NoctiLUST

[erl]

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To my taste they are very nice images Dirk. Classic use of the f1 lens.

Also a good eye and reflexes, all of which are required for such pictures.

[Reddotcamera]

Notwithstanding the whole panoply of extraordinary glass that Leica offers, the whole M system can be justified by the magic qualities of a single lens... the Noctilux.

 

It is a gift.

What Jager said.

 

My Noctilux is one of my most prized possessions. The rest of my most prized possessions have taken up residence in my Billingham bag alongside my Noctilux, each bearing the renowned red dot of legend and lore.

[menos I M6]

To my taste they are very nice images Dirk. Classic use of the f1 lens.

Also a good eye and reflexes, all of which are required for such pictures.

 

Thanks Erl, back then the 50/1 was my daily user since a few years, first on a M8.2:

 

"Leica MP vs M8.2" by teknopunk.com, on Flickr

 

… then mostly on a M9

 

Back with the M8.2 the Noctilux was basically the only way to shoot in the night while using max ISO of 1250 and still have descent shutter speeds.

 

Since the Mono arrived, I hardly used the Noctilux and learned to love the slower, less bulky lenses. It took me a long, long journey to find a 50mm that comes as close to the Noctilux as possible and settled with a black paint pre ASPH Summilux - my mini Noctilux so to speak.

 

Just a few days ago a good person from Wetzlar checked up my v4 and fixed the slight play, the lens has developed over the years of use, despite looking almost indistinguishable from a factory new lens. I will put it back to use now.

 

I understand this is something all samples of the heavy 50/1 will at some point develop.

Almost all second hand samples, I have handled so far (a few dozens over the years) have shown a slight to obvious play between optical cell and focus mount.

This is something a well maintained Noctilux f1 SHOULD NOT have and can be easily fixed in the factory.

 

 

I wish Nick all the best on his journey, finding out about this amazing lens!

[Nick De Marco]

Well I was using it most of yesterday and still trying to get used to it, but enjoying it.

I am going through that phase of shooting nearly everything wide or nearly wide open just to experiment and play with it.

 

In the long run I guess I will use it only for special kinds of shots, and not for everything (who knows though) - I expect my summicrons will remain my standard everyday lenses

But I was reminded whilst using it yesterday how much I enjoyed just shooting black and white MF film on a pinhole Holga in Paris a few years ago - and how much I like the results. As Erl says I think the reason the Noctilux makes sense for me, so long as I can begin to master it, is because I enjoy what it can do, and whilst I could do that kind of thing with completely different kits, it's simply more practical and consistent for me to take my Leica everywhere and 2-3 lenses which give me the tools I need for different types of things, rather than carry around half a dozen different cameras and tripods wherever I go.

[HeinzX]

Once upon a time - many years ago - I had the Noctilux 1:1 on a M 6. It was a wonderful lens, when used with open aperture because its wonderful bokeh, which is the essence of a sum of not fully corrected lens characteristics. This bokeh gives some pictures an really outstanding performance. But for general purposes I where i.e. maximum sharpness is demanded I would recommend other lenses. Either the new Noctilux 0,95: 1.0 if a very fast lens is required or a good compromise like the current Summilux 1,4. Other possibility is to use a Summicron 50 mm or even a Summarit 50 mm - which is an excellent lens for the money.

[Paul J]

If you find weight and balance an issue use it with the grip. Really makes a big difference. I also recommend trying it with the 1.4 Magnifier.

[farnz]

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… Another one for my ignore list I am afraid. A shame. ...

Ooh, ooh, ooh <vigorously waving arm in the air> me next please?!

 

Can we all play this game where you use the Ignore function as a threat?

 

Pete.

[Guest Marc G.]

This thread, just once more, shows, that the Noctilux, whatever version, is a very polarizing lens concept. Big, heavy, expensive, difficult to focus (some are good at this but at this thin DOF everybody would agree that it is a challenge, at least) vs. the way it renders.

 

I can understand people who love it but am very grateful that I don't share the passion.

 

Enjoy the lens nick.

[honcho]

 

Some things never change.

 

It's a lens that either grabs you in spite of or because of it's gloopy out-of-focus soft rendering, lame pig handling and bargain price point, or it doesn't. That's about all there is to it.

 

Every Leica M user should at least try a Noctilux and bin the dogma.

[jbl]

That's a good way to put it. It definitely grabbed me, but I use it in low-ish light situations and carry something lighter during the day. I came from canon equipment and there you typically had to go L series to get better glass. That mean faster and more weight, neither of which you want in all circumstances. Leica stuff is great in that you typically don't have to make a speed/quality trade off. At least in my experience.

[Adrian Lord]

It's a lens for romantics.

[erl]

. . . and artists.

[jbl]

And those searching for something, some unseen thing in the world. I try to describe the RF style of photography to people but they don't get it.

 

It's like the Noctilux. It's you or it isn't.

[Guest Ansel_Adams]

And for people who fall into the trap of thinking the lens creates the art rather than the artist. There is a reason Cartier Bresson preferred a summicron.

 

And for people who think the best has to be the most expensive.

[250swb]

I think the Noctilux is a fine lens when used with a personal vision and creativity that suit it. I've seen some very exciting work with it. But all to often the pictures are about the bokeh, and the sharp thing in them is relegated to a hook device that the bokeh is hung on. This is where it gets a bad name, as does a Summilux or any other very wide lens, when photographers can't take control of a unique look and end up going through the motions repeating 'the receding picket fence' syndrome. I do take exception to the 'everybody should try one' sentiment because that just makes it a game, trying the next thing (lens, camera, etc.) to see if it improves your photography. Some people know what will work for them because they have a clear vision of where their photography is going, and trying one just to validate having an opinion about photography with a Noctilux shouldn't be a requirement.

 

Steve

[erl]

And for people who fall into the trap of thinking the lens creates the art rather than the artist.

Correct!

There is a reason Cartier Bresson preferred a summicron.

Probably, but does anyone know what it was? He was know to use other focal lengths as well. If the Noctilux had been available when he was working, he may have used, or at least tried one.

 

And for people who think the best has to be the most expensive.

Correct again.

 

Of course there is also that group who know how to use it and do so to advantage, but as with most other lenses, skilled user's are a small group, depending on one's criteria.

[Paul J]

The arguments for and against a Noctilux (usually against ) are the most predictable and boring posts on the forum.

 

You love it, have a use for it, or you don't. Neither is better, neither is worse. Just different. This is planet earth where people like things and people don't. Can you not accept that people may just like different things to you and leave them be?

 

Who cares what Cartier Bresson used? It has nothing to do with my pictures and nothing to do with your pictures.

[steveclem]

[quote=Paul J;2672717

Who cares what Cartier Bresson used? It has nothing to do with my pictures and nothing to do with your pictures.

 

His preferences are as valid as any poster here. And considering how so many Leicaphiles worship his contribution to the genre, perhaps more so.

[jbl]

To my money a bit where my mouth is… This is something I snapped one night when my daughter was 6 or 7 weeks old. Could it have been done with another lens? I don’t know. Is it the photographer more than the lens? I’d like to think that.

 

At the end of the day, what was nearby was my Monochrom with the 0.95 Noctilux and it’s one of my favorites.

 

-jbl

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[steveclem]

I don't know what 'it' is but it's there alright.