50 Noctilux vs SL 50 Summilux for SL system?

[Yellow_78]

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Hi all,

Tried a search on this topic but could only find 50 Noctilux vs SL 50 APO.

Just curious what people would prefer between these two amazing lenses for portraits? Myself, I currently own the 0.95 Noctilux and love it. I don't mind that it's manual focus and that sometimes my portraits are a tad soft. I feel it has a charming characteristic about it, sort of painterly artistic vibe. When you hit focus though, it is insane. I love the bokeh it is out of this world as well 😍

Recently though, I picked up the SL2. Was considering trying the SL 50 Lux as I feel I should utilize the benefits of the SL2 in terms of weather sealing and auto focus. A better hit rate is not a bad thing either 😅 as you know 0.95 is quite hard to focus consistently!

If anyone has an SL/SL2 and has used both or owns both, I wouldn't mind hearing your thoughts and which you prefer/kept. I realize it is a subject thing but would love to hear other peoples opinion.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

 

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[IkarusJohn]

I have both.

On the SL, the Noctilux is smaller and lighter than the Summilux (it really is a beast, but manageable and nicely balanced).  As you’ve probably found, the Noctilux on the SL is a great combination - easy focusing and little to no purple fringing.

So, what’s to gain with the Summilux (other than weather sealing and auto-focus)?  Both are APO, ASPH & FLE and any other acronym you choose.

I also have the Summilux-M and APO-Summicron-M and there is no doubt in my mind that the 50 Summilux-SL is the best of them.  Corner to corner sharpness (perhaps not the Noctilux’s strongest point), creamy bokeh and relatively crisp wide open - this really is Leica’s reference 50mm lens.  It is that good.

Do you gain much by having both?  Well, the Noctilux is a special lens which shows its strengths used wide open in the right circumstances, and is no slouch stopped down, whereas the Summilux-SL is “better” at all apertures.  It is bigger, heavier and the AF is “slow” as there’s a lot of big bits of glass to move around (though it doesn’t bother me - it’s very accurate).  It’s a lens I love to use on my SL.  Not sure I can add to that.  

Dr Karbe and his team clearly decided that they would make the best fast 50 for the L mount, without the constraints of size and weight, or manual focus that are required for M lenses.  I did look for focus shift and couldn’t find any (not that I’m that bothered).  Software baking?  I really don’t know or care (not sharing Sean Reid’s fixation with optical and manual perfection - accepting software correction reduces other compromises, as I understand it) - the 50 Summilux-SL is made for use with the SL, so I don’t really see the issue.

I’m not sure that you lose a lot going from 0.95 to 1.4 wide open.  The Summilux-SL is really a portrait lens.  If you look for Greg Turner’s photos (geetee1972), he took a lot of images with this lens til he switched to the S system.  He hated the lens at first, then couldn’t be parted with it.  There’s a discussion somewhere.  Note early comments about slow AF were before a firmware update.

I hope that helps.

John

[Fedro]

I have had both and they are both spectacular. I ended up selling the SL Lux just because I thought that having two 50 fast lenses to use on the SL was too much and I use the Nocti on the M too. I bought the 50 SL Cron which is a good combo with the Nocti.

I could have also easily kept the Lux SL and forgotten about the Nocti for the SL as the SL Lux is exceptional but liked the idea of having a light(er) 50 to carry with the SL

 

[Jeff S]

21 hours ago, Yellow_78 said:

Tried a search on this topic but could only find 50 Noctilux vs SL 50 APO.

 

 

 

 

Jeff

[Jared]

While I don’t own either of the two lenses you are considering, I do have some perspective that may help you a bit in your considerations.

I used to shoot my SL with ‘M’ glass almost exclusively, and one of my favorites with that camera was the 50 Summicron M APO.  I preferred it to the Sumilux M because of the biting sharpness, even wide open and because of its ability to carry that sharpness far into the corners.  However, I was using it primarily for travel and landscape work.  I wasn’t doing street photography (at which I am terrible) and I prefer a longer focal length for portrait work.  After a month with the 50 APO I sold the Summilux.

With the recent acquisition of an SL2 I had to figure out what to do for the 50mm focal length.  I own the 24-90 but don’t really like it very much.  It’s optically superb, but not very fast, is extremely large, extremely heavy, and quite awkward when zooming. I no longer owned the 50mm APO-M.  What to do?  A used Noctilux? A 50 Summilux SL?  Or the Summicron SL?  Or, even, re-purchase a Summicron-M APO?  For a brief instant, all four options were available at my local Leica boutique.  

I ended up discarding the idea of an adapted M lens.  There are just too many situations where AF is not just useful but indispensable. If I were thinking purely landscape, an M lens would have been fine (aside from the lack of waterproofing).  But for general purpose?  Nope.  Not any more.  At least, not for me.  47 megapixels are just way too finicky.  I’d either be forced to slow down a LOT or I’d end up mis focusing way too frequently.  I like the idea of the Noctilux, but I don’t think in practice I would want such razor thin DOF.

That left either the SL Summilux or SL Summicron.  As with the 24-90, it came down to handling for me.  The ‘Lux is really big and really heavy.  Heck, even the ‘Cron is heavier than the Noctilux, but it’s dwarfed by the ‘Lux.  While I’d love the dreamy bokeh that lens produces, the cost was simply too high in terms of bulk.  I might feel differently if I were doing primarily portraits or environmental portraits with the 50mm, but I’m not.  It’s a mix of travel, environmental, family, landscape, and even some sports.  Between the size, slow(ish) focus, and weight I was leaning strongly towards the Summicron SL over the Summilux.

Then I made the “mistake” of looking at the MTF charts for the two.  Case closed.  Summicron SL.  Not that most pictures need extreme corner sharpness, but if you are going to be doing any landscape work...

[Jared]

By the way, I’m not trying to suggest you should get the Summicron SL instead of either of the two lenses you are thinking of.  They are equally wonderful, and if I had a different mix of uses (or better eyesight) I might well have gone a different direction.  Just highlighting some of the different strengths and weaknesses I see with Leica’s different 50mm offerings.

[Yellow_78]

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On 3/18/2020 at 11:15 AM, IkarusJohn said:

I have both.

On the SL, the Noctilux is smaller and lighter than the Summilux (it really is a beast, but manageable and nicely balanced).  As you’ve probably found, the Noctilux on the SL is a great combination - easy focusing and little to no purple fringing.

So, what’s to gain with the Summilux (other than weather sealing and auto-focus)?  Both are APO, ASPH & FLE and any other acronym you choose.

I also have the Summilux-M and APO-Summicron-M and there is no doubt in my mind that the 50 Summilux-SL is the best of them.  Corner to corner sharpness (perhaps not the Noctilux’s strongest point), creamy bokeh and relatively crisp wide open - this really is Leica’s reference 50mm lens.  It is that good.

Do you gain much by having both?  Well, the Noctilux is a special lens which shows its strengths used wide open in the right circumstances, and is no slouch stopped down, whereas the Summilux-SL is “better” at all apertures.  It is bigger, heavier and the AF is “slow” as there’s a lot of big bits of glass to move around (though it doesn’t bother me - it’s very accurate).  It’s a lens I love to use on my SL.  Not sure I can add to that.  

Dr Karbe and his team clearly decided that they would make the best fast 50 for the L mount, without the constraints of size and weight, or manual focus that are required for M lenses.  I did look for focus shift and couldn’t find any (not that I’m that bothered).  Software baking?  I really don’t know or care (not sharing Sean Reid’s fixation with optical and manual perfection - accepting software correction reduces other compromises, as I understand it) - the 50 Summilux-SL is made for use with the SL, so I don’t really see the issue.

I’m not sure that you lose a lot going from 0.95 to 1.4 wide open.  The Summilux-SL is really a portrait lens.  If you look for Greg Turner’s photos (geetee1972), he took a lot of images with this lens til he switched to the S system.  He hated the lens at first, then couldn’t be parted with it.  There’s a discussion somewhere.  Note early comments about slow AF were before a firmware update.

I hope that helps.

John

Hi John,

Thank you for your insight 😊

I took time to read your comment and really had a think about it. I decided I would purchase the 50 summilux SL and see how I get on with it. I concur, the Noctilux is a specialty lens and has its place.. most likely why I am having a hard time to let it go! I have a feeling I will end up keeping both, they are just so damn good, obviously for different purposes. Will keep the 50 SL Lux for portraits and the Nocty for more lowlight/ dreamy vibes.

Thank you for your time!

Allan.

[Yellow_78]

On 3/19/2020 at 8:09 AM, Fedro said:

I have had both and they are both spectacular. I ended up selling the SL Lux just because I thought that having two 50 fast lenses to use on the SL was too much and I use the Nocti on the M too. I bought the 50 SL Cron which is a good combo with the Nocti.

I could have also easily kept the Lux SL and forgotten about the Nocti for the SL as the SL Lux is exceptional but liked the idea of having a light(er) 50 to carry with the SL

 

Hi Fedro,

I agree, the Noctilux is great because of size and portability. Unlike you however, I have attached myself to the Noctilux and I dont think I can let it go haha! But yes, being able to use it on the M is a great reason to choose one over the other.

Thanks for your response!

Allan.

[Yellow_78]

On 3/19/2020 at 9:53 AM, Jared said:

By the way, I’m not trying to suggest you should get the Summicron SL instead of either of the two lenses you are thinking of.  They are equally wonderful, and if I had a different mix of uses (or better eyesight) I might well have gone a different direction.  Just highlighting some of the different strengths and weaknesses I see with Leica’s different 50mm offerings.

Hi Jared,

Thanks for the very informative post! This is why I love these forums, like minded people informing other like minded people 😊.

I really thought about the SL summicron 50 as well, It is an amazing piece of glass. But due to primarily shooting portraits, I decided to stay with both Noctilux and SL 50 Lux. Why can't we just have them all 🤣.

Cheers for your reply!

Allan.

[didier]

I ended up keeping both

the Nocti is a specialty Lens and wonderful to use on the SL. I love the results for creamy portraits, but one has to be careful with color fringing. All the more interesting I can use it on my M.
the SL-50 lux sits on my SL 90% of its time since I bought it. An amazing combination of bokeh and sharpness. Size / Weight is not an issue as the combo is a joy to use with good balancing. When I need to use something smaller, I take the M

 

didier

[FlashGordonPhotography]

I recently sold my Noctilux. I kept the Summilux SL. I also have the SL Summicron, M Summilux and several others.

The Noct was, fro me, definitely better on the SL. I still got some fringing but it was better on the SL/SL2 than the M. Focusing was easier on the SL by a margin.

But... I prefer the SL 'lux on the SL by a big margin and the 1 1/3 stop  mostly doesn't matter to me.

One other reason. I also have the CV 50mm 1.2 and found I ALWAYS picked that up in preference to the Noctilux. It's my go to lens on the M10 and my super fast for the SL2. It's also smaller, lighter, sharper and has less aberrations than the Noctilux. And it draws really well.

Gordon

[PeterGA]

I sold my Noctilux in October last year, tried a Voigtlander 1.2 - and rebought the same Noctilux again a couple of weeks ago. Sorry my experirence withj Voigtlander 1.2 is the  opposite of yours Gordon on SL2 nd GFX100 - maybe I had a bad copy.

 

With regards Summilux 50 L V Noctilux on SL - it all depends on what other lenses you are going to use. If only one 50 - I would say that despite the size- the 50 lux would offer greater amenity.

[FlashGordonPhotography]

21 hours ago, PeterGA said:

 Sorry my experirence withj Voigtlander 1.2 is the  opposite of yours Gordon on SL2 nd GFX100 - maybe I had a bad copy.

 

No need to apologise. The thing with prime lenses is that once we experience a few different one in the same focal length we begin to appreciate their subtle differences. I've always liked the Cosina Voigtlander lenses. I like the focus throw and the way they feel in hand. I also like the way they draw. But that's nothing more than personal taste. My *opinion* isn't right. Just different.

It is also possible I has a less than stellar copy of the Noctilux. Unfortunately I have no desire to drop another $A14K to find out.

Gordon

[Photoworks]

22 hours ago, FlashGordonPhotography said:

One other reason. I also have the CV 50mm 1.2 and found I ALWAYS picked that up in preference to the Noctilux. It's my go to lens on the M10 and my super fast for the SL2. It's also smaller, lighter, sharper and has less aberrations than the Noctilux. And it draws really well.

I agree the CA on the Noctilux 0.95 sometime is to much and hard to correct. The 0.95 has a more dreamy look that does not compare to the Voiglander 50 1.2
You should pick the lens for the qualities and character , there is nothing wrong in using both. on the SL2 you can see if one click or two on the f-stop will remove the CA 

To me going back to the original question. Are you planing to shoot mostly wide open on the SL2?
I find manual focusing only easy on the SL2 up to F2.0. if you are shooting f 2.8-4 and up most of the time get the SL50Lux.  the routine of opening up the f-spot to focus and close again to take photo gets old quickly in a fast moving shoot.

 

[Arrow]

On 3/18/2020 at 11:48 PM, Jared said:

Not that most pictures need extreme corner sharpness, but if you are going to be doing any landscape work...

.... stopping down will do the trick