Noctilux or Summilux

[sean_reid]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Another vote here for the 50/1.4 Lux as a great all-around lens. It is wonderful.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[jeffwros]

Had the Noctilux. Focusing distance + slow focus = a lens I didn't use all that often. It's beautiful and a solid piece of glass but that was not enough for me to keep it.

 

If I were in the market I'd go with the Summilux.

[jayproth]

Apologies, slightly off-topic:

If one were interested in a Noctilux, what would be the fastest and cheapest way to get one?

 

Also, since I'm shooting an M8, would a 35mm lux make more sense than a 50mm lux? Or are there other qualities of the 50mm lens that would make it worthwhile to purchase one despite the cropping issue?

 

Thanks

[LJL]

Well, somebody has to be on the fringe, so might as well be me.....I decided on the Noctilux specifically for the "look". The size, weight and long focus do not bother me for what I want that lens for. For the rest of my more "normal" shooting, I went with the CV 50/1.5 Nokton, and have found it to be quite sharp and with its own interesting drawing. To supplement the rest of that "look" on a bit wider lens, I opted for the CV 35/1.2 Nokton, and have been enjoying it as well also.

 

I have been very tempted to go with the Leica 50/1.4 ASPH, but honestly, I do not see that need as much now. If I were only going to have one 50, that would be the lens, based on what I have seen, what folks that use it a lot have shown, and what it is designed for. However, if you want that special rolloff of focus and dreamy out of focus areas, and are willing to maybe give up a tad of tack sharpness that the 50 'Lux delivers, then only the Noctilux will deliver that for you. I want that "look", and I also enjoy the drawing of the CV Nokton....does not give up all that much to the Leica, except the price. Sean has done a great review of this lens, and I believe he uses it a fair amount himself. Definitely worth checking it out.

 

LJ

[bradreiman]

i prefer the noctilux but it took alot of getting used to. it was only $2000 usd 2 years ago on ebay so that has changed. i prefer the unique signature of the noctilux. i own old summarit, a canon 50 1.2 etc for faster focussing but mostly use the noctilux....b

 

noctilux at f1-

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[colorflow]

My TCW is buy the Noct if you have the 30% discount. Otherwise you may want to save over $1k and consider the pre-ASPH Lux 50. They are wonderful too, especially if you don't need the clinical sharpness of the ASPH. I have both ASPH and non-ASPH and find myself using the older one just as often.

 

Alan

[j. borger]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Wilfredo,

 

In considering the Noctilux, take a look at these images from Flickr. It is big and special purpose. But it is spectacular.

 

Flickr: Photos tagged with noctilux

Yes Bill ..... a stunning portfolio of Noctilux shots i agree.... but you will never get that look with the M8 unlesss you ad some PS to the workflow.......

One of the reasons i sold the Noctilux is because i did not like it very much on the M8 .... in fact prefered it on the R-D1.

The M8 already has very open shadows ... what the noctilux added to it was a bit too much for my taste.... 2nd and more important ... the Noctilux looses one of it's main characteristics on the M8: the vignetting ... due to the sensorcrop and the micro-lenses ..... in fact my Noctilux did not show noticable vignetting on the M8 with 2 ND stacked in front ....!

If you look a Tommy's awesome Noctilux shots in your link.. you see what i mean by stating the vignetting is key to the signature of the lens at f1.0 ......yes you can ad it in PS ..... but i could also do that with the 50 lux!

[lars_bergquist]

If you absolutely need a f1.4 66.5 mm lens get the Lux.

-----------

.

 

The actual focal lengths of Leica '50 mm' lenses have from the first clustered at or slightly below 52 mm. This with the 1.333 .... cropping factor makes c. 69 mm equivalent on the M8. I agree that this is a great 'people lens', but maybe a bit specialized for general photography. Still I can understand if a really 'wide' photog teams it up with a 24 or even a 28 mm lens, to give his street shooting a bit of flexibility.

 

I bought a 'lux and sold my 'cron because the 'lux is greatly superior in its resistance to flare and internal reflexes. This doesn't show in MTF graphs but is very important in practice, especially in RF photography. And that was one reason why I for several years owned both a current-model Summicron AND a late but 'spherical' Summilux! The present Summilux ASPH replaces both of them – and more.

 

The old man from the Age of the Roll-film Folder

[lars_bergquist]

Apologies, slightly off-topic:

----------------

Also, since I'm shooting an M8, would a 35mm lux make more sense than a 50mm lux? Or are there other qualities of the 50mm lens that would make it worthwhile to purchase one despite the cropping issue?

 

Thanks

 

A 35 with an M8 is equivalent to c. 47 mm on the full format, so that it is still a 'long standard lens', but less 'tight over the shoulders', which to my mind makes it more generally useful. I love both my old Summicron and the Summilux ASPH on my M8. Still, in terms of raw image quality, none of them equal the 50 mm Summilux ASPH. The question is however how important, beyond a certain limit, 'raw image quality' is to your style of work. I don't think that you intend to use the M8 as a process camera, after all.

 

The old man from the Age of the Three-element Anastigmat

[rosuna]

You can do this:

1) Buy the Noctilux using the 30% discount offer.

2) Sell it new for a price nearer (but lower) of the actual official price.

3) Buy the Summilux.

4) Spend the difference in a good travel for making photos.

[BerndReini]

William,

 

This picture is absolutely not a bad comparison. I have to disappoint you, the bottom picture was taken at f1.4 (ISO 640 and 1/30). I took the Noctilux picture at f1, like I said, the only aperture I use on the Noctilux, and the Metadata reads 1/90th at ISO 640. One stop difference would bring the shutter speed on the summilux to 1/45s. As you can see, the summilux is a little bit brighter, which explains the shutter speed of 1/30s. Trust me, there was no light to spare, and I absolutely did shoot this picture at f1.4. And at 1.4 the summilux handles this situation outstandingly.

 

I do make my living as a cinematographer for network television shows, and therefore do consider myself a pro in "image acquisition." On that particular night, I visited my friends art opening, and took some pictures for him. the inside was light with dim tungsten light, in which "from a pro perspective" an IR filter on the M8 is absolutely necessary. Yes, I should have taken the filter off for the outside shot. However, I didn't since it is incredibly inconvinient and slow to do so in a reportage situation. All I was saying was that, should you decide to shoot with an IR filter attached, the summilux does have the edge.

Further on, I am comparing the Noctilux in sharpness to the 50lux aspherical, and not to a Canon f1.2. And the 50lux is by far sharper than the Noctilux - an so is the 28cron, the 35lux aspherical, and the 75cron, and probably every other newest generation Leica lens out there.

 

Please feel free to shoot your own tests with a 50lux asph. You'll see the difference.

[Peter Branch]

Given the price rise outside of the 30% scheme, if you think you are ever going to want one, now is the time to buy. Its images are very different from the 50/1.4 ASPH but not every shooting situation benefits from that "dreamy" Noctilux look.

 

I find the Noctilux quite difficult to use, I regularly mess up the focussing. I guess I regard it like a week-end sports car. Good to use when you have the time and inclination but you wouldn't want to have to commute in it.

 

On balance, I'd go for the 50/1.4 ASPH.

 

I totally agree with Mark. If you have a very special reason to want a Noctilux then now is the time to buy - but the world has moved on and with the M8 the Summilux has to be the much better lens with which to take photographs.

[pelikan1931]

the Noctilux is quite sharp at infinity, but not so at close distance.

[ptomsu]

The Summilux ASPH is the lens I would choose with my brain ....

 

The Nocti is the lens to choose with my feelings ....

[alexanderruas]

what is this offer?

my hope is that there is some 30% rebate if one buys new equipment...

 

thanks,

 

alexander

 

 

I've been toying with the idea of going for a 50mm Noctilux taking advantage of the Leica offer, or Summilux. Other than the obvious speed of the Noxtilux, is it a better performer than the Summilux, or is the Summilux a better option especially at say f/5.6, or f/8?

 

Thanks,

Wilfredo

Benitez-Rivera Photography

[innerimager]

Alexander- The offer was for early buyers who paid for the M8 by December 2006. We had to send our's back for a hardware fix, Leica gave us a 30% discount on any Leica lens as a courtesy for this......Peter

[Jager]

I own the Noct, the 50 Summilux ASPH, and the current-generation 50 Cron.

 

To me, the Noct brings two singular strengths - its ability to collect the merest smidgens of light, when hardly anything else in photography works; and its much-deserved portrait look. Wide open and at close range it's a difficult, demanding, and not especially sharp optic, with a high shot failure rate. But when you get it all right you'll have captured unique, special images that you couldn't have gotten any other way. Stopped down, its sharpness and overall optical character quickly becomes similar to other 50's. So, yes, it can be used as an all-around lens. But its long, slow focus throw makes it less than ideal for general purpose use. For me, the Noct is very much a specialist lens - albeit a remarkable one. There is magic there.

 

The Summilux ASPH is, for my money, simply the best lens Leica has ever made. You just shake your head at some of the images it produces.

 

What's the old saw... "horses for courses..."? The only other factor I'd consider, as others have mentioned, is that anyone who is purchasing with the 30% discount will get far more benefit from that discount if they spring for the Noct, than one of the less expensive (!) lenses.

 

Jeff

[ddp]

Yes Bill ..... a stunning portfolio of Noctilux shots i agree.... but you will never get that look with the M8 unlesss you ad some PS to the workflow.......

 

This is likely one of the more important comments in this thread. I use the Noctilux for the unique look it gives me on FILM. On the M8, I would lose that...

 

The Summilux gives you smoother and closer focusing - both the final pre-asph version and the asph focus much closer than the the Noct. A Summilux is my next purchase simply because I need the ability to focus closer at times, and shoot portraits with the distinctive look of the Noct.

 

My personal shooting style is to exploit the F 1.0 of the Noct, as much as I can. Of course this boils down to personal preference...but the Noct allows one to shoot in close to impossible situations.

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[tom0511]

I have the Noct, the luxasph. Do use the 50asph much more.

Why?

1) size and weight

2) Noct seems to show some focus shift on my M8, the 50lux-asph does not

 

However my most used 50mm-lens is the TE at 50mm.

 

I consider to sell the Noctilux.

I like itslook however.

 

Cheers, Tom

[tjphoto]

I like the notilux. Here's a shot of my daughter from last night. I'm still getting a feel for it.

I would like to have both.