; that has been my experience, anyway.  The #11 822 sells used for about half the price of the new 0.95 ASPH and about 1/6 the price of the f/1.2 Noctilux, without the worries that purchasing a sight unseen f/1.2 brings.

[NB23]

I have to ask - what is it about the f/1.2 that captivates you? What does it give the user that the f/1.0 and f/0.95 ASPH can't?

Romance. That's it.

 

I'd love to shoot an entire project with only that lens. People, things, landscapes. Then publish the book. All the shots would have one same signature. Soft or sharp or moody, or having that je-ne-sais-quoi or entirely subpar rendering, I absolutely wouldn't care.

[MarkP]

They are 3 totally different lenses.

 

All they have in common is that they:

1. are all called Noctilux

2. are expensive

3. are super fast lenses

4. have a very distinct and individual signature

5. will make you lust and eventually cave in and get them. welcome to the 1 kidney club.

 

The 1.2 being the oldest has a very old school rendering. Sharpness is not its forte but gorgeous color, size/weight comparable to the 50Lux pre-ASPH and the weakest of the 3 when it comes to contre-jour performance. Works very well for b&w as well as color.

 

The 50/1 is a visibly bigger, heavier and more modern lens. My fav is the v4 that delivers gorgeous pastel colors, medium contrast and has a long focus throw. Built in hood and a standard filter size makes life easier.

 

0.95 is the biggest, heaviest and most well corrected of them all. Logical as it's the newest of the bunch and still in production. Sharpest of the 3, highest contrast and the shortest focus throw.

 

All 3 have selectable and dedicated profiles on the digital M's.

 

50/1 and 50/0.95 also benefit from the 6bit coding, the 1.2 usually has no coding and I don't know if Leica will code them for you. I'm not aware of a 6bit coding profile for the 1.2

 

Anything in particular you want to know?

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

I was waiting for you to reply to this TGP!

[Ivar B]

The 1.2/50mm is now priced extraordinarily high due to collector interest.

 

Two lenses were sold at the Leicashop Westlicht auction late last year, with hammer prices of 22 800 € and 19 200 €.

 

I own a mint example in box - with prices in excess of 20 000 € I am tempted to sell!

[duckrider]

....all three Noctilux lenses, 1.2, 1.0, and 0.95.....

mention, thre are more than three only!

 

http://www.overgaard.dk/thorstenovergaardcom_copyrighted_graphics/leica_90_f1_640w.jpg

 

kind regs

Thomas

[TheGodParticle/Hari]

I was waiting for you to reply to this TGP!

Hope you have been well Mark!

[TheGodParticle/Hari]

The 1.2/50mm is now priced extraordinarily high due to collector interest.

 

Two lenses were sold at the Leicashop Westlicht auction late last year, with hammer prices of 22 800 € and 19 200 €.

 

I own a mint example in box - with prices in excess of 20 000 € I am tempted to sell!

Do you use the lens? If not, yes sell it.

 

What would you buy with the proceeds from the sale?

 

I have two - one is mint in box and the other one is a well used copy with perfect optics and mechanics. I got many offers but I will not sell either.

[Ivar B]

Do you use the lens? If not, yes sell it.

 

What would you buy with the proceeds from the sale?

 

I have two - one is mint in box and the other one is a well used copy with perfect optics and mechanics. I got many offers but I will not sell either.

 

No, I never use it. It was bought for collection purposes. I own an 0.95/50 also. I don`t need the money so selling is not a major priority. If I were to sell it I would not allow shipment of any kind so a buyer would have to come here, and the number of buyers is quite low here.

Edited April 21, 2016 by Ivar B

[ynp]

Romance. That's it.

 

I'd love to shoot an entire project with only that lens. People, things, landscapes. Then publish the book. All the shots would have one same signature. Soft or sharp or moody, or having that je-ne-sais-quoi or entirely subpar rendering, I absolutely wouldn't care.

Thank you for your comment.

The1.2 was ugly sometimes, but it's the only Noctilux I missed when I sold my four Nocti with my other collectables. The 1.2 lived on my M5 for several years.

[Leicaiste]

The 50/1 is a visibly bigger, heavier and more modern lens. My fav is the v4 that delivers gorgeous pastel colors, medium contrast and has a long focus throw. Built in hood and a standard filter size makes life easier.

 

In my experience it easier to find E58 than E60 filters.

[Leicaiste]

The1.2 was ugly sometimes, but it's the only Noctilux I missed when I sold my four Nocti with my other collectables.

What do you mean by ugly ?

[ynp]

What do you mean by ugly ?

You reminded me about a story from the past.

 

 

I bought the 1.2 and M5 together, by chance,very long time ago, maybe in 1995-96 ,in a very southern part of an Asian ex.Soviet Republic, in the period of time when there were no digital Leicas and the prices were low, even lower than in the West. By chance, I was offered the Leica, which previously belonged to a regional Russian language newspaper, which by that time was almost dead.

I was offered a choice of two Leica lenses offered with the camera and, for some reason I decided to take the Noctilux 1.2/50.

 

At that time I shoot Medium Format with a Bronica and found the M5 and 1.2 to be very compact. It was my first Leica M and I was very happy. Than I bought an M7, MP3, M6J, more lenses and more lenses. I became a fan, and later, I began collecting, not very successfully and without deep knowledge of the history of Leica.

 

Ugly or not: maybe too harsh a word.

 

Obviously, the Noctilux 1.2/50 lens was very well made, it was small and, fitted my on the M5, was balanced well. Mechanically it was very good. I serviced the lens in The UK in the beginnings of 2003.

 

After the 1.2 I bought my 1.0 and liked the 1.0 much better. And I am talking about wide open shooting. Stopped down all the Leica Nocti are brilliant.

 

I actively disliked how unpleasant was the background bokeh when a subject was between 1 and 1.5 meters and the background was close to the subject and busy and dark. Like a foliage. Wide open contrast was low and any summicron was better with those subjects. In the controlled shooting, when I was able to find a distant and light background the lens showed its magic.

 

Anyway, I realized that the lens was rare, collectable and I sold it three years ago with my other rare items and my Leicas paid for my daughter's university in the USA.

Edited May 8, 2016 by ynp

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[TheGodParticle/Hari]

In my experience it easier to find E58 than E60 filters.

OK