AnakChan Posted May 30 Share #1 Posted May 30 Advertisement (gone after registration) Most of my experiences with the 50Lux have been with the standard 0.7m closest focus versions - ~9 yrs with the preASPH in silver for my M7, then another 14 yrs with the ASPH version (with M9/240/M11). Last year I traded the 50Lux ASPH and moved to the Noct 0.95. I haven't used it much mainly due to the weight, but when I do, the closest 1m focus & more the purple fringing bugs me quite a bit (yes I know it can be fixed with LR but I don't use LR). Recently I traded my 35Lux ASPH for the new 35Lux FLE v2 Close Focus. And that's got me thinking about moving from the Noct 0.95 to the new 50Lux Close Focus, however I've not seen any side-by-side comparisons with them. Any thoughts or anything I should consider before making such a move? What do I shoot? Mainly street with my 24Lux/35Lux. But with the 50Lux, mainly ppl & portraits. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted May 30 Posted May 30 Hi AnakChan, Take a look here Keep Noct 0.95 or swap for the 50lux Close Focus?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Photon42 Posted May 30 Share #2 Posted May 30 Weight and the poor minimal focussing distance of the Noct never made it interesting to me. If you own the 24 and 35 luxes, have you ever considered to add the 75 Summicron? Great lens and optically close to the 50 ASPH, close focus magnification almost like the new 50 ASPH but a little more ability to bridge distance. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
didier Posted May 30 Share #3 Posted May 30 The Noct is a specialist Lens, particularly given its weight. I seldom use mine, though I like the results. I won’t sell it for this very reason. But if your goal is to have only one 50, a Summilux would be much more useful in my view. Didier 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwimac Posted May 30 Share #4 Posted May 30 I cannot imagine lugging one around. I would certainly swap it for something more practical. How about the f1.2 ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
darylgo Posted May 30 Share #5 Posted May 30 @AnakChan The Noctilux is a lens that many people try and many sell. Large, heavy and dense it makes the Summilux feel svelte. I like the feel and handling of v1 asph over the current v2 with close focus, both are great. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnakChan Posted May 30 Author Share #6 Posted May 30 Cheers for the reply folks. Yes when I had the pre-ASPH & the ASPH (v1??) for over 20 years, I used it more. Having said that, I don't think I'd go back to the 50Lux ASPH from the Noct 0.95...but the 50Lux close focus is a different story which I'm contemplating. Maybe I need to use both side-by-side as a portrait lens and compare. Or, I may need to use the Noct more to get used to it and see what kind of niche photos I can get out of it. I definitely can't have both though. As for the 75Cron, I feel that's a bit of an in-between focal length. I used to have the 90Rit which I hardly used, and think the 75mm focal length may fall into that category. Somehow for a rangefinder, I think the 24-50 is the most suitable for my kind of street/street-portrait use. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
spydrxx Posted May 30 Share #7 Posted May 30 Advertisement (gone after registration) If you are mostly shooting street, how does close focus even enter into your considerations? 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakontil Posted May 30 Share #8 Posted May 30 Noct 0.95 might not be everyday lens but it could.. however not many can appreciate it.. if u think only bad images from the noct, i’d say u probably better fit with the lux.. the latter is the cheat code lens in my arsenal Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dickgillberg Posted May 30 Share #9 Posted May 30 Keep, you will buy it again otherwise. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
evikne Posted May 30 Share #10 Posted May 30 For those who really utilize it, nothing can replace a Noctilux. But otherwise, a Summilux is probably more useful. Also: Noctilux at f/0.95 and 1 m = 2.17 cm DOF Summilux at f/1.4 and 0.45 m = 0.61 cm DOF 5 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrM Posted May 30 Share #11 Posted May 30 Swap it. I never took the noctilux, it is heavy, slow to focus and overhyped. The lux is great, and if you are looking for that "special" look, just buy a cheap lens with a lot of errors in it 😉 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnakChan Posted May 31 Author Share #12 Posted May 31 Cheers folks. I think @evikne post did it for me. I went to the shop, did a few tests/comparison shots. The close focus of the 50Lux made it more versatile, the weight was great....familiar to my past 50Luxes, and overall much better CA control. Also, surprisingly the bokeh of both were not too different. I expected a larger difference between the f/0.95 & f/1.4 but the differences were negligible for my acceptance. So I went head and swapped the Noct for a new silver 50Lux CF. 6 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
justj Posted May 31 Share #13 Posted May 31 22 minutes ago, AnakChan said: Cheers folks. I think @evikne post did it for me. I went to the shop, did a few tests/comparison shots. The close focus of the 50Lux made it more versatile, the weight was great....familiar to my past 50Luxes, and overall much better CA control. Also, surprisingly the bokeh of both were not too different. I expected a larger difference between the f/0.95 & f/1.4 but the differences were negligible for my acceptance. So I went head and swapped the Noct for a new silver 50Lux CF. May God forgive your soul. 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! M240 + 0.95 6 1 7 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! M240 + 0.95 ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/421678-keep-noct-095-or-swap-for-the-50lux-close-focus/?do=findComment&comment=5809860'>More sharing options...
RexGig0 Posted May 31 Share #14 Posted May 31 Enjoy your Closer-Focus Summilux ASPH II! This discussion helps to affirm my decision to not buy a Noctilux 0.95, a few years ago, when I could have done so. I would not have traded my Summilux-M 50mm ASPH, original version, but did consider adding the Noctilux 0.95, to be a niche/supplementary lens, for special conditions and special tasks. I have yet to decide whether to acquire a Summilux ASPH II, myself. Notably, a lens that I did acquire, in 2022, with money not spent on the Noctilux 0.95, was an APO Summicron-M 75mm ASPH, which has the magnification factor at 0.7m, to do what what the 50 ASPH II does at its closer-focus distance. If I did not already have the APO M 75 ASPH, I might have given stronger consideration to the 50 ASPH II, when it appeared. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
3D-Kraft.com Posted June 1 Share #15 Posted June 1 Compared Noctilux 0.95 ASPH and 1.0 non-ASPH 13 years ago, decided for the 1.0. Sold it later for a Summilux 50/1.4 ASPH v1. Sold also that and 2024 a 50/1.0 Noctilux found it's way back to me. Propably not helpful but there is not "right" answer anyway. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elliot Harper Posted June 1 Share #16 Posted June 1 Get a noctilux 1.2 reissue, much smaller and easier to manage. It’s not much bigger than summilux and just a little bit more expensive Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkarusJohn Posted June 1 Share #17 Posted June 1 I have both the 0.95 Noct and the first 50 Summilux ASPH. I apperciate that the OP has gone ahead and swapped his Noct for the new 50 ASPH II, but this may help others searching this thread later. For all intents and purposes, the 0.95 Noct and the first 50 ASPH are very similar (though not the same). Most of the time, you wouldn’t notice the difference in normal use, but then … the 0.95 is very special. It has a signature when used wide open (at a sensible distance) that is hard to match. I use mine a lot, but then in selecting aperture, my primary consideration is depth of field. Yes, the Noctilux has aberrations - so do most lenses apart from the 35 & 50 APOs and more telecentric lenses. I see it as being a question of managing those “flaws” - not sure why anyone would need a close focus Noct 0.95. I’ve used mine with a macro adapter, and to get usable results I need to stop it down to f/11. For purple fringing, there are two considerations - avoid high contrast transitions when shooting wide open (bright sunlight), and try using the Noct 0.95 on the SL(601) - almost no fringing at all. The most common comments you’ll read on this forum is that it’s big and heavy, too much viewfinder obstruction, purple fringing, too thin depth of field to be anything other than a gimmick (yet the 75 Summilux, 75 Noctillux, 90 Summiilux have thinner depths of field wide open taken from the same distance), the 50 Summilux or a different Noctilux is better and, finally, everyone who has owned one has sold it. All true, but then there is no other lens quite like the 0.95 Noctillux. Mine’s a keeper … 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdg1371 Posted June 2 Share #18 Posted June 2 (edited) On 5/31/2025 at 2:00 PM, Al Brown said: Of course it can. I successfully replaced Noctilux with a superior 50/1.0 Nokton VM 😏. @Al Brown, They aren’t mutually exclusive, you know…. 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! Edited June 2 by mdg1371 3 1 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/421678-keep-noct-095-or-swap-for-the-50lux-close-focus/?do=findComment&comment=5810930'>More sharing options...
misteracng Posted June 2 Share #19 Posted June 2 The .95 noct is also a specialist lens for me. Used once in a while, but the look is very special, it has some glow but it is sharp, if you shoot digital and pixel peep it’s not impressive, but in normal print size it’s special. The 50 lux is much better all around carry lens, but it still has some aberrations wide open but much less.for normal carry and you need large aperture the lux is the way to go. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jürgen Posted June 2 Share #20 Posted June 2 I love my Noctilux-M 1,0/50 for its several optical mistakes and I love my Apo-Summicron-M 2/50 ASPH for its best optical performance 😀 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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