Review: Leica Noctilux 50mm f1.2

[Daniel C.1975]

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vor 1 Stunde schrieb jonoslack:

Hi There Elan - Do you think they'll do the 35/2.8 Summaron? Incidentally I hope you're keeping well

 

You should

In my very humble opinion the new 28 Summaron is one of the most underrated lenses out. It draws beautiful, is plenty sharp and a gem to look at.

Only draw backs are the never 100% sharp corners and that it starts at 5.6. 
 

love it!

 

Btt: The 50 1.2 looks amazing

Edited January 30, 2021 by Daniel C.1975

[wlaidlaw]

53 minutes ago, Keith (M) said:

Well, at least if a 'new/old' 35mm f2.8 Summaron is released, my wallet will be safe!  

Mine too. There is a 35/2.8 Summaron sitting on my IIIg with a SBLOO finder at the moment. When I got this lens I did some test shots on a tripod with my M240 and compared it with the 35 ASPH Summicron I have. Apart from a little more vignetting at f2,8, I could not distinguish between the images. I also love the way its infinity lock works - mechanical perfection. It was a quite expensive purchase from Leicashop, which I wondered on its wisdom at the time, but when I saw its mint condition and that it came in the original perspex case with the original LTM to M adapter ring, I decided it was worth every euro.

There are a number of these LTM lenses around which have been unscrewed from spectacles, as the LTM lenses are worth considerably more than the spectacles M3 version. Of course they will not focus correctly on an RF camera and the give away is that the focus scale goes to 0.7m not the 1.0m of the genuine LTM version. 

Wilson

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[Lins-Barroso]

On 1/29/2021 at 5:43 AM, Overgaard said:

Where did you find the online presentation. Missed that completely and doesn't seem to be on the Leica youtube or Vimeo. 

@Overgaard

 

[elmars]

One question, Jono: What ist with focus shift? Did You test it? Nearly all older lens constructions, especially the fast ones, suffer from it.

[Peter Branch]

Dear Jono,

An interesting review of the new lens.  The text makes reference to the early Canon f/1.2 which was actually a nominal 50mm not 58mm.

I had one of these Canon lenses for some years.  Measurements in the Kodak Research Lab. showed that, like most contemporary Leica "50mm" lenses, it was actually 51.6mm.  The measurements also showed that like many Canon lenses of that period centring of the elements was not a Canon strong point.  Leica were much better with significantly less sample to sample variation as a consequence.

I did have an opportunity to try out an original Leica 50mm f/1.2 Noctilux at a gymnastics competition on my Canon VI T, which incidentally had near perfect lens / film registration unlike many of the Leica cameras at that time.  My conclusion, totally unscientific, was that the Canon was actually in the same league and had similar characteristics. 

 

[bilbrown]

I love these classic revisitations! The Summaron 28 stays on one of my Ms at all times, as does a screw mount Summaron 35. I was always interested in the f1.2 Noctilux, but of course impossible to find. Now we have it in black as an "affordable" option! 

 

I wonder about the focus pull, its is long or short? are the clicks hard clicks or soft? It would be amazing to work with it in video I think, such a classic look!

[mdg1371]

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10 hours ago, Peter Branch said:

Dear Jono,

An interesting review of the new lens.  The text makes reference to the early Canon f/1.2 which was actually a nominal 50mm not 58mm.

I had one of these Canon lenses for some years.  Measurements in the Kodak Research Lab. showed that, like most contemporary Leica "50mm" lenses, it was actually 51.6mm.  The measurements also showed that like many Canon lenses of that period centring of the elements was not a Canon strong point.  Leica were much better with significantly less sample to sample variation as a consequence.

I did have an opportunity to try out an original Leica 50mm f/1.2 Noctilux at a gymnastics competition on my Canon VI T, which incidentally had near perfect lens / film registration unlike many of the Leica cameras at that time.  My conclusion, totally unscientific, was that the Canon was actually in the same league and had similar characteristics. 

 

How did you try an original Noctilux f1.2 ( M mount) on a Canon VI-T ( LTM mount)?

 

[PhotoEd]

Thank you so much Jono for this nice write up. Looks like a very nice character lens to me.

Like one of the previous repliers I wonder if there is any focus shift when closing the aperture. One other classice design I used to have (Zeiss Sonnar 50) had enormous focus shift and made it quite challenging to use. 

I also wonder about the hood. Can you use it with a filter attached to the lens? Last month I bought the Black Chrome Summilux-ASPH and there is no way to mount the hood with a filter attached to the lens. A major error for such nice design, if you ask me. And is it possible to mount the hood reversed on the Noctilux for storing in a bag. On all the pictures of the new lens so far I don't see any plastic protection cap that can be put on the back side of the hood. 

I'm afraid I have to sell my brand new Summilux-ASPH black chrome edition again to step up to this newest classic...

[wattsy]

3 hours ago, PhotoEd said:

I'm afraid I have to sell my brand new Summilux-ASPH black chrome edition again to step up to this newest classic...

There's no obligation to buy the "newest classic". People will still be using the 50 Summilux-M ASPH long after the retro Noctilux is consigned to the cabinet.

[jonoslack]

21 hours ago, Peter Branch said:

Dear Jono,

An interesting review of the new lens.  The text makes reference to the early Canon f/1.2 which was actually a nominal 50mm not 58mm.

I had one of these Canon lenses for some years.  Measurements in the Kodak Research Lab. showed that, like most contemporary Leica "50mm" lenses, it was actually 51.6mm.  The measurements also showed that like many Canon lenses of that period centring of the elements was not a Canon strong point.  Leica were much better with significantly less sample to sample variation as a consequence.

I did have an opportunity to try out an original Leica 50mm f/1.2 Noctilux at a gymnastics competition on my Canon VI T, which incidentally had near perfect lens / film registration unlike many of the Leica cameras at that time.  My conclusion, totally unscientific, was that the Canon was actually in the same league and had similar characteristics. 

 

Thank you Peter - I'd already figured this out and corrected my website (www.slack.co.uk)

I'll ask Andreas to change it here (not sure where I got that information from, but it was quite detailed - and quite wrong!)

All the best

Jono

[jonoslack]

4 hours ago, PhotoEd said:

Thank you so much Jono for this nice write up. Looks like a very nice character lens to me.

Like one of the previous repliers I wonder if there is any focus shift when closing the aperture. One other classice design I used to have (Zeiss Sonnar 50) had enormous focus shift and made it quite challenging to use. 

I also wonder about the hood. Can you use it with a filter attached to the lens? Last month I bought the Black Chrome Summilux-ASPH and there is no way to mount the hood with a filter attached to the lens. A major error for such nice design, if you ask me. And is it possible to mount the hood reversed on the Noctilux for storing in a bag. On all the pictures of the new lens so far I don't see any plastic protection cap that can be put on the back side of the hood. 

I'm afraid I have to sell my brand new Summilux-ASPH black chrome edition again to step up to this newest classic...

Hi There

You can use a filter with the lens hood attached - no problem.

I'm going to do some focus shift tests when I get a minute. I haven't noticed it as a problem, but I would have thought that it was inevitable without a floating element.

Best

Jono

[pedaes]

10 minutes ago, jonoslack said:

I would have thought that it was inevitable

If it is a true copy of the original it would be more concerning if it didn't show some focus shift!

[wattsy]

26 minutes ago, pedaes said:

If it is a true copy of the original it would be more concerning if it didn't show some focus shift!

I think with lenses like the 50 F1.2, worrying about focus shift rather misses the point.  The user is probably best advised to let go of the idea of getting perfect focus and roll with a softer aesthetic. Photographers like Deborah Turbeville spring to mind.

[NigelG]

I wonder what will happen to prices of the original once this reissued version is available?Meister Camera have one at the moment....

https://www.meister-camera.com/en/second-hand/9696/leitz-noctilux-m-11250mm

[wattsy]

7 minutes ago, NigelG said:

I wonder what will happen to prices of the original once this reissued version is available?Meister Camera have one at the moment....

https://www.meister-camera.com/en/second-hand/9696/leitz-noctilux-m-11250mm

I don't think many people buy the original as a user (though they may use it) and there are still the same number of originals in existence. The new copy may increase interest in the original but I can't imagine it reducing demand. It's a bit like Gibson making as many historically accurate R9s as they like – a '59 "Burst" will still be worth in excess of $250k.

Edited February 1, 2021 by wattsy

[pedaes]

3 minutes ago, NigelG said:

I wonder what will happen to prices

I would suggest nothing. The original must be a wealthy collectors only item at those prices, so different markets.

[NigelG]

I guess my question was prompted by the previous re-issues where one could decide whether to buy the new lens or to seek out a used original (at a generally lower price). With the Noctilux 1.2 the price disparity makes this unfeasible - I’d rather have the new silver one at half the advertised price of the black original version but then I’m not a collector.

Edited February 1, 2021 by NigelG

[T25UFO]

1 hour ago, NigelG said:

I guess my question was prompted by the previous re-issues where one could decide whether to buy the new lens or to seek out a used original (at a generally lower price). With the Noctilux 1.2 the price disparity makes this unfeasible - I’d rather have the new silver one at half the advertised price of the black original version but then I’m not a collector.

Agree 100%.  I can't afford the new silver one, even at the new reduced price, but a black one will take the same photos.  I'll go with that.

People will always find things to invest in - it has nothing do to with photography.  I have a friend who invests in wine and never drinks it.  He won't even break out one bottle from a case because it affects the value of his investment.  The scenarios are similar - buy a lens, never take a photo - buy wine, never drink it.  Welcome to the world of the investor!

Edited February 1, 2021 by T25UFO

[farnz]

2 hours ago, NigelG said:

I wonder what will happen to prices of the original once this reissued version is available?Meister Camera have one at the moment....

https://www.meister-camera.com/en/second-hand/9696/leitz-noctilux-m-11250mm

Judging by the price of S$118,888 (£64,000) asked for the new 1.2 Noctilux on this site, the original 1.2 Noctilux market might become the bargain market. 

Pete.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[PhotoEd]

6 hours ago, jonoslack said:

Hi There

You can use a filter with the lens hood attached - no problem.

I'm going to do some focus shift tests when I get a minute. I haven't noticed it as a problem, but I would have thought that it was inevitable without a floating element.

Best

Jono

Thanks a lot, I'm interested to hear about your focus shift findings. I always believed this had nothing to do with floating elements, but with blocking the light rays (with a different focuspoint) from the sides of the lens by closing the aperture. By this, the 'hotspot' of focus is shifting. And I can imagine the aspherical lens elements are used to counteract this unwanted effect by focusing the side-rays to the same focus point as the center rays. But I'm not a optical expert, so I may be wrong here.

Anyway, I love the classic rendering and just had me put on the waiting list. Anyone interested in a brand new Summilux-M 50 ASPH Black Chrome Edition...? 🙂