jdos2
Well-known
... and life, beyond the lens, has been grand.
Originally, I posted several questions about the lens, asking if it were good to use as a "Normal" lens as I hadn't one for my MP, having just bought an off-the-shelf (well SOMEONE has to keep the local camera store in business- they've STILL not restocked!) 35mm Summilux (nice, but the front trim ring used to fall off until I jammed it in there with the tip of a toothpick; not an elegant solution for sure, but something that is easily un-done) and 90mm Summicron AA.
I wanted something special, and I wanted something even faster than the 'Lux.
I finally rounded up the Black G2 kit (excellent glass, but this was the second body to need return trips to NJ), the Mamiya 645 (1000- nice camera, I'd own another), and many other bits and pieces to trade... And I got a last-version Noc (and a Contax IIIa- funny how these things work out).
I then went on vacation to Portugal, shooting low light, in the then-new-to-me Diafine. I also shot plenty of color. The lens I used the most was indeed the Noc, though the 'lux followed by (rolling eyes here) the 135 fixed-goggled Elmarit were all in the mix. Sadly, the 90mm 'Cron stayed in the bag, being used for two shots. I brought along ND filters for the Noc and 'Lux, and had opportunity to shoot 100 ISO film wide open in the daylight to good effect.
I answered my questions, though, about whether or not the Noctilux could be used as a normal lens. "Certainly."
It's heavy, to be sure, but I bought the MP as a "lighter" camera than what I was originally going to bring- the wonderful Mamiya Universal and its super-speed 100mm f/2.8, along with the 50mm and 250mm lenses, would have been my "lightweight" kit. In contrast, of course, the Leica is a bit more than "slightly" smaller, even with the heavy chunk of f/1 dangling off the front.
It's an expensive piece of glass, indeed. It's heavy (NOT compared to the Medium Format cameras from which I gained my experience!) and the focus throw is indeed longer than my 'lux and Elmarit 28mm.
AND it's got a great image quality to it. The focusing shift I hear so much about when stopping down is somehow never, ever been a problem for me. There's a shot of me in my gallery taken by someone that had NEVER focused a rangefinder before, and she nailed it- a sharp picture at 1/15, wide open. In the corners it's obviously not as sharp in the corners as its darker brethren, but it still indeed takes a picture, and better, gets "just fine" stopping down.
The only reason I'd ever swap it out for another lens would be for the new ASPH Summilux, and that only because it's almost as bright, and doesn't vignette as much.
It was a good choice. It is a fine normal lens.
It's not flare-free, though. I[/u] can make it do that. Don't let anyone tell you that, but it is indeed hard to flare.
ANYWAY.
Originally, I posted several questions about the lens, asking if it were good to use as a "Normal" lens as I hadn't one for my MP, having just bought an off-the-shelf (well SOMEONE has to keep the local camera store in business- they've STILL not restocked!) 35mm Summilux (nice, but the front trim ring used to fall off until I jammed it in there with the tip of a toothpick; not an elegant solution for sure, but something that is easily un-done) and 90mm Summicron AA.
I wanted something special, and I wanted something even faster than the 'Lux.
I finally rounded up the Black G2 kit (excellent glass, but this was the second body to need return trips to NJ), the Mamiya 645 (1000- nice camera, I'd own another), and many other bits and pieces to trade... And I got a last-version Noc (and a Contax IIIa- funny how these things work out).
I then went on vacation to Portugal, shooting low light, in the then-new-to-me Diafine. I also shot plenty of color. The lens I used the most was indeed the Noc, though the 'lux followed by (rolling eyes here) the 135 fixed-goggled Elmarit were all in the mix. Sadly, the 90mm 'Cron stayed in the bag, being used for two shots. I brought along ND filters for the Noc and 'Lux, and had opportunity to shoot 100 ISO film wide open in the daylight to good effect.
I answered my questions, though, about whether or not the Noctilux could be used as a normal lens. "Certainly."
It's heavy, to be sure, but I bought the MP as a "lighter" camera than what I was originally going to bring- the wonderful Mamiya Universal and its super-speed 100mm f/2.8, along with the 50mm and 250mm lenses, would have been my "lightweight" kit. In contrast, of course, the Leica is a bit more than "slightly" smaller, even with the heavy chunk of f/1 dangling off the front.
It's an expensive piece of glass, indeed. It's heavy (NOT compared to the Medium Format cameras from which I gained my experience!) and the focus throw is indeed longer than my 'lux and Elmarit 28mm.
AND it's got a great image quality to it. The focusing shift I hear so much about when stopping down is somehow never, ever been a problem for me. There's a shot of me in my gallery taken by someone that had NEVER focused a rangefinder before, and she nailed it- a sharp picture at 1/15, wide open. In the corners it's obviously not as sharp in the corners as its darker brethren, but it still indeed takes a picture, and better, gets "just fine" stopping down.
The only reason I'd ever swap it out for another lens would be for the new ASPH Summilux, and that only because it's almost as bright, and doesn't vignette as much.
It was a good choice. It is a fine normal lens.
It's not flare-free, though. I[/u] can make it do that. Don't let anyone tell you that, but it is indeed hard to flare.
ANYWAY.
