The GetDPI Photography Forum

Great to see you here. Join our insightful photographic forum today and start tapping into a huge wealth of photographic knowledge. Completing our simple registration process will allow you to gain access to exclusive content, add your own topics and posts, share your work and connect with other members through your own private inbox! And don’t forget to say hi!

Noctilux .95 or 1.0 with 1.4?

jayt

New member
since money is an object. have an opportunity to buy .95 and the 1.4 lux. but was thinking from the previous posts that it might be smarter to use a 1.0 and 1.4? any thoughts would be appreciated. street photos mostly.
 

ptomsu

Workshop Member
I am using the 1.0 Nocti and 1.4 ASPH 50 and I love these 2. Of course the 0.95 is technically better, but NOTHING tops the boukeh and slight vignetting of the 1.0 Nocti.

Love that lens!
 

kirio

Member
If money was no object it will probably be the 0.95 + 1.4 ASPH for me. But now I have the 1.0 and 1.4 Pre-ASPH. The subject isolation with a Noct (any version) is something I am just learning to appreciate having acquired the 1.0 fairly recently. As ptomsu mentioned, the vignetting can be pleasing. The curved field of focus is also unique (although can be a negative in certain cases). Having a 1.4 has its advantage when the size and weight of the Noct gets in the way.
 

dannh

Member
Haven't tried the new Noct yet, but from what I've read it performs very similar to the Lux ASPH at 1.4 and above. Seems like a better combo would be the 1.0 Noct and Lux ASPH....OR.....New Noct and Lux Pre-asph. Then you'll have a nice sharp 50 with the more modern sharp look, as well as a 50 with the more "vintage" soft rendering.
 

Paratom

Well-known member
I once had the 50asph and the Noct 1.0. As much as I liked the Noct1.0 I couldnt live with the (slight) focus shift and used the 50/1.4asph all the time.

Also I dont want to carry 2 50s.

So if price was no concern I would go with the 50/0.95 as one and only 50.

However I think the 50/1.4asph with its smaller minimum focus distance and smaller size and price might be the more flexible lens and DOF is allready pretty shallow at f1.4

I am pretty happy with using the 50/1.4asph
 

jonoslack

Active member
If you really need the Nocti - then why not go for the real deal (and the new one isn't that much more expensive than secondhand f1s, which almost always end up going back to solms).

If you don't - then the 50 'lux is half the size and weight and focuses closer, it has all the other characteristics you might want.

I've got both the 50 'lux and the 0.95 nocti (and I'm pleased to have them), but if I was forced to have one, I'd go for the the 50 'lux, and I don't think I'd bother with the older f1 Nocti unless it's drawing really turned me on (which of course it really does for lots of discerning photographers).
 

JWW

Member
I have the .95 noctilux and the 50mm asph lux and find out that i use the nocti asph much more than the lux due to the great wide open look in combination with the sharp images stopped down. I sold my 1.0 nocti, as Jono states, not much less than the new nocti and enjoy the sharp wide open and lack of focus shift of the new lens. Since i use the 35mm most often, the only reason i keep the 50 lux is for occasions for a smaller lens and with Leica prices going up, why sell it? Its all subjective and an individual choice but i prefer the look of the .95.
 
U

usayit

Guest
Original post wasnt clear whether the summilux in question was an aspherical or pre-aspherical. That makes a big difference. The asph versions of both the noct and lux are very different from the non aspherical. Hence why the new noctilux is often compared to the summilux aspherical in terms of look.

Ive got both the f1 and lux aspherical... If i had to choose just one, I would choose the summilux aspherical.
 
0

01af

Guest
I think the most stupid thing you could do is to pair a Noctilux (either version) with a Summilux 50 mm. If you want two 50 mm lenses then get a Noctilux (either version) and a Summarit-M or Elmarit-M 50 mm but not a Summilux. Or restrict yourself to one single 50 mm lens which would preferably be the Summilux-M 50 mm Asph. Or (2nd choice) a Noctilux-M 50 mm 1:0.95 Asph ... but not a Noctilux-M 50 mm 1:1 which always should be paired which a slow-speed 50 mm lens.
 
U

usayit

Guest
I think the most stupid thing you could do is to pair a Noctilux (either version) with a Summilux 50 mm. If you want two 50 mm lenses then get a Noctilux (either version) and a Summarit-M or Elmarit-M 50 mm but not a Summilux. Or restrict yourself to one single 50 mm lens which would preferably be the Summilux-M 50 mm Asph. Or (2nd choice) a Noctilux-M 50 mm 1:0.95 Asph ... but not a Noctilux-M 50 mm 1:1 which always should be paired which a slow-speed 50 mm lens.
Honestly dont understand why it would be "stupid". Theres a lot more differences than simply matching a slow lens with a fast one....

Rendering wise, the summarit and noctilux f1 are harder to distinguish at similar apertures. While the noctilux F1 and lux aspherical look very very different at the same apertures. On the same token, the new noctilux has a similar characteristics to that of the summilux asph which has been mentioned in more than review (i dont have a new noct to really know)

I owned the entire set of summarits and the noctilux f1. I was happy with the results. I demoed the M9 with a 21 lux and 50mm lux asph. I immediately saw the difference once examining the samples I took... so much so that I bought the M9 with the 50mm aspherical and sold the 50mm summarit.

Its more about matching the broader, classic, unique rendering of the noctilux f1 with the modern pin sharp look of the lux asph. I couldnt have been more happy... more satisfied than when i had my noctilux and summarit pair. Probably more happy than if i had the modern noctilux paired with the lux asph


When i saw the terms "stupid" and "should" like there it was set in stone without the open mind to consider the subjective nature of photography i thought I had stumbled back to another forum...... i expected more from here... guess i was wrong :-/
 

scatesmd

Workshop Member
since money is an object. have an opportunity to buy .95 and the 1.4 lux. but was thinking from the previous posts that it might be smarter to use a 1.0 and 1.4? any thoughts would be appreciated. street photos mostly.
I am now using the .95 as my only 50mm, coming from the 1.0 and 1.4 Asph. Over the last few months, I have been using the .95 on the street. One issue I have is that the nocti's both focus a lot slower than the 1.4. If you are pre-focusing, it likely doesn't matter, but if you focus in real time the slow movement of the lenses and long throw may bother you on the street when you try to react quickly.

steve
 

fotografz

Well-known member
I had the f/1.0 ... the focus shift may be minor, but not at f/1.0. Drove me nuts.

Then got the 50/1.4 ASPH ... after 3 trips back to Germany if was finally calibrated properly ... great lens (no news there).

Then secured the 0.95 ... set it up on its own M9 with a Thumb's Up and Leica Mag. It was perfect out of the box. Nothing like it. Sold the 50/1.4 because it just sat there after using the Nocti. Use is mostly for available light wedding and street photography. If I ever got another 50 it'd probably be an old school f/2 for a different look and smaller lens for walk-abouts ... but I tend to use a 35 for that stuff, and a 75/1.4 for the old school creamy Bokeh and portraits. I'd rather have the 75 than the Nocti 1.0 for that type look.

How is the f/1.0 and 0.95 almost the same price? If $5K difference is nothing, then price is no object for a lot of people ... LOL!

-Marc
 

jayt

New member
Thank you again for all the great input and advice. I decided to buy the .95 just got the call it came in and it's in my bag on my way to use it.
 

dannh

Member
Thank you again for all the great input and advice. I decided to buy the .95 just got the call it came in and it's in my bag on my way to use it.
That's really fast, many are waiting months for this lens!
 
U

usayit

Guest
Thank you again for all the great input and advice. I decided to buy the .95 just got the call it came in and it's in my bag on my way to use it.
Congrats!!! Enjoy that jewel of an optic.

When I think of ultra fast glass, its always in the back of my mind that it is a compromise in many ways in order to get that fast aperture. One such compromise is almost always the softness at f/1 (and faster). I like it in some cases and others I don't. The f/0.95 produces the first samples I've ever seen at that aperture that still maintain center sharpness.
 
Top