Will you get “Noctilux 50/0.95”?

[Schittra]

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Hi

just wonder...

Will you get “Noctilux 50/0.95” if you already have lux 50/1.4? And why?

i am very happy with lux50/1.4. I hate the bulky and heavyweight of Noct. But their bokeh is breathtaking! 
any thoughts is welcome

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[otto.f]

A little late for under the Christmas tree

[a.noctilux]

Hello everybody,

Schittra, if you have the money, why not.

If not, the idea would haunt you untill you try/use one Noctilux ( 😇 ).

Noctilux is very special specy and spicy.

But not everyone can buy one and using one is kind of sacrificial rite ( I know that over decade of Noctilux 1.0 ).

[evikne]

I have both 50 Summilux and 50 Noctilux f/1.0. It's not quite as big and heavy as the f/0.95, but the reason for two lenses is the same: The Noctilux is a little too clumsy for everyday use, so when f/1.4 is sufficient I prefer the Summilux. But I still need the Noctilux when I want that very special look.

If Leica could repeal the laws of nature and make a Noctilux with the size of a Summilux, it would definitively be my only lens, and I would pay anything for it! 😉

[Gobert]

It’s high, very high, on my wish list.
My wife says it should stay there....

[farnz]

1 hour ago, Schittra said:

Hi

just wonder...

Will you get “Noctilux 50/0.95” if you already have lux 50/1.4? And why?

I did and although I wrestled with the decision for a long time before doing it I've never regretted it.  I got the 50/1 Noctilux actually but 7 years later I managed to acquire the 50/0.95 Noctilux as well, which I kept for 6 months to compare with the f/1.  I returned the 50/0.95 to the wild because its pictures were too much the same as from my 50/1.4 Summilux asph and kept the 50/1 Noctilux, which offers markedly different pictures owing to the f/1's special character.

Pete.

[otto.f]

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2 hours ago, a.noctilux said:

sacrificial rite

Especially while you have only 1m as closest distance to your subject for that price, which is quite a limitation for the OOF idea

Edited December 25, 2019 by otto.f

[tom0511]

no, its a beautiful lens but for me the 50 APO cron works better on the M and the 50/1.4 (or 2.0) work better on the SL (due to AF).

If super shallow creamy DOF is your thing the Noctilux might be the right lens, For me its allmost too shallow DOF.

 

[lct]

Depends if you like big lenses. I don't personally so i would not use the 50/0.95 for anything else than curiosity and i would rather choose a "Chinese Noctilux" for that. YMMV.

[a.noctilux]

54 minutes ago, otto.f said:

Especially while you have only 1m as closest distance to your subject for that price, which is quite a limitation for the OOF idea

Spot on Otto.

- I had Summilux-M 75mm before purchasing Noctilux 1.0 so I appreciate the 70cm if required to be as close (for M system)

- for a while, this 1m MFD of Noctilux bothered me but when seeing my slides for 1m to 1.5m which was not at optimum, I understood better

Leica's choice this limitation to 1m

(as side note, I managed to mount Elpro 3 adapter + ring E55-E58 on my Noctilux 1.0, EVF use to see "how it's like", only once because the results are not great 😁 )

- since then, if I need to go under 1m , I have the choice of the 75mm to play with (limited to f/1.4 that's fine for me)

[Herr Barnack]

1 hour ago, farnz said:

I did and although I wrestled with the decision for a long time before doing it I've never regretted it.  I got the 50/1 Noctilux actually but 7 years later I managed to acquire the 50/0.95 Noctilux as well, which I kept for 6 months to compare with the f/1.  I returned the 50/0.95 to the wild because its pictures were too much the same as from my 50/1.4 Summilux asph and kept the 50/1 Noctilux, which offers markedly different pictures owing to the f/1's special character.

Pete.

I have to agree 100%. 

The f/1.0 is not in current production and is often overlooked in favor of the latest and greatest f/0.95.  I have the f/1.0 Noctilux and am extremely pleased with it.  It is in another realm compared to the 0.95 Noctilux and the 50 Summilux.  The f/1.0 offers a distinctly artistic rendering but without being too artsy. 

Another positive for the f/1.0 is that it sells for around 40-50% less than the f/0.95.  It also does not come with the asinine 25% import tariff that a new Noctilux will.

 

[Jeff S]

1 hour ago, tom0511 said:

...and the 50/1.4 (or 2.0) work better on the SL (due to AF).

 

Anyone who can’t effectively manually focus a 50 Summilux or Summicron on an M has eye problems and/or calibration issues.  On the SL2, however, I can at least understand the argument for IBIS in some circumstances, but this could apply  to any lens.

[Jeff S]

32 minutes ago, Herr Barnack said:

It also does not come with the asinine 25% import tariff that a new Noctilux will.

 

Well, 10% price increase, but same point.

Jeff

[tom0511]

vor 36 Minuten schrieb Jeff S:

Anyone who can’t effectively manually focus a 50 Summilux or Summicron on an M has eye problems and/or calibration issues.  On the SL2, however, I can at least understand the argument for IBIS in some circumstances, but this could apply  to any lens.

maybe, but what would you do if you send in a lens twice to Leica and it still has calibration issues, and if those issues only appeared at certain distances?

Edited December 25, 2019 by tom0511

[Jeff S]

12 minutes ago, tom0511 said:

maybe, but what would you do if you send in a lens twice to Leica and it still has calibration issues, and if those issues only appeared at certain distances?

As I suspected, you have experienced issues that aren’t common to those lenses. I would have returned and exchanged a new 50 Summilux or Summicron. Otherwise, if it developed problems over time, I’d skip Leica and send my gear to DAG (in the US). For you, maybe Wil Van Manen or other service might accommodate your needs.

Jeff

[tom0511]

I have used M gear for over 20 years coming from M6 to Rd1 to M8, M9, M10.

I have sent various lenses to Leica Germany for calibration, some they never fixed. Even the highly praised 75/1.4 seemed to suffer from focus shift. The "low cost" Summarit was the most reliable lens in regards of accurate focus. Overall I have chose the lenses which work well for me and gave up on my trouble makers.

Have to say the 50/0.95 was one of those that focused pretty good. I still prefer AF for shallow DOF lenses. If if the lens is calibrated fine light movement of subject can destroy accurate focus.

 

[a.noctilux]

To the OP Schittra,

Have you seen this article, some examples of 50mm from reddotforum ?

Where we can see that the three Noctilux 50mm ( f/1.2, f/1.0, f/0.95) are different from each other in global rendering.

Have a look at "onion rings" and "aperture shapes" in the examples (small photos), then compare them to have your choice.

Edited December 25, 2019 by a.noctilux

[ELAN]

I think some older fast lenses like the Noctilux f/1 and 75 Summilux have significant sample variation and some copies can never be perfectly calibrated.  In addition, calibration of these lenses is quite tricky and difficult to achieve 100% calibration.  My Noctilux f/1 was calibrated in Wetzlar some years ago and wasn’t perfect. Last year I had it calibrated by DAG and although it came back better, it still back focused a little.  Last month I had Wetzlar take another crack at it and it’s much better now. They said they had to fix something too, but didn’t disclose what it was.  No charge.  And last summer they calibrated my 75 lux perfectly, so perhaps Wetzlar has better calibration tools these days. 

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[Jeff S]

1 hour ago, tom0511 said:

 Even the highly praised 75/1.4 seemed to suffer from focus shift. 

 

Consistent front or back focus can be addressed by calibration; focus shift is an inherent property of some lens designs.  

The Summarits are underestimated lenses.  The 35, in particular, exhibits less flare and has less tendency to focus shift than the 35 Summicron ASPH. It helps to know your lens behaviors and, I agree, avoid lenses that don’t suit your working style or tastes.  

Most find the 50 Summilux ASPH or Summicron lenses easy to focus on an M (although the former can sometimes exhibit tight or sticky focus action, and the latter has a tendency to flare, which might be a different reason to consider its use on the SL).  

Reliability of Leica service is another discussion, covered ad nauseam elsewhere.

Jeff

[Schittra]

8 hours ago, farnz said:

I did and although I wrestled with the decision for a long time before doing it I've never regretted it.  I got the 50/1 Noctilux actually but 7 years later I managed to acquire the 50/0.95 Noctilux as well, which I kept for 6 months to compare with the f/1.  I returned the 50/0.95 to the wild because its pictures were too much the same as from my 50/1.4 Summilux asph and kept the 50/1 Noctilux, which offers markedly different pictures owing to the f/1's special character.

Pete.

Hi Pete

thanks for the input. Can you elaborate more please? Did you mean Noct 50/0.95 have similar outcome to 50/1.4 while 50/1.0 give different?