Noctilux Photos

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Taken at a friend's wedding recently. After being commissioned to be THE photographer for the wedding, I went back and forth and debated heavily whether or not to bring a film camera at all. So far, I think I like the film shots a whole lot more than those that came out of my D700.

Shot with:

Leica MP
Leica Noctilux 50mm f1 E60
Kodak Tmax 400
and
Fuji Neopan 1600


noctilux vincenta speech by slantface, on Flickr


noctilux wedding lawn by slantface, on Flickr


noctilux claire and dad by slantface, on Flickr
 
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Beautiful photo! It's interesting how this new 0.95 Noctlux draws compared to the 1.0 version. Funny enough - to me it looks very similar to the way M-Hexanon 50/1.2 draws, just with even shalower DOF.
 
Krosya said:
Beautiful photo! It's interesting how this new 0.95 Noctlux draws compared to the 1.0 version. Funny enough - to me it looks very similar to the way M-Hexanon 50/1.2 draws, just with even shalower DOF.
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Actually, it is quite different to the Hex 50/1.2. The Hex drops off very abruptly and OOF areas are enlarged, without a smooth transition area. This isn't a bad thing, I quite liked it.
 
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slantface said:
Taken at a friend's wedding recently. After being commissioned to be THE photographer for the wedding, I went back and forth and debated heavily whether or not to bring a film camera at all. So far, I think I like the film shots a whole lot more than those that came out of my D700.

Shot with:

Leica MP
Leica Noctilux 50mm f1 E60
Kodak Tmax 400
and
Fuji Neopan 1600


noctilux vincenta speech by slantface, on Flickr


noctilux wedding lawn by slantface, on Flickr


noctilux claire and dad by slantface, on Flickr
Click to expand...

super pictures, I agree with all you said.
 
leicashot said:
Actually, it is quite different to the Hex 50/1.2. The Hex drops off very abruptly and OOF areas are enlarged, without a smooth transition area. This isn't a bad thing, I quite liked it.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the pics - nice to see the differences. Maybe I'm not looking at it right, or misunderstand what you say, but to me, while Hex does have an enlarged OOF areas, I thin it's transtion is smoother than Noctilux. To me - Noctilux clearly isolates the in-focus area,but Hex gradually goes from out of focus to in-focus and again out-of-focus.
Sorry to for the OT talk here, everybody. :angel:
 
Krosya said:
Thanks for the pics - nice to see the differences. Maybe I'm not looking at it right, or misunderstand what you say, but to me, while Hex does have an enlarged OOF areas, I thin it's transtion is smoother than Noctilux. To me - Noctilux clearly isolates the in-focus area,but Hex gradually goes from out of focus to in-focus and again out-of-focus.
Sorry to for the OT talk here, everybody. :angel:
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Sorry what I meant was that even though the Noct's transition is very abrupt, it's very smooth, with a little bokeh distortion, but not as much as the f/1 version. The Hex 50/1.2 is a longer transition, but the OOF areas are enlarged and over-exaggerated which is a good thing, especially compared to the ultra smooth, but sometimes boring look of the 'TOO PERFECT' 50 Lux ASPH

Also I'm currently filming a Leica M9+Noct 0.95 review and it should be ready in a couple of weeks. It will feature a variety of shoots using the Noct 0.95 wide open, including movie film stills, portraits and documentary.
 
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Thank you Johnny. I am absolutely satisfied so far with the performance of the Noctilux. However, if I had one annoyance to point out, it's that it seems much harder to use on my M9, but from what I've read, the nature of a digital sensor makes any misfocus a lot more noticeable.

In any case, here is one more from the wedding, using the MP/Noctilux combo...


noctilux lawn couple by slantface, on Flickr
 
slantface said:
Thank you Johnny. I am absolutely satisfied so far with the performance of the Noctilux. However, if I had one annoyance to point out, it's that it seems much harder to use on my M9, but from what I've read, the nature of a digital sensor makes any misfocus a lot more noticeable.

In any case, here is one more from the wedding, using the MP/Noctilux combo...
noctilux lawn couple by slantface, on Flickr
Click to expand...

That has nothing to do with the M9, it's a digital thing. Prior to digital we never analyzed images under such scrutiny as we do at 100% + on our computer monitors. Depth of field and focus accuracy is exactly the same as with film
 
I can understand your observation Kristian, but I feel like the M9 shows the misfocus even more than film. I can see the problem, zoomed to the full image, even on the little LCD screen of the M9. Perhaps it's my own user error and am still getting used to the Noctilux as I've only owned it for about 2 months. I guess I will just have to see how I grow into the Noct. In any case, I love the lens and even if I could sell it for good money, other lenses would probably go first. Film is back for me, and although I love the M9, the Noct will most likely be on one of my MP's.
 
By the way Kristian...is that photo above taken with the Hexanon 50mm 1.2, I traded you? If so, It's a great shot, and glad to see you are shooting the Hex. I love that lens, and have another one sitting here by my desk as I type this.
 
slantface said:
I can understand your observation Kristian, but I feel like the M9 shows the misfocus even more than film. I can see the problem, zoomed to the full image, even on the little LCD screen of the M9. Perhaps it's my own user error and am still getting used to the Noctilux as I've only owned it for about 2 months. I guess I will just have to see how I grow into the Noct. In any case, I love the lens and even if I could sell it for good money, other lenses would probably go first. Film is back for me, and although I love the M9, the Noct will most likely be on one of my MP's.
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Don't forget, also, that the slightest misalignment of the RF can potentially cause you the trouble, you might have with the Noctilux on your M9, while the MP might be set more favorable by chance ;-)

Many people, who tried a Noctilux report, how difficult it is to get a sharp in focus image.
I have experienced the opposite, the Noctilux being easier to focus and get a spot on shot as other lenses (90 Cron as an example is more difficult for me).
i suppose, it all comes down, that my M8.2 and my Noctilux sample magically fit spot on ;-)

You might want to have a look into rangefinder adjusting. On a digital body, this is rather straight forward, if a bit technical minded.
 
slantface said:
I can understand your observation Kristian, but I feel like the M9 shows the misfocus even more than film. I can see the problem, zoomed to the full image, even on the little LCD screen of the M9. Perhaps it's my own user error and am still getting used to the Noctilux as I've only owned it for about 2 months. I guess I will just have to see how I grow into the Noct. In any case, I love the lens and even if I could sell it for good money, other lenses would probably go first. Film is back for me, and although I love the M9, the Noct will most likely be on one of my MP's.
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I would honestly say that on average most people would only ever manage a hit rate of no more than 50% with the Noct. I've owned the f/1 on film and now the 0.95 on M9 and have the same trouble, even with a 1.25x magnifier. I would say my hit rate is about 60% so I focus bracket and this increases my chances up to about 90%.
 
This is very true to f1 shots Kristian, I admit.

I use the Noctilux quite a bit also @ f1.4 - f2, as I don't use a ND filter with it and also shoot it a bit out of moving cars, where I stop down, to get a more practicable dof.

Even @ f1, I feel, it is easier to focus as some other lenses, which I was surprised about as per the negative descriptions on the net.
I guess, it comes down also with which kind of expectations, one is using the Noctilux at first. Mine were pretty low at first.
 
menos said:
This is very true to f1 shots Kristian, I admit.

I use the Noctilux quite a bit also @ f1.4 - f2, as I don't use a ND filter with it and also shoot it a bit out of moving cars, where I stop down, to get a more practicable dof.

Even @ f1, I feel, it is easier to focus as some other lenses, which I was surprised about as per the negative descriptions on the net.
I guess, it comes down also with which kind of expectations, one is using the Noctilux at first. Mine were pretty low at first.
Click to expand...

Yes, and if people use the Noct thinking that they'll nail focus most of the time, they are wrong. No matter how good you are, the rangefinder patch isn't the most reliable at that aperture. But the Noct isn't about nailing focus all the time. While that would be ideal, if a Noct user scrutinizes the images at 100% all the time they wil be sorely disappointed, and discard many great images, only for a slight misfocus.

If one is to be a Noct user, they must embrace the 'total' image and put aside their technical expectations of accurate focus so that they can enjoy the overall look and feel of the image that the Noct draws. Without this attitude and approach to the Noct, the user's relationship with the lens will be short. This is why we see so many up for sale, and why many users will own it more than once in their lifetime. It's drawing is alluring and enchanting, like the sultry woman who doesn't cook or clean, but is magnificent at everything else, just by being unpredictable and exciting.

I'll be talking about this more in my upcoming video review.
 
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