Why did you sell your noctilux 50mm?

[Derbyshire Man]

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I’m interested in opinions about this, especially V4. I’m a sucker for a fast 50, while I like much about the summilux 1.4 it still can’t do that middle distance isolation that my canon f1.2 can or the f1.0 shots I’ve seen. I’m considering either Nokton or Noctilux but the last thing I’d want to do is spend a fortune and then 12 months later resell, they are expensive second hand items and look slow to shift.

My personal standpoint is dreaminess and soul is good but I suspect not for 4x the price.

Yes I know it’s GAS so don’t bother telling me😂

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[evikne]

[jakontil]

Becoz i need the fund … otherwise im gonna keep it

[grahamc]

I’d (hopefully) never sell the E58 50:1 so maybe I shouldn’t comment ! Truly unique as you pointed out 😁

[Elliot Harper]

I have a f1.2 reissue, I don’t sell or will not sell unless I couldn’t put the food on the table.

It’s not big at all 

[Smudgerer]

3 hours ago, Derbyshire Man said:

I’m interested in opinions about this, especially V4. I’m a sucker for a fast 50, while I like much about the summilux 1.4 it still can’t do that middle distance isolation that my canon f1.2 can or the f1.0 shots I’ve seen. I’m considering either Nokton or Noctilux but the last thing I’d want to do is spend a fortune and then 12 months later resell, they are expensive second hand items and look slow to shift.

My personal standpoint is dreaminess and soul is good but I suspect not for 4x the price.

Yes I know it’s GAS so don’t bother telling me😂

If you have to scratch that f1 itch I'd take a leaf out of Al Brown's book/experience and seriously consider the VM Nokton 50 f1, it has excellent write-ups and some say it performs better overall than the Leica and that at a considerable €€€ discount from the Noctilux.

I'm betting that either lens may well prove to large for you though, I've had a couple of 50 Noctilux's but bragging rights aside it was size, weight and wide open missed focus issues that had them leave sooner rather than later...........

[ApoVision]

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Sold my first 0.95 when I sold all my Leica gear in about 2015 as I was unhappy with the digital Leicas at the time, mostly the monochrome.

Restarted Leica in 2024, have the Nocti reissue, the 0.95 and the 75/1.25. Spent last WE in Paris and took just the 50 SLX with me (current version - and the SLX 28 for the other M11 body). Very happy with the 50 SLX, while being a "character" lens it is not "too much character". The 0.95 is almost impossible to focus without EVF; same holds true for the 1.25), while SLX and the 1.2 work well enough for me (without EVF). So 0.95 and 1.25 - taking weight and size into consideration - could be candidates for selling. No decisions made, also as their character IS unique (and at 5.6 they are just plain sharp - but who would want to stop down such a lens?)

 

[JoshuaR]

I actually just sold my 50 Summilux ASPH, leaving me with the f/1.2 Noctilux reissue as my only 50. That particular Noctilux makes 50mm pictures that look exactly as I, personally, want them to look. (I use 50mm almost exclusively for casual portraiture.) And it's not too big or heavy, and can be used as an everyday 50mm lens out and about.

I traded the 50 Lux ASPH for a 21 SEM. So now I have a 21, 28, 35, 50, 90, 135 kit, with one lens at each focal length: 21 SEM, 28 Cron, 35 Steel Rim, 50 f1/2, 90 Summarit, 135 Tele-Elmar. 

I'm comfortable going with the f/1.2 because (a) it fits exactly what I want from 50mm, (b) it's small enough to put in a pocket, and (c) it fits into my kit as I conceive of it. But it took me a long time—years— to figure out what I wanted. And I lived with the f/1.2 for a long time, using it in all sorts of situations and learning an approach to post-processing that worked for me.

Edited May 7 by JoshuaR

[Stuart Richardson]

I never went through with buying one, but I have borrowed it from friends for a few weeks at a time, and I spent a lot of time putting it through its paces. I never really clicked with it. I also have a 75mm 1.4 Summilux, and to me I just prefer the character of that lens, as well as the ergonomics. The Noctilux always feels like a big lump to me. It is not pleasant to have on the camera, not pleasant to focus. It does have a bit shallower depth of field, but I prefer the focal length and character of the 75mm Summilux. I also tend to treat 50mm as a more general purpose focal length, and it is so much more pleasant to have a 50mm f1.4 or 50mm f2 on the body. I never found the speed made a difference whatsoever, even on film. It vignettes severely anyway, so you are only getting its true speed in the center of the frame, and the unbalanced, heaviness of it to me makes it less stable than a 50mm 1.4. On digital and in color, I think it is less pleasant, with a lot of longitudinal chromatic aberration. The most beautiful of these lenses to me are in medium format. I don't think the Noctilux holds a candle to the 110mm f2 Planar when it comes to portraits, for example. All this said, it is a lens that performs well stopped down and has a cool look about it when wide open, I just don't think we would really hear nearly as much about the lens if it were not for its mystical status as an f1 lens and its price.

[spydrxx]

While I was eager to get mine, I rapidly grew to dislike it. It was too big, too hard to focus, and took up too much space of the (film M) viewfinder. Same was true for the Canon 50/0.95 dream lens. It seems everybody in Leicaland lusts for a 50mm Noctilux, but most quickly sell theirs for a variety of reasons...mostly mentioned above.

[3D-Kraft.com]

Sold my first Noctilux 50/1.0 v4 in 2012 due to too many aberations. Regretted it later.

Bought another sample again in 2024, because meanwhile I rate character and unique rendering higher than perfection. Have also the Voigtländer 50/1.0 ASPH, which is technically better. But still prefer the Nocti 50/1 due to it's unique rendering.

[didier]

Never sell a Leica Lens  

[username]

2 hours ago, Stuart Richardson said:

I prefer the focal length and character of the 75mm Summilux.

..do you happen to have any portraits online that you shot with that lens, if I may ask?

I really like the projects on your website by the way, top work 👍

[Derbyshire Man]

1 hour ago, 3D-Kraft.com said:

Sold my first Noctilux 50/1.0 v4 in 2012 due to too many aberations. Regretted it later.

Bought another sample again in 2024, because meanwhile I rate character and unique rendering higher than perfection. Have also the Voigtländer 50/1.0 ASPH, which is technically better. But still prefer the Nocti 50/1 due to its unique rendering.

Do you shoot it rangefinder or mirrorless? 

[3D-Kraft.com]

vor 2 Minuten schrieb Derbyshire Man:

Do you shoot it rangefinder or mirrorless? 

100% mirrorless, because also RF is also mirrorless 😉

I guess your question is, how much I use it on a RF Leica M. I would estimate it 90% on non-RF (Sony A1 with AF-adapter) and 10% on M. The yield is much better on non-RF.

[Derbyshire Man]

Yes, good point but happily you knew what I meant🤣

I’ve got a 50 1.2 for my canon r5m2, what rough percentage hit rate would you give on the M? Personally I don’t think that close up portraits on a 50 need f1.0 but it is of more benefit a little further back and for whole body shots in context. 

Edited May 7 by Derbyshire Man

[RexGig0]

I did plenty of “homework” on this matter, in early 2022, and opted to buy the Nokton 50mm f/1.0 Aspherical. Notably, I considered my much-loved Summilux-M 50mm ASPH to be too important to sell or trade, so, any “faster Fifty” would be a supplementary/complementary lens. In looking at images posted by others, on-line, both before and after I purchased my Nokton f/1.0, I do not believe that that I settled for second-best, optically, regardless of cost. If there is an update/refresh of the f/0.95 Noctilux, of course, it will probably “beat” the Nokton f/1.0, but, I will deal with that, if/when it happens.

To be clear, I am not saying that the Noctilux f/1.0 “copies” the Peter Karbe “character” in the images produced by the Noctilux f/0.95. The Nokton has it own “character,” and, I believe that Cosina “targeted” the f/1 Noctilux lenses, anyway, not the f/0.95 Noctilux.

I continue to prefer the character of my Summilux ASPH images, when shooting wide-open. I expected this, in 2022, and still believe it. If f/1.4 suffices, I am likely to use a Summilux ASPH. 

Notably, there are times I will use both color and Monochrom M cameras, at the same time. This helps to “justify” owning multiple lenses, of the same focal length. And, of course, I may well have a colored filter on the lens that is mounted to the Monochrom, affecting the amount of light actually reaching the sensor.

Edited May 8 by RexGig0

[HuntingSand]

I've been fortunate to be the owner of the 095 when I was still using my M9 system. During that time I was able to create some images with this combination which will stay with me forever. Among the 50mm Leica lens catalog, this lens (in my view) generated the most unexpected, atmospheric results. I moved thru the ranks, from the Cron to the 'Lux to the Noct. The latest 'Lux was (and still is) a reference lens, and an absolute joy to use. But those last yards (from f1.4 to f1 or f0.95), man, that short distance got wild and "trippy" very quickly. Talk about surrendering control to something so ethereal as angle of light, air density, humidity, unexpected shapes in the shadows...all these things seemed to be getting picked up by this lens. It was a unique experience, that's for sure, and I feel honored to have been able to enjoy its capabilities. So, was it worth it: for me, yes, every single penny. Ken Hansen (may he rest in peace) was my go-to guy back then, he gave me a good price, I sold it on a few years later for not much loss. These days I use the Sigma 50 f1.2 on my SL2, which is exceptional, but of course renders somewhat differently. The 095 Noct was at times completely unpredictable, untamable even, which made it such an amazing and surprising tool to work with.

My two cents... 

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[Stuart Richardson]

On 5/7/2025 at 5:26 PM, username said:

..do you happen to have any portraits online that you shot with that lens, if I may ask?

I really like the projects on your website by the way, top work 👍

Thank you! Unfortunately I don't really have much from the 75mm Summilux online. Mine is not coded so they are a bit hard to find, and most of my portraits in the last years have been with large format. My comments are based more on my experience over the years with photos that are, frankly, pretty amateurish. This is because I got the 75mm Summilux pretty early in my photographic development, and have not really been using Leica M cameras for portraits much for the last ten years or so. I also tend to do more landscapes an architecture than portraits. But here are a few pictures that maybe hint at its character. Basically, what I like about the lens is that it is very gentle. It has smooth transitions in and out of focus, in comparison to the extremely defined focus plane of modern lenses. It is soft wide open, but still sharp stopped down.

Some of the images are tiny, as I only scanned them twenty years ago. The landscape is recent, from the M10M.

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[Derbyshire Man]

Did anyone go from Noctilux to Nokton 50mm f1.0 and regret it? I can see that the Nokton has better resolving power, is lighter, better contrast, but certainly a less organic lens than an imperfect Noctilux 50mm f1.0 IV. Personally I prefer a 35mm summilux pre-asph with all of its issues to a 35mm summicron apo by a mile.

I do however prefer spending <£1k vs £4k!

Also any difference in viewfinder blockage between the two of them? How does it compare with the sumi 24 or 28?