[Leica] Nokton f/1.1 and Noctilux f/1 v.2

[henningw at archiphoto.com (Henning Wulff)]

Last Friday Tom Abrahamsson loaned me his 
blueprinted f/1.1 Nokton, and I shot and my v.2 
Noctilux f/1 side by side on M8's. For the most 
critical stuff I used the same body and switched 
lenses. I took about 600 shots.

Historical notes: I had a 50/1.2 Noctilux a long 
time ago (after having tried and handed back such 
things as Canon f1.2 and f0.95 attempts), and 
when the f/1 came out I compared them and got the 
f/1. I had it for a long time, but after a while 
didn't take that many pictures with it (mostly 
because I didn't feel like hauling a lens of that 
size/weight around) so I sold it.

In the mid 90's I saw another 50/1 in pristine 
condition for a superb price so I bought it. It 
still doesn't get used an awful lot, but it is 
the only f/1 lens I have :-) and the investment 
wasn't that great, so I've kept it, but mostly 
use the 50/1.4 ASPH.

The Nokton has higher contrast at f/1.1 than the 
Noctilux at f/1. Flare levels are quite close, 
but the Noctilux has a slight bit less so that 
shadows are a bit darker than those of the 
Nokton. The Nokton has a lot less focus shift, so 
between that and the higher contrast and 
resulting sharpness the Nokton is a much better 
all-round lens. A bit of distortion in such a 
lens doesn't bother me, and both have about the 
same level. By f/5.6 or 8 they are about equal in 
overall performance, but from f/1.4 on neither 
can be confused with a 50/1.4 ASPH.

I took a number of shots of evenly lit surfaces, 
and tried to determine the relative transmission. 
The Nokton transmitted about 0.47 stops less at 
3500?K at the center of the image. I would assume 
that in daylight that difference might well be 
less, as the Noctilux is known for being a 'warm' 
lens and optimized for warmer wavelengths. As my 
Noctilux is coded, I assume that in-camera 
correction took care of the slight falloff over 
the M8 frame, making it definitely less than that 
of the Nokton. In any case, vignetting wasn't an 
issue with either lens.

In general, I'm OK with the general look of 
either lens. The Noctilux has softer OOF areas, 
and the perception of isolation is definitely 
greater. This is probably due to the slightly 
shallower actual depth of field as well as the 
types of correction. In any case, none of the 
harshness in either of the lenses of the 50/1.5 
shots.

The size and weight of both lenses is still an 
issue, but as a new high speed lens the Nokton is 
excellent, and especially excellent value as are 
most Voigtlaender lenses. If I were looking for a 
high speed 50 now, the Nokton would be at the top 
of my list since I am certainly not going to 
spring for the f/0.95. As things stand, I'll keep 
my Noctilux.

Since Tuesday Tom's had his Nokton back and my 
Noctilux, and took a bunch of B&W shots on film. 
He'll probably have something to say about that.

-- 

    *            Henning J. Wulff
   /|\      Wulff Photography & Design
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