Noctilux 1.2 reissue - uv filter and lens caps

[Panchenlama]

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Hi Everyone!

This is my first post here having recently joined the club.

I have the M11-P and very recently picked up an ex-demo Noctilux 1.2 reissue. Since I demoed it in the store. I knew I had to have one. I think it's such a special lens. It's difficult to explain why, but it feels like 'my' lens, my way of seeing things, more than any other lens I've owned in the past. Weird, and a lot of fun.

I was wondering how other people using it have 'configured' it, for want of a better word. I just got the Leica UV filter to protect the front element. It fits of course, but now I have very dark corners in all my images and the lovely metal lens cap doesn't fit anymore, which makes me sad...

Is it better to use it without a UV filter or is there a slimmer filter I can get that won't darken the corners so much? Is there a lens cap that will go over the filter?

How do you carry yours?

 

 

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[Panchenlama]

...also, which other lenses should I be looking at if I like this one so much?

Thanks!

[ZoomP]

The Noct is known to have heavy vignetting, so I don't think it's your filter.  I had a slim filter before which took the blunt of the fall when the lens dropped from the bag when I was getting out of the car.  If the filter was a big taller, I think the front element would have been spared.  After I got the lens back from Wetzer, I bought an original Leica filter and also an original Leica pinched cap.

Edited June 13, 2024 by ZoomP

[Rollei35]

without filter, it vignets on f1.2 anyway. on f1.4 it's better

with filter vignetting is more profound and all the way to f2.

I am using the thinnest one you can find in the market, b+w t-pro thin titanium version

[rustyrus]

I owned this lens for a long time and don't recall it vignetting with the Leica filter- 

 Also if I have a filter on, I never use a lens cap. 

I just looked back through some pictures, I don't see any hard vignetting at all- I always used the Leica filter at all times with it. Never used a cap

[Rollei35]

1 hour ago, rustyrus said:

I owned this lens for a long time and don't recall it vignetting with the Leica filter- 

 Also if I have a filter on, I never use a lens cap. 

I just looked back through some pictures, I don't see any hard vignetting at all- I always used the Leica filter at all times with it. Never used a cap

it vignetting hard at f1.2 and mild at f1.4 even without filter.

Adding a filter, any type of filter, just make the vignetting more profounding. Leica filter is nothing special, its rim is even thicker than b+w master or pro line.

[rustyrus]

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7 hours ago, Rollei35 said:

it vignetting hard at f1.2 and mild at f1.4 even without filter.

Adding a filter, any type of filter, just make the vignetting more profounding. Leica filter is nothing special, its rim is even thicker than b+w master or pro line.

I think you answered your own question then- 

Don't use a filter-  Its a 1962 design- It wasn't perfect then and its not now- 

Also at 1.2, the center is the only thing that could remotely be considered in focus/sharp- You aren't gonna be shooting landscapes at 1.2 and thats sort of what makes the swirl in the bokeh pop even more. 

Maybe you bought the wrong lens?

 

[Rollei35]

59 minutes ago, rustyrus said:

I think you answered your own question then- 

Don't use a filter-  Its a 1962 design- It wasn't perfect then and its not now- 

Also at 1.2, the center is the only thing that could remotely be considered in focus/sharp- You aren't gonna be shooting landscapes at 1.2 and thats sort of what makes the swirl in the bokeh pop even more. 

Maybe you bought the wrong lens?

 

I am not answering my own question, I am refuting your response. You said, I quote "I owned this lens for a long time and don't recall it vignetting with the Leica filter- " This is wrong. Of course at f/1.2 it vignets without filters, and it vignets more heavily with any filters.

And don't put your words in my mouth, I never said it's perfect, neither do I expect it is not going to vignet. I also never think vignetting is an imperfection.

 

Edited June 14, 2024 by Rollei35

[Aryel]

I use mine with hood, b&w filter. I like it a lot too. I don’t think the filter has any impact but I am no pixel peeper. If I were you, I would just  take it out my mind with a quick test with/without filter at various apertures and move on. 

 

[Rollei35]

46 minutes ago, Aryel said:

I use mine with hood, b&w filter. I like it a lot too. I don’t think the filter has any impact but I am no pixel peeper. If I were you, I would just  take it out my mind with a quick test with/without filter at various apertures and move on. 

 

b+w t-pro which is their thinnest model does make the vignetting worse but only on f/1.2 and f/1.4, starting from f/2 it's almost not noticeable.

I don't like the hood though, too bulky. The hood is just just showing off, not real use though.

[Aryel]

3 hours ago, Rollei35 said:

b+w t-pro which is their thinnest model does make the vignetting worse but only on f/1.2 and f/1.4, starting from f/2 it's almost not noticeable.

I don't like the hood though, too bulky. The hood is just just showing off, not real use though.

Hood is bulky, this I agree. For the filter, let’s just agree to disagree 😉. 

[Sonnar1937]

Maybe I am a bit weird but actually I don't care too much about vignetting. It contributes to the character of the lens. Actually, I have stacked a variable ND filter with a custom-made hood (i.e. cut off to make it a bit shorter). BTW, it saved me from damaging the lens one time... Pictures have the vintage look and feel at 1.2 (at least IMO...)

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[jakontil]

I use this lens for portraits exclusively, mind you, the focus fall off from the center is already drastic, hence the vignette will only make it more dramatic to the center area

i m a hoodless man, but always have at least filter on every on my lenses, dont like to give the front element a regular clean, rather the filter will take the scrub

especially on film, my go to 50, this lens has most character without compromising its size

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[stephengv]

I bought the B+W Master, it vignette heavily. Is the T-Pro substantially different? Thanks.