Noctilux at F8.0. As sharp as a Summicron?

[eleskin]

How many of you use a Noctilux as an all around 50mm and how well has it performed at the mid to smaller f stop range? Mine seems very sharp indeed. Good enough for formal portraits of high resolution, etc,,,.

 

[furcafe]

I'm not a pixel/grain peeper, but have used the Noct' as a regular 50mm @ the smaller apertures on a number of occasions. Seemed plenty sharp to me, about on par w/its 1980s contemporaries @ those apertures (I don't have any modern Summicrons, but do have the 50/2 M-Hexanon, which I believe is close in design), w/the side-benefit of being more flare-resistant.

 

[awilder]

With the possible exception of a very slight reduction in resolution at the extreme corner, the Noctulux is a finer performer equal to any other modern Leica 50. there is no need to suppliment this lens with another at these settings.

 

[Prosaic™]

How many of you use a Noctilux as an all around 50mm and how well has it performed at the mid to smaller f stop range? Mine seems very sharp indeed. Good enough for formal portraits of high resolution, etc,,,.

Of course it´s sharp but far too heavy for an "all around 50mm" lens.

 

[urban_alchemist]

Don't want to be a party-pooper, but which Nocti are we talking about?

 

[Al Kaplan]

Any of them are way to heavy for an all around lens.

 

[Krosya]

Sounds like someone needs to invest in a set of barbells. 😉
Seriously though, many people carry those big SLR lenses no problem, but comes Noctilux and its too heavy? C'mon!

 

[ferider]

Per Puts (referring to the latest Noctilux and Summicron): "At f/4.0 and f/5,6 the Noctilux is an outstanding performer and is comparable to the Summicron at f/2.8 and f/4.".

IMO, he can be trusted when comparing Leica to Leica 🙂

 

[eleskin]

My Noct is from 1998 and is not heavy.

My Noct is from 1998 and is not heavy.

My Noctilux was made in the mid to late 1990's, and really, it is not that bad in weight (I can bench 350 though) compared to some medium and larger format rigs I have used. I have a 50mm Summicron late version and find it incredible, especially for head shots that need great detail. I absolutely purchased the Noct for shots at f1.0, and love and respect what it can do, despite its difficulty of use (extremely shallow depth of field). I guess my interest in f8.0 is if I do not want to carry around too much stuff, and giving one lens more flexibility. I would probably carry around my 35mm Summicron and 15mm Super Wide Heliar in one bag with it.

 

[maddoc]

I am using mine as an all around 50mm lens and especially when traveling. The Noctilux + a 35mm Summilux-M pre-ASPH + one Leica M body is still small and light enough to be carried in a messenger bag, together with some film and the other daily needed stuff.

Stopped down it is plenty sharp (my only other 50mm to compare with is the 50/2.0 M-Hexanon):

M4-P / Velvia 100F / suboptimal scan with a Epson V700. ... and yes, I know, the horizon is tilted ... 😛