Noctilux 50/.95 vs Noctilux 75/1.25

[geddon_jt]

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I've been fortunate to have owned both the 50 f/.95 and 75 f/1.25 since 2018. My wife and I have shot tens of thousands of photos with both of them on a multitude of M cameras as well as the SL system. For us, they are each totally different, and therefore both have a permanent place in our kit. We couldn't imagine parting with either of them. After all this time and usage I will summarize my view on those lenses as follows. The 75mm f/1.25 is the ultimate portrait lens. I don't agree with those who say the 75 is clinical or boring - it brings real magic in headshots but you have to know when the situation demands it. The 50mm .95 is a wild animal lens. If you take it around for you shooting whatever you want for a day (or night) you will get back to your computer and be floored by how the photos turn out looking nothing like what you expected when you were taking the photos. It can make the mundane look magical.

They are both very special. 

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[geddon_jt]

Noctilux 75 can also do this, its not just for headshots but also overall not as versatile as the 50 f/.95.

photo by Alicia Thacker www.aliciathackerphotography.com 

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Edited May 8, 2022 by geddon_jt

[Memorexx]

vor 6 Stunden schrieb geddon_jt:

I've been fortunate to have owned both the 50 f/.95 and 75 f/1.25 since 2018. My wife and I have shot tens of thousands of photos with both of them on a multitude of M cameras as well as the SL system. For us, they are each totally different, and therefore both have a permanent place in our kit. We couldn't imagine parting with either of them. After all this time and usage I will summarize my view on those lenses as follows. The 75mm f/1.25 is the ultimate portrait lens. I don't agree with those who say the 75 is clinical or boring - it brings real magic in headshots but you have to know when the situation demands it. The 50mm .95 is a wild animal lens. If you take it around for you shooting whatever you want for a day (or night) you will get back to your computer and be floored by how the photos turn out looking nothing like what you expected when you were taking the photos. It can make the mundane look magical.

They are both very special. 

Thanks four your opinion. 

Wild animal lens  ...well I don't have a 75mm lens yet...so I am really thinking about that over the 50mm. But on the other hand I was thinking that the 50mm could be more versatile, because it's not tooo long...But then again, I already have 2 excellent 50mm and if I have a look for instance here https://www.instagram.com/yuzof/ . That guy shot a lot of pictures with the 75mm. I am not such a portrait kind of guy...I don't have a preferred field where I would use it. So versatile would be good...but then I just became a dad and thought maybe some portraits would be nice... 

I think I already know the end...I will be getting both somehow  haha

[Memorexx]

oh, and how difficult is the 75mm on a rangefinder? I remember the 50mm Noctilux was pretty doable...speaking it was challenging but I managed to take sharp pictures

[geddon_jt]

I only shoot both Noctiluxes with the rangefinder only. There are little tricks you can do like taking multiple shots and going in and out ever so slightly to make sure you get perfect focus. You get used to it and it's just fine. You get used to the finder blockage also, don't even think about it.

Here is a quick example of a portrait on the 50 f/.95. You can get fun great results but optically it is nowhere close to the 75mm in objective measures.

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