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How often do you use your Noctilux?


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" 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."

 

the nokton is actually a bit lighter, thinner and has a much shorter focus throw. i like it as well. i use the noctilux more now with the m8 because of the 8000th shutter speed gets me to f1 alot earlier....b

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First of all i use a 50mm lens for 70% of my shooting with the M8.

When i just bought the Nocti i used it for 3 months in a row .... it was glued to the camera.

Now i am switching back to the 50 lux asph more and more.

Serious limiting factor of the Noctilux for me is the closest focussing distance of 1 meter ....

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I am curious about these fast lenses..Noctilux 50mm, 35mm f1.4, and 75mm f1.4

 

Clearly they are bought for their wide open aperatures, but how do the IQ's compare at f4 and f5.6 to the other slower luxes and crons...?

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Dugby, I can only comment about the Nocti, but it compares very well. In practice and using the camera hand held I doubt that you'd be able to say one is better than the other if you were looking at a print.

 

I've never looked at a Nocti iahe for example and thought to myself that I shouuld have used the Summicron. Now I have the M8 perhaps I ought to try both, if only to confirm or reject the above.

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The nocti - either you like it or you don't. I happen to like it a lot, so it became my main lens. The M8 didn't change that, on the contrary. I don't even notice it's a 66mm lens now.

 

I use it for 90% of my shots.

 

Buy it, you're going to buy it anyway, so you might as well buy it now. Once you start talking about it, the virus is already in your body. :)

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Oh folks,

it's sometime so hard to understand you and your "shortcuts".

What the hell does "OOF areas" mean?

Thanks for translating into real words.

Manfred, Magenta Forest

 

OOF = Out Of Focus

DOF = Depth Of Focus

FOV = Field Of View

 

I'm sure there are more but just can't think for them

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Another Noctilux question if I may......I'm still trying to get to grips with this lens. I can understand the advantages of the lens in low light situations but with it set at f1 the depth of field is almost zero. This is no problem I guess when the unwanted background is "way behind" but, for example, when shootinfg some orchid heads recently the pictures are spoilt by slightly, or more, out of focus heads just behind the main ones. Short of taking a pair of prunning scissors with me next time.......it seems to me that one has to be very selective, careful, when using this lens. I'm still very new to the M8 and it's lenses so anymore input would be most welcome.

Also, technically speaking is there any differrence between the Noctilux and the Summilux 50mm/1:1.4 beyond the f1 stop, 1.4+ ?

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yes at f1 it is really a different ballgame and some things you would normally shoot, like a flower, will be more of a challenge. with time you can really figure out some cool things to do with this lens. it was alot harder to get used to on a film m without lcd review for sure. infinity shots at f1 have a really cool look that i've never seen with another lens. the noctilux definitely has a different signature than the summilux at 1.4 and above. i think it has a really unique look at "normal" apertures but some may disagree. the summilux of course is a stellar lens as well, just different. i think leica has a lens brochure downloadable from their website which explains (in a marketing environment) some of the differences on a technical level. hope this helps. enjoy...b

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Alan,

 

I have the NOCTILUX right in front of me for doing some tests this weekend.

 

I have the Canon 1.0/50 EF L, too, and my plan was to sell the Canon for the Noctilux. But FOR ME the look of the Canon on my 1Ds II is much more unique than the Noctilux on the M8. Yes, it is softer at 1.0 and it will not reach the 3D quality of the Noctilux at smaller apertures. The biggest issue: i still miss the vignetting...

 

On the other hand, last year i have done a film roll (first since 1998) with the M7 and the Noctilux and this combo really rocks.

 

But the Summilux 1.4/50 (i have the pre aspheric) performs so well against the Noctilux. And i like the closest focussing distance of 0.7 meter instead of 1 meter with the 1.0 lenses. So i will keep the Summilux and the EF L 1.0/50. Hmm. Or not?

 

The lens i like (or love) more and more with the M8 is the 1,4/35 Summilux ASPH. What a performance. And what a nice bokeh at 1.4. The same with the 2/75 asph wide open. For ME the closest focussing distance of 0.7 meter rules.

 

Maybe it helps you to do a search at flickr.com for NOCTILUX. There are a lot of outstanding pictures out there. There are pools for WIDEOPEN and BOKEH, too.

 

jørn

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Hello all, if I might ad to this discussion?

 

I had a real need for the Nocti, because I was commisioned a project that needed a lot of low light, non flash work.

I got the Nocti for this.

The lens has definately a learning curve.

In my experience the weight and the focusing is not a problem at all.

(I also do heavy ENG video work)

 

For non obtrusive picture taking the lens is too big.

 

I used it exclusivly for about 2 weeks in dark, dim and full daylight (filtered with a polarizer) and I consider it as a all rounder, and for the time being my only 50 mm lens.

 

But I can imagine that the "real" Leica woman or man does not feel this lens fits in the concept of light and stealthy streetphotography..(which the M series was meant for)

 

So many minds.... so many thoughts...

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I have the 28mm Elmarit Aspherical coded, and the Noctilux. I agree with dennersten, in Berlin in Winter (with it's 3 layers of clouds and no meaningful daylingt) I shoot at ISO 320 at best, sometimes even higher. And the Noctilux is able to create some unique images. Of course, if you're constantly shooting at f1 it becomes a bit of a glorified LensBaby, but it remains a great portrait lens. The cropped focal length actually makes it a little easier, I don't have to be too close to my subject. Sometimes the minimum focal distance isn't quite short enough for me - you really need to be 4 feet away at least, and sitting at a table shooting the person across from you means you really have to lean back pretty far. Not the end of the world, and for all I know it's the same thing for other 50mm lenses.

 

I'm getting a nice 35mm next, and then I'm done (I hope and think.)

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This is my first posting of photos on this web site. Both were taken with my new M8. The first was taken at a local coffee house, and the second at a local bluegrass tavern. Both were taken with a Nocti, at ISO 160 at f1.0. I used Raw Developer, followed by further color correction in Photoshop, using a favorite plug-in: iCorrect Portrait. The M8/Nocti combination results in lovely luminous “buttery” images. Also, as demonstrated in the rest of my bluegrass images, the M8/Nocti combination has an uncanny ability to see in the dark. I was too enthralled at the time to even think about increasing the ISO, which would have helped some shots because of camera shake. I am really sold on this combination.

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This is my first posting of photos on this web site. Both were taken with my new M8. The first was taken at a local coffee house, and the second at a local bluegrass tavern. And both were taken with a Nocti, at ISO 160 at f1.0. I used Raw Developer, followed by further color correction in Photoshop, using a favorite plug-in: iCorrect Portrait. The M8/Nocti combination results in lovely luminous “buttery” images. Also, as demonstrated in the rest of my bluegrass images, the M8/Nocti combination has an uncanny ability to see in the dark. I was too enthralled to even think about increasing the ISO, which would have helped some shots because of camera shake. I am sold on this combination.

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