rondeb Posted December 11, 2006 Share #1 Posted December 11, 2006 Advertisement (gone after registration) Anyone care to give an opinion on the original nocti for the M8? I may be able to get a deal(I think) on one and it is tempting. oh.. is $2000 a "good deal"? thanks, Ron Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted December 11, 2006 Posted December 11, 2006 Hi rondeb, Take a look here Noctilux 1.2. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
carstenw Posted December 11, 2006 Share #2 Posted December 11, 2006 I don't know about the price, but if you are looking at the one on eBay from a Canadian seller, watch out. The guy has zero ratings, and the early bidders were all private. It reeks like a scam. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan States Posted December 11, 2006 Share #3 Posted December 11, 2006 It's TOO good a deal. Beware. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
blakley Posted December 12, 2006 Share #4 Posted December 12, 2006 It's a fantastic lens; I posted some samples shot with it in this thread. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
newyorkone Posted December 12, 2006 Share #5 Posted December 12, 2006 Price is too low - probably a scam. 1.2 versions go for $3500 - 4500 depending on the condition of the sample. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
enboe Posted December 12, 2006 Share #6 Posted December 12, 2006 I would expect to pay $4000-$5000US for this lens if I found one. $2000US sounds too good to be true, so I would wait until I saw and handled the lens. By the way, if the lens is legit, and you find yourself bored with it, I'd be happy to give you a quick 10% return on your investment Eric Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
khun_k Posted December 12, 2006 Share #7 Posted December 12, 2006 Advertisement (gone after registration) Anyone care to give an opinion on the original nocti for the M8? I may be able to get a deal(I think) on one and it is tempting. oh.. is $2000 a "good deal"?thanks, Ron If it is in good condition, it is a very good deal. I got mine more than 10 years ago and already cost more than 2,000 USD and it is higher now than 10 years ago, I will not surprise if a mint one can go up to 4,000-5,000 USD. It's rare and highly saught after. I post some M8 test picture using the 50/1.0 Noct. and the result is pleasing. I will test the M8 with the 50/1.2 Noct version in next week. K Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
j. borger Posted December 12, 2006 Share #8 Posted December 12, 2006 A minty f1.0 Noctilux goes for around Euro 2000,-- if you are lucky and can find one. I payd that amount for the first version f1.0 lens with 58mm filter. A 1.2 Noctilux has collector status .. so be carefull......... with "good deals" I know a very reliable seller however who stocks a prototype 50/1.2 Noctilux in chrome..................... very rare .. very expensive: Euro 33.500 Have a look here: Used Cameras: Leica, Robot, Rolleiflex Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bayerische Posted December 12, 2006 Share #9 Posted December 12, 2006 Over 30K, now I can understand the value of saving a Prototype lens, say in a Leica museum, but personally I could not get joy worth 30K out of a lens. Not even the Hassey's left on the moon. Well at second tought, maybe the Hasselblads from the moon:) Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Branch Posted December 12, 2006 Share #10 Posted December 12, 2006 A word of caution; the f/1.2 lens was very difficult to make and caused Leica a lot of problems. The literature is full of euphemisms about why it was replaced but the root cause, besides cost due to the very high level of rejects, was sample to sample variability - no two lenses gave the same performance. When I tried two way back in the early ‘70s they were significantly different. No doubt both passed the minimum acceptable standard for release and in those days sample to sample variability was fairly easy to detect in a wide range of lenses but in today’s world of highly consistent quality they would not have survived as long as they did. They are collectors’ items and you might get a good one; but a recent f/1.0 for the same money is a far better buy and in my limited experience with my M8 before it was whisked back to Solms it works very well on the camera. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Campbell Posted December 12, 2006 Share #11 Posted December 12, 2006 Peter's insight on sample variation explains a lot. I owned one in the 70s and found that its performance got worse as a stopped down. Puts claims that this is a myth and proves it with his own tests. I guess I had a bad one. I almost never used it because my Summicron out performed it starting at f2. The current version is a much better buy. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pelikan1931 Posted December 16, 2006 Share #12 Posted December 16, 2006 erwin puts also says the canon f1.2 is better than the noctilux in his site, and now canon has just rolled out its 50/1.2L, i just wonder how good is leica's noctilux in its various incarnations, the canon is certainly much cheaper. my main complaint against the noctilux is not its price but its size, in particular the blocking of the viewfinder. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted December 16, 2006 Share #13 Posted December 16, 2006 my main complaint against the noctilux is not its price but its size, in particular the blocking of the viewfinder. There's no such thing as a free lunch, and if you want the lens speed, that will inevitably set the diameter of the front lens element and the diameter of the lens overall and how much it will intrude into the finder. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pelikan1931 Posted December 16, 2006 Share #14 Posted December 16, 2006 maybe Leica will consider updating the Noctilux, something like f1.2, with asph, and a smaller diameter, E48 perhaps... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
j. borger Posted December 16, 2006 Share #15 Posted December 16, 2006 maybe Leica will consider updating the Noctilux, something like f1.2, with asph, and a smaller diameter, E48 perhaps... That already exists .. it is called the 50 Summilux asph ............. offering a 1,2 and 1,4 version of a 50mm does not sound very plausible to me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pelikan1931 Posted December 16, 2006 Share #16 Posted December 16, 2006 Canon's Noctilux Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted December 16, 2006 Share #17 Posted December 16, 2006 If you include the Tri-Elmar, there's already 5 ways to shoot at 50mm, so I think this focal length is well served... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Branch Posted December 16, 2006 Share #18 Posted December 16, 2006 If you include the Tri-Elmar, there's already 5 ways to shoot at 50mm, so I think this focal length is well served... Mark is surely correct; there are already too many variants on the 50mm theme. I can’t see the f/2.8 Elmarit surviving in a world dominated by the M8. The Noctilux, as Ervin Puts says, “Draws differently”, why would you want to turn it into a slightly faster Summilux? There are many people on this forum espousing the virtues of the “Older Lens Look”, if that is what you want then the Noctilux is probably your kind of lens and at f/5.6 its central image quality is very good indeed. With the M8 the Noctilux’s fall off in edge quality, both absolute and relative to, say, the Summicron, is much less significant. (I am suspicious of some, but not all, of the images on the forum which purport to be taken at f/1.0. They just don’t have the feel of the images with which I am familiar and the argument that this is the best aperture with this lens is plain wrong.) This plethora of choice probably helps to explain the failure of the long rumoured Summicron 50mm Asph to appear. There are just too many options already and with the reduced field of view of an M8 it is very difficult to improve on the central image quality without a major price increase. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hiroshi Posted January 4, 2007 Share #19 Posted January 4, 2007 I don't know about the price, but if you are looking at the one on eBay from a Canadian seller, watch out. The guy has zero ratings, and the early bidders were all private. It reeks like a scam. Yes. You are right. Because I lost $2500 from Canadian seller on ebay. I regret having had dealings with him very much. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddp Posted January 4, 2007 Share #20 Posted January 4, 2007 maybe Leica will consider updating the Noctilux, something like f1.2, with asph, and a smaller diameter, E48 perhaps... The original Noct 1.2 is aspherical I believe - but I am not sure you will see Leica update the current design. It's still made in limited numbers, and I doubt the sales numbers would call for an update. You never know though. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.