Noctilux 1.0 and M9

[bourgogneboy]

Some one told me today that when used with the M9, the old Noctilux 1.0 results in darkened corners in the photos. That's why he suggested that I should trade in my old Noctilux 1.0 for the new Noctilux 0.95. Is what he says true?

 

[Pandachief]

darkened corner is one of the character of the old Noctilux and many other vintage Leica lens... it also apply to film and some actually prefer the look of it (including me.)

 

[Andy Kibber]

Do you see darkened corners when you use your Noctilux on your M9? Do they annoy you? Are you unable to fix the darkened corners to your satisfaction in post-processing?

If you answered "yes" to all of the above, you should shell out $10,000 for the new f/0.95 Noctilux.

 

[bourgogneboy]

Thank you all for your responses. I only got my M9 on Saturday and have not shot too many photos with it and the Noctilux since then. However, I noted only the darkened corners in some situations but not in others. I'll have to experiment some more...

 

[bluepenguin]

I will enjoy the vignetting of noctilux instead of losing the beautiful bokeh.

 

[jarski]

since which nocti version is vignetting noticeable ? latest f1 also ?

 

[furcafe]

All the f/1 versions have the same optical formula & therefore have the same light fall-off (I believe the term vignetting is usually applied to situations where a hood, etc., darkens the edges, not the lens itself). I'm not familiar w/the original f/1.2 version of the Noctilux, but suspect that it also exhibited noticeable light fall-off.

since which nocti version is vignetting noticeable ? latest f1 also ?

 

[Zoeica]

I actually love the vignetting at 1.0 !

http://zoeicaimages.com/L1000183.jpg

 

[axiom]

All the f/1 versions have the same optical formula & therefore have the same light fall-off (I believe the term vignetting is usually applied to situations where a hood, etc., darkens the edges, not the lens itself). I'm not familiar w/the original f/1.2 version of the Noctilux, but suspect that it also exhibited noticeable light fall-off.

The E58 version has stronger vignetting.
That's how the E60 came.

 

[axiom]

I don't shoot landscape with my noctilux, so I don't sense any vignetting problem.

 

[furcafe]

Oops, forgot about the E58 variation. My mistake.

The E58 version has stronger vignetting.
That's how the E60 came.

 

[Renzsu]

Unless it really bothers you, I would consider it part of its charm for sure. Didn't you get the Noctilux for the full package? It's hardly a secret that it vignettes, like so many fast lenses (my 35mm nokton does the same thing, I love it 🙂 ).

 

[jaapv]

Read all about the Noctiluxes here:

http://overgaard.dk/leica-50mm-Noctilux-M-ASPH-f-095.html

 

[peter_n]

I use the E58 and I haven't noticed strong light fall-off from it. Just posted a couple pix over in the Noctilux pic thread and they're all full-frame. Yes there's light fall-off but nothing dramatic...

 

[Ecar]

I will enjoy the vignetting of noctilux instead of losing the beautiful bokeh.

Same here. Only slight issue may appear if you want to use it wide open in strong daylight with an ND filter, as the vignetting is somewhat increased at certain angles.

 

[Freakscene]

I've measured the fall off - the optical vignetting is identical for all the f1 Nocti versions and is about 3 stops in the extreme corners. There is a very small additional amount of physical/mechanical vignetting with the e58 version, but it's less than 1/3 stop. The f0.95 transmission falls to about 18% in the extreme corners, about 2.5 stops. This also begins further out towards the edges of the field as can be seen in the transmission chart here:
en.leica-camera.com/assets/file/download.php?filename=file_3877.pdf

Marty

 

[ethics_gradient]

I've measured the fall off - the optical vignetting is identical for all the f1 Nocti versions and is about 3 stops in the extreme corners. There is a very small additional amount of physical/mechanical vignetting with the e58 version, but it's less than 1/3 stop. The f0.95 transmission falls to about 18% in the extreme corners, about 2.5 stops. This also begins further out towards the edges of the field as can be seen in the transmission chart here:
en.leica-camera.com/assets/file/download.php?filename=file_3877.pdf

Marty

That sounds pretty significant, although that characteristic personally doesn't bother me much on my lenses that exhibit it. Did Leica (or anyone else) ever make a center-weighted GND filter for the Noctilux, like you see for the Xpan or large format ultra-wides?

 

[maddoc]

Dark corners with the f/1.0 Noctilux depend a lot on the situation, at night or with lots of bright snow / sand it is more visible. I have used my Noctilux only once with my friends M9 and at daylight, not so dark corners.

 

[Freakscene]

That sounds pretty significant, although that characteristic personally doesn't bother me much on my lenses that exhibit it. Did Leica (or anyone else) ever make a center-weighted GND filter for the Noctilux, like you see for the Xpan or large format ultra-wides?

I've never seen a centre filter for the Nocti. It would take away the point of having such a fast lens, since such filters effectively slow the lens 1.5-3 stops. The vignetting on the f1 Nocti is gone by f2 and disappears in the f0.95 between f1.4 and f2. The centre filter wouldn't achieve much, except to remove the vignetting while retaining the other aberrations that are emphasized at f1 or f0.95. It seems unlikely that many people would be interested in a very expensive filter to do that. The Xpan and larger format lenses are probably used mostly for landscapes where removing vignetting is much more important, and those lenses still vignette when stopped down because of their great requirement for coverage.

Marty

 

[kbg32]

Enjoy the setup. If it bothers YOU, sell it. If it doesn't, keep it. Who cares what others think!