Replacing my 50 Lux SL and 75 APO with the 75 Noctilux?

[tritentrue]

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43 minutes ago, Sohail said:

To clarify: I never disputed that the 75 Noctilux has a distinctive fingerprint. I never expressed an opinion on the artistic merits of trickness' photos. I never said his photos were not very good. I simply made the claim that to buy a 75 Noctilux (and trade in very fine lenses) is not in my view a sound decision because your hit rate for photos (where sharpness matters) will go down dramatically. Further, if you want to take photos like post#16, you don't need a 75 Noctilux. That result can be achieved with a cheap entry-level DSLR. That's why I posted a photo of my own with a cheap 16MP entry-level micro-four-thirds camera.

As portraits, the two images you juxtapose could hardly be more different, and not just in allocation of focal plane.

This thread reminds me of the numerous times I've seen posts in this forum to the effect of "My iphone could have gotten that shot."

Or when I'm in the field shooting birds with long glass and someone with a P&S points to my gear says to me, "This takes just as good a picture as that."  I doubt they'd approach a total stranger with such a remark if they were truly secure in their claim.  If someone is happy with what they're shooting, what does it matter to them what someone else's choice is and how much he/she paid for it? 

That said, OP surely has some good food for thought by now.

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[Sohail]

Except that the image in post#16 could literally have been shot with an iPhone. I'm happy to hear why you think it couldn't be. But if we were talking about this very beautifully shot image shot with a 75 Noctilux then we could have a serious discussion.

 

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!

If you think you can turn out consistently amazing shots like this with this lens, then go for it. I'm not seeing much evidence of that. 

[trickness]

2 hours ago, Sohail said:

Except that the image in post#16 could literally have been shot with an iPhone. I'm happy to hear why you think it couldn't be. But if we were talking about this very beautifully shot image shot with a 75 Noctilux then we could have a serious discussion.

 

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!

If you think you can turn out consistently amazing shots like this with this lens, then go for it. I'm not seeing much evidence of that. 

I’m gonna comment on this against my better judgment, because you keep crapping all over one photograph I took. 

I posted the now notorious #16 along with several other pictures (5), just to show a variety of shots. I don’t remember you being with me when I was taking the picture or post processing it, but your comment about it being like an iPhone photograph is again, provocative. I actually took this photograph in the middle of a crowded park, very bright sunlight, with lots of people around. I made a conscious decision to overexpose the image, and to make the focal point uncertain to create a certain ambiguity in the photograph. These decisions also helped me obscure the crowd of people around the subject. But you know, it’s just a picture I took, that was different than the others. Nobody has to like it, and I didn’t take or post it to justify the cost of this lens, to you or anybody else. 
 

As some others have mentioned, and clearly you can’t get your head around this, there are lots of different ways to take photographs, and some of us make deliberate choices to overexpose, underexpose, blow highlights, use motion blur or unpredictable focus points. These are creative decisions of the individual photographer. The fact that someone with photographic skills as obvious as yours continues to ignore this or use one photograph as a rationale for why a lens isn’t worth the money is completely ponderous. Do you only know how to make one type of picture?
 

The picture you attach as an example here is good. It is not a photograph that is particularly challenging to achieve technically. It’s not the only way to take this kind of picture. It’s not the only way to use the Nocti. “Consistently amazing” to me sounds quite like doing the same thing over and over again - I would rather take 1000 failed images in the search for something creatively fulfilling than churn out pictures that fill somebody else’s “amazing” criteria. Suggesting that the price of a lens somehow means that you have to use it as some kind of showcase for its capabilities every single time you pick it up is a ridiculous assertion. 

If my response here sounds as though I’m a little bit annoyed, I’ll admit it, I am. I only posted my photographs and my thoughts to help another member and share my first hand experiences with this lens. Your goals seem a lot less clear in this thread. Are you saying the lens is too much money? Are you saying I’m not a good enough photographer to take an image worth the price of the lens? Are you saying that you have some kind of criteria of the monetary value of an individual photograph and that it must pass your personal muster to justify the cost of the tools used to create said photograph? Because none of the above is about your use of this lens. Truly - it’s about your personal preferences and prejudices. And by the way…a discussion isn’t “serious” just because you say it is. A photograph isn’t good just because you say it is. Get over yourself and stop judging so much.
 

Can you maybe instead go rent/borrow a copy of this lens and take some pictures and post them and share your thoughts? I hope you do. In any case, I’ve muted you because you’ve taken a post I made with the best intentions and turned it into a massive drag.

 

 

Edited September 16, 2023 by trickness

[MakinMemories]

On 9/14/2023 at 6:33 AM, LeicaR10 said:

Dr G,  There are two most excellent portrait photographers that have a lot of experience with the SL 50 Summilux and 75 Noctilux.  The first is Sohail and his above post #6 and masterpiece portraits in the SL2 Image thread offers proof of the value for the lens.  The other photographer is Trickness.  His 75 Nocitlux portraits are also masterpiece works using that lens along with the SL2 and M 50 Summilux lens too.  I would suggest you send Trickness a PM from the forum once you look at some of his photographs and ask his opinion.  I suggest you look at these two links that will demonstrate what the SL 50 Summilux and 75 Noctilux can do in experienced hands. The good news, you have choices, but only you can make the decision that is right for you.  r/ Mark

Try:  https://onfotolife.com/lens_sample_photos?lens_id=374&page=1&focal_min=0&focal_max=800&aperture_min=0&aperture_max=32

Try:  https://onfotolife.com/lens_sample_photos?lens_id=1382&page=1&focal_min=0&focal_max=800&aperture_min=0&aperture_max=32

 

Wow, thanks for posting these links! Makes me want to get back home and really drill down and hone my skills with the SL2 & SL 50mm Summilux...Some incredibly beautiful models, especially in the top post but very easy to see the extreme level of skill necessary to capture these photos. I have used the SL 50mm Summilux a few times with 'nice' results but nothing like these photographers have rendered...

Right now I am on my way to Berlin for a quick business trip and the maiden voyage with my new Q3...The Q3 is perfect for this type of trip, no check-in bags, just one carry-on with two pair of jeans, three shirts, socks and undies, laptop & soft case, charger, vitamins, gym clothes and the Q3 w/flash, batteries, memory cards in a Hadley Small Pro...ALL fits nicely in one albeit stuffed carry-on!

Being a guy you can usually pack light...GF packs more than this on an overnight stay at a B&B!

[Olaf_ZG]

8 hours ago, MakinMemories said:

 

Wow, thanks for posting these links! Makes me want to get back home and really drill down and hone my skills with the SL2 & SL 50mm Summilux...Some incredibly beautiful models, especially in the top post but very easy to see the extreme level of skill necessary to capture these photos. I have used the SL 50mm Summilux a few times with 'nice' results but nothing like these photographers have rendered...

Right now I am on my way to Berlin for a quick business trip and the maiden voyage with my new Q3...The Q3 is perfect for this type of trip, no check-in bags, just one carry-on with two pair of jeans, three shirts, socks and undies, laptop & soft case, charger, vitamins, gym clothes and the Q3 w/flash, batteries, memory cards in a Hadley Small Pro...ALL fits nicely in one albeit stuffed carry-on!

Being a guy you can usually pack light...GF packs more than this on an overnight stay at a B&B!

Now toothbrush?

[LeicaR10]

Trickness,  I sent you a PM about your Post # 44.  r/ Mark

[MakinMemories]

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3 hours ago, Olaf_ZG said:

Now toothbrush?

Damm...I knew I forgot something🤣

[Hanno]

To OP, you may have seen that video already.

Images are shown towards the end. I would personally use it on a SL body not M11, unless you use the visoflex 2 on the M11.

 

[Hanno]

This one as well quite good.

 

 

[insideline]

I have been intrigued with this post and very appreciative of the input and especially some of the stunning pictures provided by trickness. Thank you by the way!

My journey with the Leica 75 1.25 took me down a path I was not expecting but am glad for it. I own or have owned every Leica Noctilux lens, starting with my Dad's '68 50 1.2. then my 50 F1 E58 I purchased right out of high school in 1975 and the .95. I then bought the 75 1.25 and I have to be honest I liked it a lot but I never quite fell in love with it after using it on an M body and an SL2, so it is owned by a member here on the forum who has shared lovely pictures taken of his young daughter. What the Leica 75 1.25 lens did though was to send me down a path to find that ultimate portrait lens I envisioned, and in my eyes I succeeded in Nikon's Z 58mm .95 Noct. To me this lens is the single finest piece of optics I have ever shot with and in my opinion it produces what I wanted the Leica 75 1.25 Noctilux to be as the Nikon Noct is truly quite a lot sharper on center and even though the focal length is shorter at 58mm I enjoy the out of focus rendering as much as the Leica 75 Noctilux. The massive downside to the Nikon Noct is it weighs over 2KG, so for those on here who feel the Leica 75 Noctilux is a pig I have news for you, the Leica is a svelte dancer in comparison. 

For me the Leica 75 1.25 is a fabulous lens in that it can be used on both an M body and an SL and as thickness continues to show us it produces stunning results. The Nikon Noct I use only on Nikon's Z9 and this combination is to me simply breathtaking in how incredibly sharp it is and its out of focus rendering is just sublime but man it sure is heavy! The lesson I learned is that to obtain the finest in optics for these portrait lenses comes at a huge cost in weight, meaning nothing is free in the quest for the finest optics. One possible exception is I do however own a Konica 60 1.2 which in a way ruins my entire story here given how sharp the lens is on center, and how beautiful its out of focus rendering is, but it weighs just 420 grams! It is however not 'quite' as unique as either the Leica 75 1.25 or the Nikon Noct. Pick your poison and really think about what you are trying to achieve, plus what are you willing to put up with in your quest for perfection. 

Edited September 26, 2023 by insideline
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