Noctilux- SO DAMN HARD TO FIND ONE!!!!

Superdan138

Superdan138

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I have been looking and looking and looking and looking! Then....just as I keep checking here everyday....a near mint condition one goes for sale....and its like $3,500 ish....thats the exact one Ive been looking for and I have cash now to buy it....but NO....it gets SOLD before I can jump on it! Where can I find a clean one for under $4,000? Sooooo frustrating!

-Daniel
 
Dan

Dan

While they are listed on ebay for 4K-15K, they can be bought for less. Note the sellers with Make Offer. Also another member here has one, possibly in your range, hopefully he sees your post.

Our sponsor Popflash also has some, and if you call him, he's ready to work with you, and the owner (he sells many on consignment). Give Popflash a call.

Good luck.

Superdan138 said:
I have been looking and looking and looking and looking! Then....just as I keep checking here everyday....a near mint condition one goes for sale....and its like $3,500 ish....thats the exact one Ive been looking for and I have cash now to buy it....but NO....it gets SOLD before I can jump on it! Where can I find a clean one for under $4,000? Sooooo frustrating!

-Daniel
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These things go in waves. There will be a lot of interest (sparked, in part, I think by interest on forums like this one) in a particular lens. M-converted 50/0.95s will be the rage for a while. Then 50/1.2s will catch on. I remember when used Noctiluxes were going for around $1,600 and folks complained about their smear-y coma induced bokeh wide open. Now that Leica is selling their new one for stratospheric prices, used ones have crept up. Be patient and tell yourself that a $60 tripod can get you that extra two stops much less expensively than the mondo/mega lens.

Ben
 
Lot's of folks bought 'em last year. After looking at $4,000 sitting on the shelf most of the time for the last seven or eight months, they'll start hitting the market again. As Ben says, the last year seems to have been "the year of the Noct." 🙂
 
Oddly, I think that a price increase like Noct's have seen over the last couple of years can also have the effect of folks using their lenses less. You pop one of those babies on an M8 and that's almost $10K swinging from your neck.

Ben
 
I want canon 50mm 1.2 desperately as you search noctilux but I cant find!!! it was all over the place now there is nowhere...
 
digitalintrigue said:
How about this? Cheaper, new, more rare, similar DOF due to the longer focal length:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130303581527
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Along the lines of the above post also consider a 75/1.4 Lux. The diaphram is a ten-blade like a 35 Cron V.4 so it has very pretty Bokeh, (I consider mine the Bokeh Queen) has shallow DOF because of long focal length, but without the rolloff in the corners of the Noctilux.

Easily save a lot of money with a the tradeoff being a slightly differant look that could be easily confused for a shot with a Noctilux.

I love mine, but be aware it makes an M heavy, is big, and has the slow focus like a Noctilux. The added reach works well with a 35 for a nice two-lens kit.

Calzone
 
Calzone said:
Along the lines of the above post also consider a 75/1.4 Lux. The diaphram is a ten-blade like a 35 Cron V.4 so it has very pretty Bokeh, (I consider mine the Bokeh Queen) has shallow DOF because of long focal length, but without the rolloff in the corners of the Noctilux.

Easily save a lot of money with a the tradeoff being a slightly differant look that could be easily confused for a shot with a Noctilux.

I love mine, but be aware it makes an M heavy, is big, and has the slow focus like a Noctilux. The added reach works well with a 35 for a nice two-lens kit.

Calzone
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I recommend that, too. Not only does the 75 Summilux have added reach, but also closer reach, in particular with .7m min. focus. Usable as a 90, or as a slightly long 50.

Cheers,

Roland.
 
Noctilux's tends to have up's and down's in popularity. It is one of those lenses everybody wants to try - and most Nocti's have gone through more hands than the Stanley Cup! You buy it - marvel at the f1.0 setting and after a while realize that it is a lens that demands that you focus perfectly and, if "analog", know how to focus your enlarger too. No margin of "error"! After a while, most owners sell it and lean back and sigh" Well, I did have one!"
The current hike in price was most likely driven by the "end-run" of it. Buyers flocked to it - thinking they could make a buck down the road.
The idea of the "super fast" lens is appealing and we keep thinking "what pictures could I take with it" - few of us need it. At $3-4000 it is an expensive lesson and a heavy one at that.
Personally I would like to see something like the Canon F1.2 in modern guise, new glass, new coatings and slightly smaller than either the Canon or the Noctilux. Something that could be an all-round 50 without a/ forcing you to take a mortgage and b/ not as heavy to carry. The "signature" could be like the Nocti @ f1.0, with maybe slightly less fall-off in the corners (a bit of tunnel vision at f1.0) but have it "snap" in the smaller apertures. OK, I would settle for a f1.1 or f1.2 as I doubt that I could spot the difference in f0.1 increments! The Noctilux 0.95/50 is probably a good lens (not much has been shown on its performance), but it is big and at $10 000 - no way.
My recommendation is to find one, buy it, use it and if you like it, keep it - BUT if you are planning to re-sell it at some time - gauge the market as Murphy's Law applies here "When you want it - they are pricey, and if you want to sell one - Ebay will be littered with them at a discount".
 
Benjamin Marks said:
These things go in waves. There will be a lot of interest (sparked, in part, I think by interest on forums like this one) in a particular lens. Ben
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Bubble is the correct term. I watch the SLR 50 F1.2 lenses. Seems like some months you cannot give a Canon FD or Olympus 50/1.2 lens away (I bought a Canon 1.2 in the box mint SSC for $100 last year on ebay) and next thing you know they are above $450. Incredible. For awhile any Nikon 1.2 lens was bringing astronomical prices, now they are starting to come down.
 
Nocti

Nocti

Thanks for all your input....I honestly would love to see a side by side comparison....of the lux and nocti....to see if that diff is really worth it....I want the Bokeh extreme look and to just own it for that reason....$ is not a major issue....and if I paid $3,000-3,500 I would feel ok about it....I just want it to be in excellent condition with no issues and I want to keep it for a long time and maybe never sell it....just to bring it out when I feel like doing that style of photography. If you know anyone selling one...please let me know first....bec I do have cash and want one asap....also I will look in that Konica lens....do I need an adaptor with that lens?

-Dan
 
Superdan138 said:
. . . I want to keep it for a long time and maybe never sell it....just to bring it out when I feel like doing that style of photography. . .
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Dear Dan,

Precisely. If you don't have unrealistic fantasies about it, and can (reasonably easily) afford it, it's a great lens. It's just not exactly universal.

Tashi delek,

R.
 
Superdan138 said:
I want the Bokeh extreme look and to just own it for that reason....
-Dan
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If you want something a little sharper too, I'd listen to Calzone and Ferider. The 75mm summilux is just dynamite. It has a longer throw like the noctilux, but the smaller diameter makes it easier to focus (for me). I'd check out the photos on flickr to see if it's your kinda wodka:

LeicaSummilux75mmf1.4
 
I bought mine about 3 years ago and the prices weren't sensible then, I think I paid $2.2K for it. I waited a long time - several months - for mine as I badly wanted the E58 version. I sent it off to DAG for a CLA and it has been perfect ever since. My advice is to settle on whichever version you really want and then watch eBay and the various forum classifieds and tell dealers around the country that you WTB. It takes patience but if you wait one will turn up with your name on it. I got mine from eBay; an estate sale.
 
For me the Bokeh makes more sense on the longer lens and is more usefull. The closer focusing also extends this challenge further for the extreame look you desire and mentioned. The ten blade diaphram provides the same smooth bokeh as the 35/2.0 V.4, but the handling, size and focus are issues for many.

Less than six months ago I picked up my Lux for $1849.00, a version 2 with the built in hood, made in Germany, mint. Crazy dealer prices are still only $2.8K for German lenses with box and papers.

BTW I am a Bokeh freak. I own the Nikon 85/1.4, A.K.A. Cream Machine, Nikon 105/1.8, and a Nikon 180/2.8, all with nine blade diaphrams. The Nikon 105/2.5 I had came with seven blade diaphram and the 105/1.8 is hugely improved in bokeh with the bonus of extra speed.

While the Cream Machine on a F3 with motor drive is a great handling quicker rig, the 75 Lux on a M6 kills in a small club while shooting a small jazz trio in an intimate setting under dim lighting. Seems a lot like a Noctilux in that it does well under harsh/strong contrast situations. The bokeh is smoother and creamier on the Lux, no contest. It crushes all my Nikon gear in this respect.

Calzone
 
Calzone said:
the 75 Lux on a M6 kills in a small club while shooting a small jazz trio in an intimate setting under dim lighting. Seems a lot like a Noctilux in that it does well under harsh/strong contrast situations. The bokeh is smoother and creamier on the Lux, no contest. It crushes all my Nikon gear in this respect.
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Under dim lighting you gain ~ two stops with the Noctilux over the 75mm Summilux (one stop aperture and one stop assuming the Noctilux can be safely handheld at 1/60s and the Summilux at 1/125s) I think the conditions you describe are exact what the Noctilux was made for, stage or bar scenes, live events under dim lighting.
 
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