Would you ever sell your Noctilux?

[farnz]

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On 8/19/2015 at 9:59 AM, farnz said:

I'll add my support for the Steer making the Noctilux easier to focus too.  I saw Erl using one on his, tried it, and I've used one ever since on my Noctilux and Carl Zeiss Jena 85/2 Sonnar both of which are slightly heavier to focus than I'd like.  (For disclosure I have no connection with Leicagoodies or the Steer other than being a satisfied customer.)

 

Pete.

Firstly, apologies for quoting myself.

I have stopped using a Steer on my 50/1 Noctilux v4 because the foam rubber that the manufacturer has used to stick the Steer to the lens doesn't age well.  By that I mean that mine ended up as gooey messes clinging to the Nocti's focus ring; I've had two in succession do this over the years so it's not bad luck.  The goo was easy enough to clean off with isopropyl alcohol without dismantling the lens but I had to be careful not to use too much to keep it from sneaking through a gap and partying with the helicoid grease.

It's a shame because my muscle memory is so used to the Steer now that it's been a great advantage.  I have one unused Steer left so I'll look into ways of replacing its foam rubber with something that doesn't degrade over time.

For the record, the Nocti is still my 'cold, dead hands' lens. 🙂

Pete.

[jdlaing]

5 hours ago, farnz said:

Firstly, apologies for quoting myself.

I have stopped using a Steer on my 50/1 Noctilux v4 because the foam rubber that the manufacturer has used to stick the Steer to the lens doesn't age well.  By that I mean that mine ended up as gooey messes clinging to the Nocti's focus ring; I've had two in succession do this over the years so it's not bad luck.  The goo was easy enough to clean off with isopropyl alcohol without dismantling the lens but I had to be careful not to use too much to keep it from sneaking through a gap and partying with the helicoid grease.

It's a shame because my muscle memory is so used to the Steer now that it's been a great advantage.  I have one unused Steer left so I'll look into ways of replacing its foam rubber with something that doesn't degrade over time.

For the record, the Nocti is still my 'cold, dead hands' lens. 🙂

Pete.

Scotch makes several thicknesses of double sided tape. That stuff sticks pretty good. It’s what’s used on the Thumbie.

[lct]

1 hour ago, jdlaing said:

Scotch makes several thicknesses of double sided tape. That stuff sticks pretty good. It’s what’s used on the Thumbie.

Interesting thank you, what thickness are you using for the Thumbie if any?

[farnz]

2 hours ago, jdlaing said:

Scotch makes several thicknesses of double sided tape. That stuff sticks pretty good. It’s what’s used on the Thumbie.

Thanks, JD.

Pete.

[jdlaing]

3 hours ago, lct said:

Interesting thank you, what thickness are you using for the Thumbie if any?

When I did use the thumbie it was 1/16” thick. Two came in the package.

[erl]

Try Araldyte Pete!  . . . and spread some around the lens as well.

That way it will never part from your cold dead hand! 

Disclaimer: This is an untested, unproven technique.

[Ne314satel]

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On 8/30/2015 at 3:02 PM, MarkP said:

I have a 1.0/50 v3 Noctilux (a gift) and  have no interest whatsoever in the .95/50 Noctilux.

Yes, they are different. I like 1.0 for portraits and 0.95 for street photography. Outdoors, 0.95 makes the subject stand out, while 1.0 gives a nice dreamy look (though some people prefer 1.2).

[erl]

They are three different 'paintbrushes', and so paint differently. To know this is useful in selecting the tool for the job.

[henning]

Around 1969 I got an f/1.2 Noctilux. My other 50's were a collapsible Summicron and an f/3.5 Elmar. It was a big investment and it cost about 4x that of a Summilux. When the f/1 came out, I tried it and immediately switched to it. I liked everything about the f/1 more than the f/1.2 except the increase in size. After  about 10 years I found I wasn't shooting Leica as much, pared down my kit to just a couple of bodies and a small range of lenses and the Noctilux went. But I missed it, and in about 1992, after starting to shoot more with Leica M again, I found a mint v2 f/1 at an exceptional price, and it has stayed with me. A 75 Summilux soon joined it. I have other 50's, but the Noctilux f/1 is here to stay. The 0.95 never appealed to me. It seems to try too hard to be a general purpose lens, which it will never be. The Summilux is the lens for that, in my opinion.

[mikeamosau]

Would never sell it. Have the f/1 v3. Love the lens. 

[3D-Kraft.com]

vor 3 Stunden schrieb Al Brown:

Noctilux is the most sold fast M lens, 80% or more of people who buy it realize it's just a marketing gimmick unles you do an ACTUAL PROJECT (click here) wide open and the size, weight and viewfinder blocking is just too much for most so they sell it very promptly.

These are pretty bold claims - do you have any evidence for them?

I am looking forward to the results of your project.

vor 3 Stunden schrieb Al Brown:

I have sold both f/1 and f/0.95 noctiluxes (the latter for the unfortunate acumulation of water between the elements during SE Asia travels). However, Voigtlander has produced the Nokton 50/1.0, a true gem of a lens that beats any generation noctilux in most aspects including image quality wide open so I have happily bought one used for a bargain (one sixth of a used Noctilux price) and never looked back.

I see the Nokton 50/1 in competition with the Noctilux 50/0.95 but not with the Noctilux 50/1. The latter is bought/kept today for completely different reasons and a surprisingly high number of posts in this thread state that they prefer Noct 50/1 to 50/0.95.

Currently, I hold the Nokton 50/1 and the Noctilux 50/1 and since I bought the latter, the Nokton was not used anymore. Simply too booring for me and too much reverted field curvature - far away from the characteristic signature of the Noctilux 50/1. I will let the Nokton 50/1 go again, but never the Noctilux 50/1.

[costa43]

Fred Miranda did a really good comparison on these lenses and the Nokton f1 is a higher performing lens than both Noctiluxes it seems. I’m a sucker for the dreamy look of the f1 Noctilux and that would be my preference but if we are talking about measurable performance, it is the Voigtlander that is numero uno. 

Edited March 11 by costa43

[3D-Kraft.com]

vor 12 Stunden schrieb costa43:

Fred Miranda did a really good comparison on these lenses and the Nokton f1 is a higher performing lens than both Noctiluxes it seems. I’m a sucker for the dreamy look of the f1 Noctilux and that would be my preference but if we are talking about measurable performance, it is the Voigtlander that is numero uno. 

I assume, you mean this comparison:
https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1741370/7#rend3

Looking at these photos, the Nokton 50/1 looks like the winner in optical performance, although overall I like the bokeh of the Noctilux 50/0.95 better in these examples, but that may be subjective again.

But for me, this test only tells half the story. All shots were taken in excellent lighting conditions (shutter always between 1/4000s and 1/500s at base ISO) and many compositions focus in areas wide outside the center. Also the compositions are not really situations where I would choose f/1. So, you should form your opinion about lenses based on test shots in situations they weren't actually designed for. It's nice (and not too surprising) that the Nokton, a design 14 years younger than the Noctilux 0.95 and 46 years younger than the Noctilux 1.0, is the most convincing here...

For me, the Noctilux is primarily about low-light photography and painting with unique highlight bokehs. This is where the Noctilux 50/1 shines. But yes, it is not an all-purpose lens.

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!

(sorry, only a crop, but shows, what I mean)

Edited March 12 by 3D-Kraft.com

[MarkP]

20 minutes ago, 3D-Kraft.com said:

But yes, it is not an all-purpose lens.

 

Although it can serve up good landscape photograph...

Half of this album was shot with a 1.0/50 Noctilux v3 and M9. 

 

[costa43]

6 hours ago, 3D-Kraft.com said:

I assume, you mean this comparison:
https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1741370/7#rend3

Looking at these photos, the Nokton 50/1 looks like the winner in optical performance, although overall I like the bokeh of the Noctilux 50/0.95 better in these examples, but that may be subjective again.

But for me, this test only tells half the story. All shots were taken in excellent lighting conditions (shutter always between 1/4000s and 1/500s at base ISO) and many compositions focus in areas wide outside the center. Also the compositions are not really situations where I would choose f/1. So, you should form your opinion about lenses based on test shots in situations they weren't actually designed for. It's nice (and not too surprising) that the Nokton, a design 14 years younger than the Noctilux 0.95 and 46 years younger than the Noctilux 1.0, is the most convincing here...

For me, the Noctilux is primarily about low-light photography and painting with unique highlight bokehs. This is where the Noctilux 50/1 shines. But yes, it is not an all-purpose lens.

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!

(sorry, only a crop, but shows, what I mean)

I do not disagree, my personal preference is the f1 Nocti, I'm familiar with it's output and when you nail the shot it's gorgeous. There is no denying that the Nokton is a solid achievement from Voigtlander though and deserves to be commended. For those that prefer a more modern lens with higher resolving power, it is the best option imo. 

[Ralf]

vor 10 Stunden schrieb MarkP:

 

Although it can serve up good landscape photograph...

Half of this album was shot with a 1.0/50 Noctilux v3 and M9. 

 

Very nice shots indeed, the skies  remind of the Luminar options, which I also like to use from timet time.

[MarkP]

11 hours ago, Ralf said:

Very nice shots indeed, the skies  remind of the Luminar options, which I also like to use from timet time.

Thank you very much 

These were done over 10 years ago, very pre-Luminar. Perfect skies helped with post-processing.