The Noctilux files. Part 1

Part 1. Why Part 1? Because I intend to write a lot about this lens as I’ll be using it.

One post will not be enough to say on this piece of glass. There may be only Part 2 or there could be part several :o)

The Leica M 50mm Noctilux f:0.95 ASPH, aside from being a fantasy, is more then a lens.

It is a piece of engineering that is not only brighter than the human eye, it can also render photographs in a way that no other lens could never do.

I have personally shot with the Noctilux for a couple of times, on a Leica M9 and M240 bodies, and have alway been impressed with what the lens produces.

After long days and night going through my images and days at the Leica Stores around the world looking at the lens, I finally made the plunge and get my very own.

While I have shot with the lens, taking it on a trip as a main lens forced me to learn the tool and it was like get and miss. With an aperture of f/0.95, needless to say that depth of field is ridiculously shallow. Precise focusing is critical.. Well I’m still learning, as I always do.

When the missed focus images looks cool, hitting the focus creates images that are beyond words. They say Leica lenses have their own signatures. I agree with this statement.

Someone once said, the Noctilux, with its wide and wild aperture, lets in a large amount of lights into the sensor. Yet this anarchy of light is very under control. There is no booked alike.

Most images shot at the wildest aperture. I used a B&W ND filter for outdoor shots (Thank you to a good friend Dong Son for the gift of the filter). Click to enlarge.

PS: In most of my images, I add grain in post.