Noctilux question

[glenerrolrd]

I think on these lenses a compromise was made to take into account focus shift. This compromise was probably fine with film, but not with digital.

I have noticed it with some R lenses on the DMR too. Some needed a slight adjustment to get a sharp infinity on the digital sensor. It may also mean that the tolerences Leica used to set up lenses need to be tightened for lenses used with digital.

Robert

Rob If they were making a compromise for focus shift ...wouldn t users be complaining about front focusing at f1.0? similar to the zeiss approach. I believe they are having difficulty in maintaining a single specification for both film and digital. Again look at zeiss ...they normally set the sonnar to focus precisely at 2.8 thus covering the focus shift with DOF and accepting a little front focusing wide open. With film this seems to be acceptable. Zeiss will now allow buyers to specify that the focal point should be accurate at 1.5 and of course you then accept the full impact of the focus shift.

 

[harmsr]

Cindy,

Good luck on the Nocti, but just so you know it is dangerous to be around Guy. It causes severe bank drain and Leica purchasing.

Best,

Ray

 

[David K]

Believe it or not I saved him 4k , now that impressed me.:ROTFL:

That is impressive, especially if you don't take into consideration the hundreds of thousands of dollars you've collectively cost the rest of us

Question: How do you make a small fortune on camera gear?

Answer: Start with a large fortune and hang around Guy

 

[robsteve]

Rob If they were making a compromise for focus shift ...wouldn t users be complaining about front focusing at f1.0? similar to the zeiss approach. I believe they are having difficulty in maintaining a single specification for both film and digital. Again look at zeiss ...they normally set the sonnar to focus precisely at 2.8 thus covering the focus shift with DOF and accepting a little front focusing wide open. With film this seems to be acceptable. Zeiss will now allow buyers to specify that the focal point should be accurate at 1.5 and of course you then accept the full impact of the focus shift.

Roger:

In the film days, I adjusted the camera to the Noctilux and this didn't seem to affect the rest of the lenses on this camera. With the M8 it just doesn't work this way. If you set the M8 to work with the Noctilux, all the other lenses are way off.

I don't know if this meant the lens was set to take into account the focus shift or if all the Noctiluxes were just off.

Robert

 

[Cindy Flood]

Cindy,

Good luck on the Nocti, but just so you know it is dangerous to be around Guy. It causes severe bank drain and Leica purchasing.

Best,

Ray

That is impressive, especially if you don't take into consideration the hundreds of thousands of dollars you've collectively cost the rest of us

Question: How do you make a small fortune on camera gear?

Answer: Start with a large fortune and hang around Guy

Guy, I think they have your number. It's too late for me.:ROTFL:

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Hey i think I am starting to resemble these comments. :ROTFL:

Cindy knows who to listen too. :thumbs:

 

[LJL]

Rob,
It does seem odd. The more puzzling thing, to me at least, is that repair shops like DAG and others are able to make the adjustments to the lenses to make them work properly on the M8, as do other lenses. That suggests that there is still something not quite right on Leica's side of the build/calibration. All of my other lenses focus perfectly on my M8, but my Nocti has a backfocus problem. Seems that is the lens, not the camera body.

The focus shift issue is completely different, and I do not worry about that as much, knowing it exists and has for a long time. That is/has been a part of the Nocti design. The backfocus, or frontfocus issues are different, and not as much internal design related as calibration and mount design related.

Does anybody with a Nocti that has been "fixed" to focus properly on their M8 have back or front focus issues when they use that lens on a film body? Can you see the differences? If not, then why cannot Leica get the newly produced Noctiluxes to focus properly on the M8? If it does not impact the film bodies and how they focus, why not get things right on the M8?

Not looking for a argument or fight here....just wondering out loud, as the greatest number of "focus" complaints on many forums seem to be around a few lenses....the Nocti being one of the most mentioned.

LJ

 

[robsteve]

Rob,
Does anybody with a Nocti that has been "fixed" to focus properly on their M8 have back or front focus issues when they use that lens on a film body? Can you see the differences? If not, then why cannot Leica get the newly produced Noctiluxes to focus properly on the M8? If it does not impact the film bodies and how they focus, why not get things right on the M8?

LJ

You may have missed it, but when I used mine on film, I adjusted the camera to the lens and it was fine. This adjustment didn't seem to bother my 75mm Summilux or my other lenses when used on the same body as the Noctilux.

The rangefinder mechanism has been changed slightly on the M8 and I suspect that what was a slight adjustment for a film camera is a huge adjustment on the M8.

On my Noctilux, it was only the thickness of a piece of 3M invisible scotch tape, which isn't much. The third party shops must be adjusting the rangfinder cam on the Noctilux outward this small amount to get them to focus properly on the M8.

Some of the other Noctilux problems are just user error or having expectations too high for a F1 lens at close 1 meter distances.

Robert