Is a Noctilux worth it?

[trickness]

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I too, have avoided buying the 50 0.95 for the reasons mentioned above. I kind of figured that my 50 M Lux had most of that ground covered, and really at 1.4 and above it does.

But I suspect I have missed the main advantage of this particular lens, which is its strength in producing happy accidents when used wide open. I too have thought it would be a better lens if updated and optically corrected for less chromatic aberration; but I wonder if making it more clinically perfect would destroy the unique character of the 0.95. I know at this price point a lot of people expect perfection, and that is a reasonable expectation. But I much prefer character to outright perfection - I really don’t care for lenses like the 50 APO because of this. I’m hoping I get to try a 50 Nocti soon, either the 1.0 or the 0.95, because I would absolutely lean heavily into the flaws of those lenses, and never be looking for sharpness.

The 75 Nocti is optically superior to the 0.95 and that’s great and as I’ve said previously, it’s a wonderful tool. But I wouldn’t want to have its twin in a shorter focal length. I would much rather have something unique can surprise me - maybe it’s just because one gets to an age where they have taken so many pictures that being surprised is FUN.

All of this Nocti talk has me fired up, so I’m gonna go out with my 75 and try to take some really flawed photographs today 😂. 

[Jeremy Bunting]

I have all three in-production Noct's:  the 50 f0.95. the 50 f1.2 reissue, and the 75 f1.25. 

The only thing that makes the 50 f0.95 a niche lens is the price tag.  It can do it all (except focus under 1m).  It's razor-sharp and the ultra-fast aperture is a godsend if you shoot at night or indoors or on film, as I often do.  I grab this lens probably 75% of the time I leave the house anymore.  It's also really not that big or heavy.  I find it comfortable enough to carry around all day.

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The 50 f1.2 is a fun little character lens that creates very specific images.  Sometimes I'll go to a location specifically with this lens in mind, but it would be a bit boring to shoot with all the time.

The 75 f1.25 is a tougher sell.  It creates absolutely beautiful images, but it's slower than the 50 f0.95, and the viewfinder blockage is pretty significant.  An electronic viewfinder is kind of a must, and I very rarely use it with film as a result.  Plus, cropping from 50 to 75 is pretty easy.  I love it for event photography or anything where I anticipate being somewhat far from my subject.  And obviously it creates beautiful portraits, but so does the 50 f0.95.  I'll never sell it, but if it got stolen I'd collect the insurance money and think for a long time about whether I needed to buy another.

 

Edited September 27, 2023 by Jeremy Bunting

[trickness]

8 minutes ago, Jeremy Bunting said:

I have all three in-production Noct's:  the 50 f0.95. the 50 f1.2 reissue, and the 75 f1.25.  The only thing that makes the 50 f0.95 a niche lens is the price tag.  It can do it all (except focus under 1m).  It's razor-sharp and the ultra-fast aperture is a godsend if you shoot at night or indoors or on film, as I often do.  I grab this lens probably 75% of the time I leave the house anymore.  It's also really not that big or heavy.  I find it comfortable enough to carry around all day.

The 50 f1.2 is a fun little character lens that creates very specific images.  Sometimes I'll go to a location specifically with this lens in mind, but it would be a bit boring to shoot with all the time.

The 75 f1.25 is a tougher sell.  It creates absolutely beautiful images, but it's slower than the 50 f0.95, and the viewfinder blockage is pretty significant.  An electronic viewfinder is kind of a must, and I very rarely use it with film as a result.  Plus, cropping from 50 to 75 is pretty easy.  I love it for event photography or anything where I anticipate being somewhat far from my subject.  And obviously it creates beautiful portraits, but so does the 50 f0.95.  I'll never sell it, but if it got stolen I'd collect the insurance money and think for a long time about whether I needed to buy another.

Very helpful post, and I’m jealous!!!!

How do you like the 1.2? I like the smaller size and weight and price tag, but I’ve not considered it because of the busy/swirly bokeh it seems to have wide-open in every shot I’ve seen taken with it. Your description of it is good, but I’m wondering if the “specific images” part of your post refers to this.

Edited September 27, 2023 by trickness

[Jeremy Bunting]

16 minutes ago, trickness said:

Very helpful post, and I’m jealous!!!!

How do you like the 1.2? I like the smaller size and weight and price tag, but I’ve not considered it because of the busy/swirly bokeh it seems to have wide-open in every shot I’ve seen taken with it. Your description of it is good, but I’m wondering if the “specific images” part of your post refers to this.

Yes, it does. I added images to my original post, all of which were shot wide open or close to. The 50 f1.2 can really elevate an otherwise-pedestrian shot, but the "look" is also limiting. You have to stop down to f2.8-f4 to clear things up, and at that point I'm like 'I should've just grabbed my APO 50.'

[profus]

On 9/19/2023 at 7:18 PM, Olaf_ZG said:

That said, to develop my 75mm skills, I keep the nokton 1.5 on the M, and ofcourse it ain’t a Noctilux, I do really enjoy it.

 

What are your impressions on VM Nokton? Any images you would care to share?
Thank you!

[Olaf_ZG]

8 hours ago, profus said:

What are your impressions on VM Nokton? Any images you would care to share?
Thank you!

Most images are either in the specific lens thread or in the sl2-s forum. To me, it is a great portrait lens, and those photographed with it really like their images. 

[T25UFO]

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On 9/27/2023 at 5:37 PM, Jeremy Bunting said:

Yes, it does. I added images to my original post, all of which were shot wide open or close to. The 50 f1.2 can really elevate an otherwise-pedestrian shot, but the "look" is also limiting. You have to stop down to f2.8-f4 to clear things up, and at that point I'm like 'I should've just grabbed my APO 50.'

But isn't that the point of the f1.2?  Stopped down just a little and it's as sharp as the APO.  Wide open, it does things the APO cannot do.  All this in a very compact package.  What's not to like?

[Jan1985]

I had the 50 0.95 for 8 years. It's a truly wonderful lens and I photographed a ton of weddings with that lens creating unique images. But in some way I got rid of this look. For me the purpose of owning a lens with 0.95 is to shoot at 0.95. So I recognized a redundancy in my photo work and got bored by the time.

I also have 75 Noctilux. So for weddings I had the need for a wider focal length. And I never had a 35mm before. My dealer sent me a 35mm Lux and an APO. After 4 weeks of testing I decided to go for the APO. 35mm is more an all-round kind of FL. So I decided to sell the 50 Noctilux for it and to keep the 75mm.

I think to have a 35mm and a 75mm is a good combo to do a lot of different things. In some way I miss the the unique signature of 50 Noct and its imperfections. But for the 35mm APO is more straight forward and it's not that clinical that I expected before.

[PeterGA]

I think whatever excites people enough to make photographs and get enjoyment out of it is a great lens. My 0.95 isn't used as much as 21/24/28mm lenses these days - the older I get the more I want in the frame. A 75Nocti would be a lot of fun - but on my SL2 I prefer the amenity of the 90APO. In order to get the most out of shooting at 0.95 one needs to pay a lot more attention to more things so by definition in my mind it is a 'high maintenance' lens as far as required input from user goes - but younger people have the energy and inclination to put in the required effort and maximise the 'look' they get from these lenses - for my type of street I dont require a sliver of sharpness in fact I dont want things blurred out at all - so F8 has become my most used aperture. For a candid portrait an SL  90APO at F2 is going to nail the eye much easier /faster and more reliably than any manual focus lens - same for teh 35mmAPO. however for 'special' shots of babies, young children in the right composition - well the 50 Nocti separates the subject beautifully and delivers a unique look - making the subject pop. This is the main reason I still keep teh 50 Nocti - for very occasional use and for when I am in the mood to chase POP.

 

 

[Jeremy Bunting]

1 hour ago, T25UFO said:

But isn't that the point of the f1.2?  Stopped down just a little and it's as sharp as the APO.  Wide open, it does things the APO cannot do.  All this in a very compact package.  What's not to like?

It still renders very differently than the APO even stopped down--less contrast, and not nearly as sharp (but satisfactory). I'm a big fan though. I shot half a roll of Cinestill 800 with my M6/Noct f1.2 last night out on the town in Charleston. Love how the lens performs on film, and the size factor is a plus when you're moving around in a crowded bar. But the rest of the roll I'll be shooting with my 35 'Lux.

[jakontil]

On 9/30/2023 at 3:16 AM, Jan1985 said:

I had the 50 0.95 for 8 years. It's a truly wonderful lens and I photographed a ton of weddings with that lens creating unique images. But in some way I got rid of this look. For me the purpose of owning a lens with 0.95 is to shoot at 0.95. So I recognized a redundancy in my photo work and got bored by the time.

I also have 75 Noctilux. So for weddings I had the need for a wider focal length. And I never had a 35mm before. My dealer sent me a 35mm Lux and an APO. After 4 weeks of testing I decided to go for the APO. 35mm is more an all-round kind of FL. So I decided to sell the 50 Noctilux for it and to keep the 75mm.

I think to have a 35mm and a 75mm is a good combo to do a lot of different things. In some way I miss the the unique signature of 50 Noct and its imperfections. But for the 35mm APO is more straight forward and it's not that clinical that I expected before.

Just curiosity, what makes you choose the apo over the lux? I presume it was the FLE 2?

[Jan1985]

It was the new Close Focus Lux. I was shocked about the intensity of chromatic aberrations. That was one criteria to choose the APO. On weddings I also do some really close shots like rings so with 30cm minimum focus distance the APO is the winner.

And what I also didnt expect that it also has a lot of character and with 2.0 and the contrast relations caused by the APO correction the impression of DOF is close to 1.4 of the Lzx,

[Olaf_ZG]

So, in the end I think, for now, a Noctilux 75 is not worth it for me. You showed me great images, but mostly of portraits, something I don’t want to focus on too much. At least not in that extent that a Noctilux will be justified.

Besides that, the cheapest 75mm is 9000€ secondhand in my region and it is slightly scratched. In case I don’t like the lens reselling will be very tough and most probably I will lose significantly.

And on-top, I really do enjoy my nokton 75/1.5 and I am not sure if the Noctilux will give me 9x more fun.

So, for now I pass. Happily, there are many great lenses around to play with.

Thank you all for feedback.

[evikne]

25 minutes ago, Olaf_ZG said:

So, in the end I think, for now, a Noctilux 75 is not worth it for me. You showed me great images, but mostly of portraits, something I don’t want to focus on too much. At least not in that extent that a Noctilux will be justified.

I would never buy a 75 Noctilux if it wasn't primarily for shooting portraits.

Edited October 28, 2023 by evikne

[Drmat]

The 75 Noctilux is the best lens I have ever owned.  I sold it.  It was a lot of work to get an image, but what you get cannot be achieved with any other lens I have used and so it is rewarding when you get a good one.   What concerned me was the size, the fact that I often needed the EVF (M user) to get the correct focus (which also made is slow to focus).  When I used it with models, I found photos often felt very static because I needed the model to be very still.  I also found the photos started to all look the same.  I really loved it for landscapes and architecture.

I have gravitated towards the 50 APO when working with models.  Some say it can be harsh, but I never seem to have that problem.  I get the same tones on the monochrom with the 50 APO as I did with the 75 noctilux - I would say they are more similar in character than the 75 compared to other noctilux.  The 50 APO is cheaper, easier to use, and easier to carry around.  No need for the EVF.  Ultimately, it came down to practicalities.

I sometimes think I should rebuy the 75 noctilux, but I talk myself out of it for the same reasons I sold it in the first place.

All that said, I doubt you will be disappointed if you buy this lens.