Leica 50mm F0.95 Noctilux ASPH M Lens

Leica 75mm F1.25 Noctilux ASPH M 

Lens Review

The Leica 50mm F0.95 Noctilux ASPH is one of the legendary Leica M lenses, which is an ultra fast lens with unique rendering and the ability to isolate the subject with exceptional low light performance. 

Comparison

The Leica 50mm F0.95 Noctilux ASPH is best described as the Leica 50mm F1.4 Summilux ASPH on steroids. Everything about the Noctilux is enhanced from the Summilux including size, weight, bokeh and rendering. When shot wide open at F0.95, the lens produces amazing Leica pop and insanely shallow depth of field, which isolates the subject completely and provides almost three dimensional effect.

Build Quality

The build quality of the Leica 50mm F0.95 Noctilux ASPH lens is second to none. It is probably the most well made Leica lens of all time. The Noctilux is a large and heavy lens but it is so solid and densely constructed that sometimes make you forget its size or weight.

Image Quality

The Leica 50mm F0.95 Noctilux maintains the same rendering signature as the Leica 50mm F1.4 Summilux lens and if you are a fan of the Summilux then you will love the Noctilux as well. The rendering of the Noctilux is very modern with great colours and high contrast. When shooting wide open, the Noctilux lens offers shallower depth of field and enhanced bokeh than the Summilux lens, this will increase the image pop effect to achieve that desired Leica look.

Practical Use

The Leica 50mm F0.95 Noctilux is a big and heavy lens for Leica M Rangefinders. When mounted on camera, it tends to be front heavy and there is certain viewfinder blockage as well. During practical use, it will be difficult to carry the Noctilux for a prolong time due to its size and weight.

There is a built-in sliding lens hood which is convenient and practical. The aperture ring clicks in place nicely when selecting the aperture and the focus ring is exceptionally smooth. The Noctilux has a short focus throw which will be perfect for street photography.

Specifications

Production Year: 2008 - Present

Construction: 8 Elements / 5 Groups

Design Features: 

• Two Aspherical Elements
• Five Partial Dispersion Glass Elements
• Three High Refractive Index Elements
• Floating Elements System

Maximum / Minimum Aperture:  F0.95 - F16

Closet Focusing Distance: 1m

Filter Size: 60mm

Weight: 700g

Conclusion

The Leica 50mm F0.95 Noctilux ASPH offers extremely fast maximum aperture with shallow depth of field for selective focus shooting and allows to be handheld in low light conditions. If you don’t mind the size or weight of the lens and desire that maximum aperture of F0.95 then this will be the perfect lens for you.

Leica 50mm F1.4 Summilux ASPH M Lens

The Leica 50mm Summilux is my favourite lens of all time. It offers amazing image rendering and that signature Leica look. The optical performance on this lens is simply stunning and the physical design of the lens is almost perfection.

Image Quality

The Leica 50mm F1.4 Summilux ASPH produces my favourite image renderings out of all Leica lenses. The images are sharp and contrasty with that signature Leica look. The rendering is very modern and dramatic as the lens offers high contrast and extreme sharpness. When shot wide open, the shallow depth of field and smooth bokeh making the subject stands out. The Aspherical element design resolves all the issues normally associate with lenses, which in turn made the optical performance of this Leica 50mm Summilux almost flawless.

Build Quality

The Leica 50mm F1.4 Summilux ASPH Lens is built to last. It is constructed solidly and designed to be used on daily basis. The build quality is what you would expect from top of the Leica range with stunning German craftsmanship. The Lens is offered in either black anodised or silver chrome version, with the chrome made from brass been slightly heavier. There is also a built-in sliding hood which making this lens convenient and practical. The hand build workmanship with all metal solid construction making this lens among one of the best lenses ever built.

Practical Use

The Leica 50mm Summilux ASPH Lens is designed to be used on daily basis. The size is compact for a fast lens and the weight is perfectly balanced on Leica M Rangefinders. Everything is convenient hands on including the built in lens hood making it without any external interferences.

The aperture clicks in place solidly when selecting the aperture and the focus ring is exceptionally smooth when turning. Every design on this lens is very intuitive to use and once you get familiar with it, the Leica 50mm F1.4 Summilux ASPH will become an extension of your eye.

Specifications

Production Year: 2004 - Present

Construction: 8 Elements / 5 Groups

Diaphragm: 9 Blades

Design Features:  One Aspheric Element and One Floating Group

Maximum / Minimum Aperture:  F1.4 - F16

Closet Focusing Distance: 0.7m

Filter Size: 46mm

Weight: 335g (Black)  |  460g (Chrome)

Conclusion

If you want a faster lens than the Leica 50mm F2 Summicron and a smaller lens than the Leica 50mm F0.95 Noctilux ASPH then the Leica 50mm F1.4 Summilux ASPH is the perfect lens in between offers nothing short of breathtaking performance yet practical for daily usage.

Leica 21mm F1.4 Summilux-M ASPH Lens

The Leica 21mm F1.4 Summilux ASPH is the first of its kind lens offers ultra fast aperture of f1.4 at wide focal length of 21mm. The lens is a versatile performer and at its full aperture offers extremely shallow depth of field. It also incorporates a series of anomalous partial dispersion glass elements, and one aspherical element to help to control color fringing and various aberrations for improved clarity and sharpness. A floating elements system is used for maintained image quality throughout the focusing range to ensure maximum performance.

Comparison

I have had the pleasure of owning both the Leica 21mm F3.4 Super-elmar ASPH and Leica 21mm F1.4 Summilux ASPH.

Although the Leica 21mm F1.4 Summilux is a much larger and heavier lens, it offers much more depth-of-field when shooting subjects at closer distance. It is a Lengendary Leica wide angle lens and unique due to its large aperture and capability to shoot in low light.

Image Quality

The Leica 21mm F1.4 Summilux ASPH lens offers very sharp images with distinct Leica colours. The contrast and colour rendition is excellent towards saturated side. The lens exhibits minimum distortion, chromatic aberration and vignetting due to its lens design. 

When shooting closer subjects at its widest aperture, the Leica 21mm F1.4 Summilux offers great separation of the subject from its background and produces pleasant and smooth bokeh.

Build Quality

The Leica 21mm F1.4 Summilux ASPH is a large and heavy lens due to been a ultra-fast wide angle requires to carry a large portion of glass. The lens specifications is stated below and when mounting the lens on Leica M Camera bodies, it can feel front-heavy due to its size and weight.

However, the lens is extremely well-built to Leica highest build quality and feels solid during practical use on hands. The aperture ring clicks in place firmly and the focus ring is very smooth when turning. Overall, it is one of the highest quality wide angle lens you can get from Leica.

Specifications 

Lens Code: 11 647

Production Year: 2008 - Present

Construction: 10 Elements / 8 Groups

Design Features:  1 Aspherical Element, 5 Low Dispersion Elements and 1 Floating Elements System

Maximum / Minimum Aperture:  F1.4 - F16

Closet Focusing Distance: 0.7m

Filter Size: Series VIII Filter in Lens Hood

Dimensions (Diameter x Length): 70mm x 66mm

Weight: 580g

Viewfinder Options

• Leica 21mm Plastic Finders
• Leica 21mm Metal Finders
• Voigtlander 21mm Finder
• Zeiss ZI 21mm Finder
• Contax 21mm Finder

Conclusion

The Leica 21mm F1.4 Summilux ASPH is a wide-angle prime features a bright and fast maximum aperture to benefit working in low-light conditions and for greater control over depth of field. The lens design and construction overall contribute to maximum performance and offers unique Leica rendering.

Leica 75mm F1.4 Summilux-M Lens

The Leica 75mm F1.4 Summilux-M lens is probably the most interesting and intriguing telephoto lens made by Leica. Photographers who have used it previously claim it to possess “Dreamy and Magical” qualities. It is a special lens and all these intriguing opinions triggered curiosity and simply could not resist the temptation to try this lens. The quest to hunt for this lens at a reasonable price was not an easy task but managed to find a latter Canadian version of this lens from an overseas Leica dealer in good conditions. There are three versions of the Leica 75 F1.4 Summilux-M lens manufactured from the year 1980 until 2005 and then discontinued. This lens was either made in Germany or made in Canada but there is no variance in terms of quality. All three versions share the same optics as they are different only in terms of operating mechanics.

"A Blue Moment" Jerry Bei All Rights Reserved ®

Perfect Lens Combo:

The “Holy Trinity” Combination for most Leica Photographers would be:

1.       Wide Angle Lens (21mm/28mm or even the 15mm made by Zeiss reviewed here)

2.       Standard Lens (35mm/50mm)

3.       Telephoto Lens (75mm vs 90mm)

Build Quality

·         The build quality is phenomenal and it is nothing short of the best Leica Standard, whether manufactured in Germany or Canada, the quality is second to none.

·         That big chuck of front glass element sucks in all the available light and the built-in hood comes in handy when encounter strong sunlight, which helps to reduce flare problems and this lens can be prone to flare issues.

Practical Use

·         Focusing can be challenging due to the issues caused by the Focus Shift, which is common for the Leica 75mm F1.4 Summilux lens.

·         Recommendation: It is best to test out the focus prior to buying so that you will assess the degree of focus shift issue and keep in mind if the lens is either front-focused or back-focused so that you can adjust the focus manually for compensation.

Steve Huff Photo

Advantages:

·         Superior Fast lens – The lens allows the Photographer to shoot wide-open at F1.4 hence the ability to generate creamy bokeh and shoot under low-light conditions.

·         Unique Rendering - It is claimed to be a Dream lens with magical Qualities, just like the Noctilux F1 lens.

·         Perfection for Portraits – Desired rendering for shooting portraits, its unique rendering combined with less-than clinically sharpness are what makes the portraits stand out.

Disadvantages:

·         Size and Weight – The Leica 75 F1.4 Summilux lens is big and heavy when compared to most other Leica M lenses, but you would expect this if you love fast lenses with large chuck of glass element that absorbs all the available light of the surroundings.

·         Long Focus Throw – The focus throw is long and this can cause the focusing process to be slow but it is not a bad thing when you consider such a thin DOF for this lens.

·         Focus Shift – This lens is prone to focus shift, so precise focus can be difficult with this lens. However, If you are lucky then you might find a rare one without this issue.

Jerry Bei All Rights Reserved ®

Battle of the Leica 75mm versus 90mm

1.       Leica 75mm F1.4 Summilux vs Leica 75mm F2 Summicron APO

Leica 75mm Summicron is comparatively:

{C}·         Small & Compact –The Leica 75mm Summicron coming at dimensions of 67mm/58mm vs 80mm/69mm and the weight of 430g vs 560g when compared to the smallest version of the 75mm Summilux.

{C}·         Clinically Sharp – This lens has similar rendering to the 50mm F1.4 Summilux ASPH lens but it is quite different to the “dreamy” rendering of the 75mm Summilux, which is sharp but not as clinical as the 75mm Summicron.

{C}·         Slower Speed – The 75mm Summicron is about a stop slower than the 75mm Summilux, coming at F-stop of 2 compared to the F-stop of 1.4 of the Summilux. This may be a problem under low-light situations.

Steve Huff Photo

2.       Leica 75mm F1.4 Summilux vs Leica 90mm F2 Summicron APO

Leica 90mm Summicron is comparatively:

·         Weight – Both lenses weight about the same, in particular the heavier Chrome version of the Leica 90mm Summicron. The Size of both lenses is also similar as the front element of the lenses is large with the ability to absorb light increases.

·         Chrome Finish – The Leica 90mm Summicron comes in an attractive chrome version, whilst the 75mm Summilux only comes in black. However, there is a limited edition of the 75mm Summilux available that came as the “Black Paint” version.

·         Slower Speed – The 90mm Summicron is about a stop slower than the 75mm Summilux, coming at F-stop of 2 compared to the F-stop of 1.4. This may be a problem under low-light situations.

·         Focal Length – 75mm provides a perspective of the person from shoulder to head and the 90mm provides a narrower scope, which is more suitable for head portraits. 

        Steve Huff Photo

Fun Fact:

Summilux-M 75/1.4 (in production for 27 years, from 1980 until 2007. This was the favourite design of Mandler himself, based  on the design of the second version Summilux-M 50mm. 

Walter Mandler (May 10, 1922 – April 21, 2005) was a famous lens designer ofErnst Leitz Canada (Leica Camera) in Midland, Ontario. Mandler was born into a German farmer's family. In 1947 he joined Ernst Leitz at Wetzlar as a lens designer, working with Max Berek

Dr. Walter Mandler's chief contribution to the optical engineering was his pioneering works in application of computer aided design in optical engineering. Midland optical department was specialized in the research of retrofocus designs and apochromatic corrections. Mandler employed sophisticated combinations of special glasses in his APO and high-speed designs, and many of these glasses were original Leitz formulas manufactured by Schott or Corning. Mandler was a master in optimizing Double-Gauss designs by means of the computer and a particular method developed by him and explained in his doctoral dissertation.

Walter Mandler is credited with the design of more than 45 high performance Leica lenses for the Leica rangefinder cameras and Leica SLR cameras, including many landmark designs, Please see the entire list of Leica lenses designed by Dr.Walter on Wikipedia. 

Jerry Bei All Rights Reserved ®

Specifications:

•  Leica Order No. - 11 814 - 11 815 - 11 810 LLC - 165
•  Production era - 1980-2007 < 14,752 lenses
•  Variants - Black, titanium, ELC, ELW, 1913-1983 anniversary  edition; after 1982 built-in hood version 11 815
•  Lens mount - Leica M-bayonet
•  Number of lenses /groups - 7 /5
•  F stop range - f/1.4-f/16
•  Closest focusing distance - 0.75 m /2.46 ft
•  Smallest object field - 192 mm x 288 mm /1:8
•  Diaphragm setting /type - with clickstops from serial No. 2048701 onwards including half values / 10-blade
•  Angle of view diagonal, horizontal, vertical - 32°, 27°, 18°
•  Filter type - E60
•  Accessories - Hood for 1st version: 12539
•  Dimensions (length x diameter) - 80 x 69 mm /3.15 x 2.72 in
•  Weight - 560 g /19.75

Leica 75mm F1.4 Summilux-M Serial Numbers Overview:

• Serial Number started from 3063301 to 3988718 (Last Known SN)
• The Lens Production Years started from 1980 until 2005. 
• The Total Assigned Serial Numbers is 14,752.
• The Built-In Hood has a Model No. 11 814. 

Jerry Bei All Rights Reserved ®

Jerry Bei All Rights Reserved ®