OK, I've seen and held the new 50/0.95

R

rogerchristian

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Well, I am privileged to know a high mucky muck in the photo industry. He has a pre-release/announcement sample of the 50/.95 from Leica.

My initial non-photographic thoughts:

It is sort of heavy, it is rather large, it has a lot of glass, and having seen results from the lens, which we printed, it is a pretty sweet piece.

Looks great, even at 0.95 in available light.

Having said that, no, I won't buy one.

But it was pretty neat to be able to see one of these units very early on.

Note, I am in Iowa City, Iowa, a long way from the hub of the known photographic universe, but in this case, maybe not that far!
 
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rogerchristian said:
It is sort of heavy, it is rather large, it has a lot of glass, and having seen results from the lens, which we printed, it is a pretty sweet piece.
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The Leica rep told me that a big chunk of the weight of the Noctilux is down to one element made of "special glass." Same for the f/1.0. Takes 18 months to cool after it's been melted, etc. When I fly with one, I occasionally get pulled over by TSA because the lens' innards show up opaque on the scanner, and they don't like opaque.
 
I tried one on my M8 at photokina and took a few pics with it, but Leica didn't want them published because they weren't happy with a pre-production lens. The only problem was rangefinder coupling, which I solved by 'bracket focusing' (aka rocking to and fro and shooting at different 2-inch/5cm intervals.

Yes, it's big, but it delivered nice shots even under those conditions. If I could afford one, I'd have it.

Cheers,

R.
 
Double Negative said:
18 months to cool? Say what? It ain't wine, cheese or beef that needs to age...
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's truth. They do it with the big masses of glass that are ground into mirrors for large telescopes, too. They have to bring the temperature down very gradually so that flaws aren't created in the glass. It's probably the biggest choke-point in Noctilux production, and one reason they're produced in batches.
 
Chuck Albertson said:
's truth. They do it with the big masses of glass that are ground into mirrors for large telescopes, too. They have to bring the temperature down very gradually so that flaws aren't created in the glass. It's probably the biggest choke-point in Noctilux production, and one reason they're produced in batches.
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Wow. Amazing.
 
Double Negative said:
M9? Check. Nocti? Check. $17k? Err, nope. :p
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LOL. I'm lucky enough to have a pre-ASPH Noct that I bought "cheap" (ie Leica cheap ;)) a few years ago. I'd love to try the new one but from what I've seen I think I like the results from the f1 better. $17K is certainly a lot to lash out on a hobby!
 
The high mucky muck came home today to an M9 on his doorstep, put the .95 on the M9, and had a $17K camera outfit.

His comment was (omitting his expletives) "Leica really got it right!".
 
The high mucky muck came home today to an M9 on his doorstep, put the .95 on the M9, and had a $17K camera outfit.

His comment was (omitting his expletives) "Leica really got it right!".
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i'm still laughing :D:D:D
 
Im very interested in the Noctilux new and old. Iv got a thing for fast glass. I own the Nikkor 58 1.2 Noct and just sold the Canon 50 1.0 . And now I just bought a M3 Im looking for nice Noctilux to complete the package. It's funny, the Noctilux 50 1.0 was the first high speed 50 mm ,I wanted over 20 years ago. Anyone with one for sale trade let me know.

The new .95 looks amazing and Im sure is outstanding. I would love to see some examples.
 
Nikkor AIS said:
Im very interested in the Noctilux new and old. Iv got a thing for fast glass. I own the Nikkor 58 1.2 Noct and just sold the Canon 50 1.0 . And now I just bought a M3 Im looking for nice Noctilux to complete the package. It's funny, the Noctilux 50 1.0 was the first high speed 50 mm ,I wanted over 20 years ago. Anyone with one for sale trade let me know.

The new .95 looks amazing and Im sure is outstanding. I would love to see some examples.
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You can see some images from the Noctilux ASPH shot on both M9 and film on my blog.

Cheers,
 
...now if they'd just come out with a stretched M9 body digital stereo camera with a matched pair of 50mm f/0.95 Noctilux ASPH hunks of Leica glass...I still have a Stereo Realist viewer around here someplace.
 
Stereo bokeh, Al, it's going to be all the rage.

Instant Explore! on flickr, just add stereo nocti.
 
I got a few minutes with the M9 today, this whole scenario has come in pieces, but it has been fun.

Camera VERY nice, VF is great, handles well, and overall a pleasant experience.

The LCD view screen is extremely bright and snappy. Contrasty is not the word, but 'snappy' fits the bill.

Can't afford one, but it was great to see the M9 up close and personal. I understand there are more pre-orders for this camera than the total of M8's sold.

Among some portions of the public there must not be a recession.
 
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