The 50mm f/1,2 Noctilux Image Thread

[patrickcolpron]

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11 hours ago, didier said:

Great shot !

This only thing that makes me hesitate to get this lens is the 1m limit for focusing… 

I had the same initial reflection, but my first Leica lens years ago was a 50/1.5 Summarit which has the same close focus limit.

I also have an APO 35, it has a 30cm close focus limit. 

In my opinion, that close focusing limit on the Leica APO 35 and newer Leica M lenses is a marketing gimmick. At least one person at Leica confirmed this to me. It is a novelty, I only used a handful of times.

If Leica was to release a smaller APO 35 or a 35 Cron V4 re-issue with a close focus limit of 70 cm, I'd trade in my current APO 35 for it in a heartbeat.

I seldom photograph people or "things" at 70 cm or closer. I purchased the APO 35 for food photography, to get close up shots of food for my work, only to end up preferring using a 90 or a 75 mil lens to make tighter and closer compositions. 

Same goes with the 50 focal length. I never used or very seldom used my APO 50, 50 Summarit and 50 Lux ASPH after purchasing the 50/1.2 because I find 1m distance is close enough for portraits with a 50 and of the 50/1.2 stelar rendering to my eyes and own taste.

That works for me, you just have to look at your own experience and photography using a 50, what is the minimum distance you generally use a 50 at?

All said and done, before getting the 50/1.2, I was more of a 35 mil focal length person and mostly, almost only using a 35 mil lens for both my work and pleasure, now I am more in the 50/50 camp, half my photos are made with a 35 mil lens, the other half with a 50/1.2.

I feel that any closer than 1m would be too close for portraits with a 50, but what do I know? 

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!

 

Made with an M10M at 1.2 as usual, my youngest always "thrilled" to have his picture taken 😉 

I want to point out that I am not attempting to "sell" this lens, the 50/1.2 works for me, it is not for everyone.

Close focus limit aside, it is a difficult lens to tame, wide open never rely on live view or a Visoflex to nail "critical" focus.

I'll even add, if you use live view or a Visoflex or an SL (whatever model) for your M lens photography, this lens isn't for you. The best results with it are achieved using the rangefinder, and I mean you will get much better resulting images with sharp focus or close to sharp focus using the rangefinder than you ever will looking through an electronic screen to compose and focus your shots with.

All my photos with the 50/1.2 are made using the M rangefinder while looking through the optical viewfinder.

At anything other than minimum focus or close to minimum focus distance, at f/1.2 it is almost impossible to nail "critical" focus, it is not a 50 ASPH not a 50/0.95 with which you can easily achieve sharp focus with, wide open. 

When in doubt or if you are not sure these two points above should help in your decision factor. 

It is also one of the reasons I love it, I have yet to master this lens and discover all of its strength and shortcomings. 

Edited Monday at 07:57 AM by patrickcolpron
Giving you a few reasons not to buy it.

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[Smudgerer]

51 minutes ago, patrickcolpron said:

I had the same initial reflection, but my first Leica lens years ago was a 50/1.5 Summarit which has the same close focus limit.

I also have an APO 35, it has a 30cm close focus limit. 

In my opinion, that close focusing limit on the Leica APO 35 and newer Leica M lenses is a marketing gimmick. At least one person at Leica confirmed this to me. It is a novelty, I only used a handful of times.

If Leica was to release a smaller APO 35 or a 35 Cron V4 re-issue with a close focus limit of 70 cm, I'd trade in my current APO 35 for it in a heartbeat.

I seldom photograph people or "things" at 70 cm or closer. I purchased the APO 35 for food photography, to get close up shots of food for my work, only to end up preferring using a 90 or a 75 mil lens to make tighter and closer compositions. 

Same goes with the 50 focal length. I never used or very seldom used my APO 50, 50 Summarit and 50 Lux ASPH after purchasing the 50/1.2 because I find 1m distance is close enough for portraits with a 50 and of the 50/1.2 stelar rendering to my eyes and own taste.

That works for me, you just have to look at your own experience and photography using a 50, what is the minimum distance you generally use a 50 at?

All said and done, before getting the 50/1.2, I was more of a 35 mil focal length person and mostly, almost only using a 35 mil lens for both my work and pleasure, now I am more in the 50/50 camp, half my photos are made with a 35 mil lens, the other half with a 50/1.2.

I feel that any closer than 1m would be too close for portraits with a 50, but what do I know? 

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!

 

Made with an M10M at 1.2 as usual, my youngest always "thrilled" to have his picture taken 😉 

I want to point out that I am not attempting to "sell" this lens, the 50/1.2 works for me, it is not for everyone.

Close focus limit aside, it is a difficult lens to tame, wide open never rely on live view or a Visoflex to nail "critical" focus.

I'll even add, if you use live view or a Visoflex or an SL (whatever model) for your M lens photography, this lens isn't for you. The best results with it are achieved using the rangefinder, and I mean you will get much better resulting images with sharp focus or close to sharp focus using the rangefinder than you ever will looking through an electronic screen to compose and focus your shots with.

All my photos with the 50/1.2 are made using the M rangefinder while looking through the optical viewfinder.

At anything other than minimum focus or close to minimum focus distance, at f/1.2 it is almost impossible to nail "critical" focus, it is not a 50 ASPH not a 50/0.95 with which you can easily achieve sharp focus with, wide open. 

When in doubt or if you are not sure these two points above should help in your decision factor. 

It is also one of the reasons I love it, I have yet to master this lens and discover all of its strength and shortcomings. 

A lot of practical, honest, good sense here, plus a sensible endorsement of the rangefinder over other M electronic focusing methods.........Thank you Patrick. 

[patrickcolpron]

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!

Leica MP loaded with Portra 160 wide open at the minimum focus distance (or really really close to it) as good on film as it is with a digital M (huh... okay, better on film!)

My youngest always "thrilled" to have his photo taken... or mimicking the look of sadness in my eyes when I see someone using a digital M with a Visoflex 😉 

These film photos were made last week 

And just to compare, again my youngest this evening wide open with an M10R, his left eye almost looks sharp  

 

[jakontil]

20 hours ago, patrickcolpron said:

I had the same initial reflection, but my first Leica lens years ago was a 50/1.5 Summarit which has the same close focus limit.

I also have an APO 35, it has a 30cm close focus limit. 

In my opinion, that close focusing limit on the Leica APO 35 and newer Leica M lenses is a marketing gimmick. At least one person at Leica confirmed this to me. It is a novelty, I only used a handful of times.

If Leica was to release a smaller APO 35 or a 35 Cron V4 re-issue with a close focus limit of 70 cm, I'd trade in my current APO 35 for it in a heartbeat.

I seldom photograph people or "things" at 70 cm or closer. I purchased the APO 35 for food photography, to get close up shots of food for my work, only to end up preferring using a 90 or a 75 mil lens to make tighter and closer compositions. 

Same goes with the 50 focal length. I never used or very seldom used my APO 50, 50 Summarit and 50 Lux ASPH after purchasing the 50/1.2 because I find 1m distance is close enough for portraits with a 50 and of the 50/1.2 stelar rendering to my eyes and own taste.

That works for me, you just have to look at your own experience and photography using a 50, what is the minimum distance you generally use a 50 at?

All said and done, before getting the 50/1.2, I was more of a 35 mil focal length person and mostly, almost only using a 35 mil lens for both my work and pleasure, now I am more in the 50/50 camp, half my photos are made with a 35 mil lens, the other half with a 50/1.2.

I feel that any closer than 1m would be too close for portraits with a 50, but what do I know? 

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!

 

Made with an M10M at 1.2 as usual, my youngest always "thrilled" to have his picture taken 😉 

I want to point out that I am not attempting to "sell" this lens, the 50/1.2 works for me, it is not for everyone.

Close focus limit aside, it is a difficult lens to tame, wide open never rely on live view or a Visoflex to nail "critical" focus.

I'll even add, if you use live view or a Visoflex or an SL (whatever model) for your M lens photography, this lens isn't for you. The best results with it are achieved using the rangefinder, and I mean you will get much better resulting images with sharp focus or close to sharp focus using the rangefinder than you ever will looking through an electronic screen to compose and focus your shots with.

All my photos with the 50/1.2 are made using the M rangefinder while looking through the optical viewfinder.

At anything other than minimum focus or close to minimum focus distance, at f/1.2 it is almost impossible to nail "critical" focus, it is not a 50 ASPH not a 50/0.95 with which you can easily achieve sharp focus with, wide open. 

When in doubt or if you are not sure these two points above should help in your decision factor. 

It is also one of the reasons I love it, I have yet to master this lens and discover all of its strength and shortcomings. 

I tend to agree with that close focusing thoughts.. out of hundred shots on a day out, may be less than 5 shots when using close focus on my 35 apo.. even less so with the 35 summilux .. 

i thought a 1m was also a limiting factor but truth be told, it is more than oke.. i know at times i might prefer 0.7m but i can live without it.. love using the 50 1.2 noctilux, suits me 

[Leslie22]

It was wonderful to hear someone say they love the 1.2 because it was difficult to master ….. I feel the same , I find it frustrating , but when I hit it … it’s wonderful.