M9 and a variety of lenses (images)

[Alnitak]

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I met with a group of photographers (mostly Leica users) at the Getty Villa today in Malibu, California. We had a great time sharing lenses and stories, and shooting the grounds and exhibits. At least one member of this forum was there, Bo Lorentzen. Nice to finally meet Bo and the others. Here's a selection of shots that I thought might be of interest, given the variety of lenses used:

 

Noctilux f/0.95 wide open:

 

 

 

Summilux 75mm f/1.4 wide open:

 

 

Voigtlander 12mm f/5.6 Ultra Wide Heliar, f/8:

 

[Alnitak]

Summicron 90mm f/2 wide open:

 

 

 

 

Summilux 24mm f/1.4 wide open:

 

[Overgaard]

Thanks. They tell a lot about qualities and what shooting style each lens could be used for.

[shtarka1]

Fantastic display & array! Great shooting!

[Doc Henry]

Thanks for sharing.

What I find most remarkable:

First is the quality of the 0.95 Noctilux

Then the 90mm with superb images

and finally the 24 mm I have not, but i will take 28 mm on the M9 for trying

I have no 0.95 mm but i also get some nice pictures in the dark with a M8 and Summilux 50mm

[Alnitak]

I have to say I really like the looks of the 90mm and 75mm Summicrons on the M9; the bokeh is just beautiful.

[mongrelnomad]

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One thing to bear in mind:

 

Both Noctis are a pain to focus: long throws, and very difficult to get spot-on with a moving subject (a necessity when wide-open). I find that the f1.0 is much kinder than the 0.95 if you're just that tiny bit oof... the general softness of the lense smooths and flatters the image's imperfections, whereas the sharpness of the 0.95 highlights it.

 

I love them both, but for that reason, tend to grab the f1.0 when heading out somewhere with VERY bad light (what you buy the Nocti for in the first place!)

[adan]

90 Summicron - APO or pre-APO?

 

Julian - personally I LIKE long focus throws on M teles - I find they have finer "vernier" control that make it less likely to overshoot/undershoot precise focus. E.G. I get more in-focus shots with my slow, long throw 75 f/1.4 or 135 f/4 lenses than I do with, say, the short-throw 75/90 Summarits and 75 Summicron, even though the former have the focusing disadvantages of larger aperture or longer focal length (less DoF).

 

Vernier scale - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Conversely, I agree that older lenses with some remaining spherical aberration are kinder and gentler if you miss focus by a bit.

[Alnitak]

Andy, that's the 90 AA. While the pre-asph lenses can be more forgiving, I personally like the rapid drop-off of the in-focus zone on the ASPH lenses. To me it helps to a more 3-D "pop" to the images that I really like.

[gwelland]

Am I the only one here lusting over that nice Mamiya TLR?