new Noctilux coming sometime?

[rvaubel]

Hi Rex,

All Canon L lenses that I've owned have come with hoods.

Cheers,

Sean

Your right. Once, you pass into the "L" for luxury domian, you get a hood.

How nice

Rex

 

[sreidvt]

Your right. Once, you pass into the "L" for luxury domian, you get a hood.

How nice

Rex

You also, very often, get an excellent lens.

Cheers,

Sean

 

[jaapv]

Would I buy this lens? I think not!

Would I buy this lens? I think not!

Speak of the Devil! Lookie Lookie

Canon EF 50mm f:1.0

Wonder what it will sell for. Probably more than a NEW Noctilux.

Just look at the sellers feedback! He has only sold Mickey Mouse tea pots, army T-shirts and similar junk up till now.....

 

[jaapv]

The original Noctilux project was more that just a prestige lens for Leica. It was a testbed for new glass mixtures, aspherical technology and low-tolerance mount construction. I doubt that much, if any money was ever made out of it, but the technical spinn-off was immense. Nowadays Leica does not need to prioritize this aspect, so it seems highly doubtful that there is a commercial basis for a 35 1.0 lens, attractive as it may be for the users.

 

[boilerdoc2]

Digital correction for Nocti

Digital correction for Nocti

What with Leica applying the 'bar code' dots to old lenses do you suppose that in-camera correction of the 'soft edges' of the Nocti will be possible? I have one and if that is doable i would love the ability to 'correct' the Noctilux deficiencies - few that they are.
Guess we'll have to wait a little while longer to find out. My 75 'lux is in the shop now for the 'dots'.
Steve

 

[Nachkebia]

😀 how would you do that steve? sharpen the corners? 😀

 

[jaapv]

Cut them off mate, it is 1.3 crop, remember? Seriously, especially lenses that have clearly less corrected corners and edges, for whatever reason, will benefit. The older long lenses are another category. It is as subtle as surgery: If you don't like the look of it, cut it off 😀

 

[Harry Lime]

Forget about a new Noct, how about a Summilux 1.4/28mm ASPH?
(28x 1.33=37.24)

Toss in a fast 24mm for good measure. Right now we only have a 2.8/24mm.

 

[Nachkebia]

jaapv : just don`t bring it up as a plus feauture of crop factor please, because if you really want you can crop it off later in photoshop 🙂

 

[Tom Diaz]

The Noctilux is still a fabulous lens and I expect it will be great on the M8, delivering creamy bokeh and flare-free images even with the light source directly in the frame (that, along with the extra light, is what it is known for). I hadn't considered that it might be less soft at the edges with the 1.33 crop factor, but there may be some truth in that. What I am excited about is the fact that the M8 RF will probably be good enough to achieve decent focus even in the close range, whereas the R-D1 only gets it right some of the time with the Noct because of its shorter RF base. I expect that one either won't notice the tighter frame created by the crop factor or one will like it even more beacuse of that, especially for close-up portrait use in low light. I will admit that it is one heck of a hunk of glass to carry around, but for shooting in available darkness, it can't be matched. By the way, if you are thinking of picking one up, I would recommend the original version with the removable hood. I almost traded mine for the later collapsible hood, but I didn't like it at all (just a personal preference, I think).

I have the later model with the collapsible hood, but I agree with everything else you say. I completely love this lens and am very excited to think of using it on an M8--assuming that it will be like other high-end digital cameras with very good high-ISO/low-light performance. No flare, beautiful out of focus backgrounds. It is just a fabulous lens for interior portraits. I do not expect to sell mine any time soon because it will be fabulous on an M8 and also because I still shoot a lot of film.

Having said that, Leica would be crazy to build another F/1 lens. They have that fabulous looking new F/1.4 Summilux in both 35mm and 50mm. Looks like the 50mm may be the best 50mm they have ever built! I would go for the higher optical quality of the F/1.4 Summilux (vis a vis the Noctilux) if the medium were digital instead of film. Or maybe even with film, if I had not already gotten a Noctilux. I do not know that the Summilux is as flare-free as the Noctilux (I doubt it), but you can't have everything; the Summilux appears to me to be a do-anything lens.

By the way, I have argued myself that F/1 is a whole stop faster than F/1.4, and being able to shoot something at 1/30 instead of 1/15 can be so important that nothing else matters. I just figure that good digital sensors are so much better in low light than film that maybe that changes the equation.

 

[Nemo]

Does the Noctilux have good performance at f/2 and below (stopping down) compared to (say) the Summicron 50?

 

[jaapv]

Obviously the Summicron has no performance at all below f 2.0. At 2.0 the Summicron is crisper, the lenses drawing nearly equal at 5.6, according to Mr. E.Puts.

 

[jaapv]

jaapv : just don`t bring it up as a plus feauture of crop factor please, because if you really want you can crop it off later in photoshop 🙂

😕 I don't think you've actually read this thread, this is what it is about: The noctilux in relationship with the sensor size.Btw I think you missed the irony in the last phrase......

 

[peter_n]

Does the Noctilux have good performance at f/2 and below (stopping down) compared to (say) the Summicron 50?

Yes it does. Most people obviously talk about f1.0 but it is in fact an excellent all-round lens as well.

 

[Tom Diaz]

Does the Noctilux have good performance at f/2 and below (stopping down) compared to (say) the Summicron 50?

Yes, definitely. I have a Summicron also and (because I do not mind lugging the Noctilux's extra weight) I use the Noctilux more often, in all conditions.

The Summicron has better MTF curves till 5.6 or so, but the Noctilux has no flare and ... anyway, it's excellent. You know, I occasionally find it good to shoot an F/1 picture (for the out-of-focus background) in daylight; it's not just an aperture for shooting in coal bins.

 

[EllitoGuy]

whole-heartedly agree

dont need anything else on my m7

Yes, definitely. I have a Summicron also and (because I do not mind lugging the Noctilux's extra weight) I use the Noctilux more often, in all conditions.

The Summicron has better MTF curves till 5.6 or so, but the Noctilux has no flare and ... anyway, it's excellent. You know, I occasionally find it good to shoot an F/1 picture (for the out-of-focus background) in daylight; it's not just an aperture for shooting in coal bins.

 

[Edgy01]

Not likely. Leica's # 1 concern is to survive in a digital world, not to invest more money in very expensive lenses with probably extremely low potential sales figures. The 50/1 Noct was born at the now sold Midland Canada plant, formery Hughes and now Rayathon. Apparently they still make the Noct glass for Leica. It would likely be a very expensive trick to get Rayathon to research and produce a new 35 Noct. The 50 Noct is a great lens. It's been around so long that most people don't appreciate it, until they blow a wad on the 50/1 EOS salad bowl.

Stephen

There are no plans to redesign the Noctilux 50mm f/1 lens as the M8 is introduced.


DL
Raytheon