robsteve Posted November 6, 2007 Share #1 Posted November 6, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) There have been a lot of reports about the Noctilux and how it often has problems focusing on the M8. Mine was one of these Noctilux. In the film days it was dedicated to one or two bodies, which were adjusted to the lens. Now with the M8, if you adjust the camera to the lens the rest of your lenses will not focus correctly. A few weeks ago I decided it was time to just get the Noctilux fixed. I sent it off to Kindermann Canada and about a week later I got a call from Gerry Smith that my lens was off a bit and he adjusted it. He said he made an overall adjustment and if the lens did not focus in certain ranges my M8, the lens would probably need to go to New Jersey or Solms for an adjustment to the cam profile. Today the postman arrived with my adjusted Noctilux. I mounted it on the M8 and noted the focus was as smooth as butter. I then went outside and checked infinity, it was perfect. Next I shot various things in my back yard and they all seemed to be in focus. Finally, I asked my three year old son to pose and I focused on his eyes from a distance of about 1.5m. The focus looked good here too. From this experience I would suggest anybody with Noctilux problems just send the lens in and get the focus fixed. It is a quick and painless repair and you will be much more satisfied with the lens afterwards. Robert Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted November 6, 2007 Posted November 6, 2007 Hi robsteve, Take a look here Noctilux focus and the M8. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Jamie Roberts Posted November 6, 2007 Share #2 Posted November 6, 2007 Gerry at Kindermann is THE MAN as far adjusting M or R glass goes. My own 30% Nocti is arriving today sometime WooHoo!! And if it has to make a trip to Kindermann, so be it. I do think it bears repeating that lenses go out over time as well as camera mounts, and any brand I've owned in pro use needs adjusting after a year or two. Something for people with older, non-focussing lenses to think about. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eoin Posted November 6, 2007 Share #3 Posted November 6, 2007 Agreed, the Noctilux out of the box should focus correctly..... well let me clarify that, the lens will focus correctly at f:/1.0. But the problem occurs when you stop it down, by f:/2.8 the aperture has induced backfocus which will remain till f:/5.6 where the depth of focus catches up to render the object in enough DOF to say it's in focus. I'm not bitching or anything like that, I had mine adjusted by Solms to my M8 and this was the result of the in spec lens. On further reading on the net, it seems this is common place at these apertures with this lens. So in essence IMO the lens will focus correctly from f:/1.0 to f:/1.4 and then from f:/5.6 onwards. In the end I have sold it because the aperture range I like to use was giving problems, focus on the eyes and get the ears in focus, not exactly the ideal or the need to adjust the focus to compensate. BTW I've been told Leica are not taking any new orders for the Noctilux, read into that as you will, perhaps the Asph is on it's way Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robsteve Posted November 6, 2007 Author Share #4 Posted November 6, 2007 When using the Noctilux, you also have to have realistic expectations. At the 1m close focus limit and f1 the lens isn't what I would call sharp, but it produces unique images. If you back off a bit to about 1.5-2m it improves quite a bit. Stopping down to 1.2 helps a lot too. Here is a shot from today, shot at 1m and f1. I focused on the eyes and told him I needed to focus on the eyes, so he began to make faces. This is the lens at a bit under 2m and f1.2. At this distance the fine details fo the iris of the eye were visible. It also seems my Noctilux is focusing fine. I am off to catch to the airport to take my trip, so I may not be back on this thread until I arrive at my Hotel. Robert Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnbuckley Posted November 6, 2007 Share #5 Posted November 6, 2007 Robert - your post made me try a very crude test on my Noctilux's focusing. When you look at the phot below, bear in mind I was standing -- yeah, didn't break out the tripod so there is human error, too -- about 3 feet/1 meter away from the test area. I focused on the pen in the middle, which is aligned with the #3. This shows me ever so faint backfocusing. Maybe...three inches. Would appreciate advice from others, but under the circumstances, would seem to me to hang on to my beloved Nocti, not send it anywhere, but remember that when I am trying to get my son's eyes in focus, perhaps I should focus on the center of his nose! 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! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/37450-noctilux-focus-and-the-m8/?do=findComment&comment=395328'>More sharing options...
johnbuckley Posted November 6, 2007 Share #6 Posted November 6, 2007 Here's a 100% crop. Remember, I was focusing on the pen in the middle. Upper pen was maybe... 2 inches away. 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! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/37450-noctilux-focus-and-the-m8/?do=findComment&comment=395334'>More sharing options...
johnbuckley Posted November 6, 2007 Share #7 Posted November 6, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Should have mentioned it was shot at f/1. But you knew that ;-) JB Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertwright Posted November 6, 2007 Share #8 Posted November 6, 2007 Should have mentioned it was shot at f/1. But you knew that ;-) JB looks like how my images looked before I gave it the 2mm allen key tweak. and by tweak, I mean tweak, I barely leaned on the key. now the 50 lux I have is spot on and the noct I was tempted to buy was spot on. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnbuckley Posted November 6, 2007 Share #9 Posted November 6, 2007 Robert - I have the 2 mm wrench sitting in front of me... but still leery of taking on the task! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertwright Posted November 6, 2007 Share #10 Posted November 6, 2007 i forget which way it is, but you just want to back it off from infinity a touch, not so much you can really see it in the alignment of the focus patch for distant objects. anyway, if you go to far, you see the the patch won't line up, so you tweak it the other way until it does. In practice it is just iterative. If the 50 is your longest lens, I think it solves your problem. If you have a longer lens then I think you might not be able to get longer lenses to coincide at infinity. before I was not able to use my 50 for portraits, now I can. I can accept any other problems this may induce, but so far on wider lenses I have seen none. my 35asph cron still focuses tack sharp. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Ortego Posted November 6, 2007 Share #11 Posted November 6, 2007 Robert - I have the 2 mm wrench sitting in front of me... but still leery of taking on the task! Say, take a look at the link below regarding the the hex key two-step. I use to adjust 115-lb. (52-kg) rangefinders in the Army, so I figure the M8 shouldn't be all that hard. http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m8-forum/37596-dont-leave-home-without.html Regards, Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonoslack Posted November 6, 2007 Share #12 Posted November 6, 2007 Hi There I wonder if it's possible to get it right for everything? Mine focuses very well up to about 10 metres - there is some focus shift, but it's not radical. It's not so great at infinity - on the other hand I can't quite imagine what I'd be using this lens for at f1 and infinity. I suspect that the bottom line is you get it focusing as you need it. Rob - mine WILL do the eyes at a metre, and they're sharp too, I suspect yours is sharp as well, but it's front focusing a little at a metre (which would explain why it looks generally soft). I love my nocti - and have produced some fine (for me) shots with it, but, like the (also lovely) zeiss 1.5 sonnar, it's no point and shoot lens! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnbuckley Posted November 6, 2007 Share #13 Posted November 6, 2007 Robert and Daniel, thank you. Here's my dilemma. As you will see from what's below, my 35 Summilux came out just about dead on at f/1.4... So it may be the Nocti, not the M8... and I think I can live with making a two-inch mental adjustment. At least will try for now. But thank you. 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! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/37450-noctilux-focus-and-the-m8/?do=findComment&comment=395385'>More sharing options...
robsteve Posted November 6, 2007 Author Share #14 Posted November 6, 2007 If you calibrate the rangefinder to the Noctilux and the rest of the lenses do not align at infinity, your Noctilux is the problem. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robsteve Posted November 6, 2007 Author Share #15 Posted November 6, 2007 Hi ThereI wonder if it's possible to get it right for everything? Mine focuses very well up to about 10 metres - there is some focus shift, but it's not radical. It's not so great at infinity - on the other hand I can't quite imagine what I'd be using this lens for at f1 and infinity. I suspect that the bottom line is you get it focusing as you need it. Rob - mine WILL do the eyes at a metre, and they're sharp too, I suspect yours is sharp as well, but it's front focusing a little at a metre (which would explain why it looks generally soft). I love my nocti - and have produced some fine (for me) shots with it, but, like the (also lovely) zeiss 1.5 sonnar, it's no point and shoot lens! Jono: Your problem is probably the lens. Ine was out by about the thickness of a piece of scotch tape. Once corrected by Kindermann, it focused fine at all distances Robert . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonoslack Posted November 6, 2007 Share #16 Posted November 6, 2007 Jono: Your problem is probably the lens. Ine was out by about the thickness of a piece of scotch tape. Once corrected by Kindermann, it focused fine at all distances Robert . Hi Robert you mean that you have NO focus shift? Stick it on a tripod, focus at f1 and then cycle through the apertures and the point of focus doesn't change? If so I think you have a unique lens. I thought mine was pretty good. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Campbell Posted November 6, 2007 Share #17 Posted November 6, 2007 On mine focus is dead on perfect at f1 and fine at f1.4. It noticably back focuses at f2.0-ff4.0. At f5.6 and beyond it's fine. So I just consider f2.0-f4.0 to be a no go range. When I use this lens I'm looking for the f1.0 look so this isn't a burden (I use an ND filter if the light is good). I think this is fairly typical peformance for this lens. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hookeye Posted November 6, 2007 Share #18 Posted November 6, 2007 "Backfocus" was also my Noctilux' second name. Needless to say, this one went off to Solms for adjustment. Taken with the M8 on a tripod at f/1.0 and closest focusing distance. The lens was equally off at infinity by the way. Is there an explanation as to why so many of them are off-focus on the M8? 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! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/37450-noctilux-focus-and-the-m8/?do=findComment&comment=395533'>More sharing options...
robsteve Posted November 6, 2007 Author Share #19 Posted November 6, 2007 Hi Robertyou mean that you have NO focus shift? Stick it on a tripod, focus at f1 and then cycle through the apertures and the point of focus doesn't change? If so I think you have a unique lens. I thought mine was pretty good. No, I meant it focuses fine at f1 and 1.2. I didn't try the other apertures. All Noctilux focus shift, so I haven't even thought of testing it. My Noctilux had always been the high speed lens, with a small 50mm Summicron used for general 50mm photography when samller apertures are used.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robsteve Posted November 7, 2007 Author Share #20 Posted November 7, 2007 "Backfocus" was also my Noctilux' second name. Needless to say, this one went off to Solms for adjustment. Taken with the M8 on a tripod at f/1.0 and closest focusing distance. The lens was equally off at infinity by the way. Is there an explanation as to why so many of them are off-focus on the M8? I suspect they were set up at a compromise to take into account the focus shift. When we shot them with film, it wasn't as critical like on the M8. Robert Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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