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Testing out a new lens. The Leica Noctilux-M 50mm f/0.95 ASPH.
I call it the holy hand grenade. It's big, heavy, and unwieldy compared to other rangefinder M lenses, can't focus closer than 1 meter, costs as much as a car, and suffers significantly from chromatic aberrations when wide open. But it can do things that other M lenses cannot. And boy, does it do them well. Here's a few shots from it's first day out, just taking it across the street (nothing fancy).
Figure 1. Strelitzia, or bird of paradise flowers (also callled crane flowers). Natural light + ND filter. The blurry background might lead one to think that this is in an exotic locale with a sandy beach near the water on a remote island. I assure you it's not. This shot was taken in a boring parking lot (carpark) in a strip mall. It's literally in-between the auto parts store and a Spirit Halloween that temporarily took over the vacant shop.
For mid-day use in direct sunlight, Noctilux pretty much requires a neutral density (ND) filter to avoid blowing highlights, if you want to open it up. The ND filter here isn't for some creative long exposure photography: even at low ISO at 1/4000 sec, you'll risk blowing highlights if the Noctilux is wide open without an ND filter. It gathers so much light.
Figure 2. Particularly photogenic bartender at local pub. Ambient, artificial light. She agreed to quickly model for a couple shots while I had my camera with me.
Focus is very difficult with Noctilux, wide open. It's a manual focus lens (all rangefinder M lenses are manual). At portrait distances, the depth of field might only be about a centimeter wide. If you're even a centimeter off critical focus, it's noticeable.
I used the rangefinder mechanism to focus for the flowers in Fig. 1. This rangefinder focusing technique involves a) using the focus ring on the lens achieve rough focus for the desired composition and subject location, then b) bobbing your head back and/or forth to fine tune the focus and recompose, and c) iterate if you have time (optional), and finally d) press the shutter. With practice, this technique can be very fast and speedy -- can be faster than autofocus since you can start focusing before the camera fully turns on -- which is one reason why street photographers prefer rangefiner cameras (among other reasons). Of course you might look like a drunken chicken bobbing your head back and forth, but that's a small price to pay for the shot. I try to practice this technique every chance I get, since I've got a lot of practicing to do.
For figs. 2 and 3 I switched over to an electronic viewfinder (EVF) that I attach to my camera's hot-shoe. In low-light situations (such as a dimly lit pub), the rangefinder mechanism becomes difficult to use and that's where the EVF comes in. It allows the camera to operate as a modern mirrorless camera (still manual focus though) together with all the high-tech advantages like focus peeking.
Figure 3. Nailed focus on this shot. Ambient, artificial light. This low-light portrait situation is where the Noctilux really shines. This.
Figure 4. Carpark cars in evening fog. Ambient, artificial light. I went back to rangefinder for focus on this one. The background separation isn't dramatic if the subject isn't in the foreground. Still, the light gathering ability of the Noctilux helps reduce noise without camera shake/motion blur. Keep in mind this photo was taken as a single shot, handheld, using a camera without in-body image stabilization (IBIS).
I call it the holy hand grenade. It's big, heavy, and unwieldy compared to other rangefinder M lenses, can't focus closer than 1 meter, costs as much as a car, and suffers significantly from chromatic aberrations when wide open. But it can do things that other M lenses cannot. And boy, does it do them well. Here's a few shots from it's first day out, just taking it across the street (nothing fancy).
Figure 1. Strelitzia, or bird of paradise flowers (also callled crane flowers). Natural light + ND filter. The blurry background might lead one to think that this is in an exotic locale with a sandy beach near the water on a remote island. I assure you it's not. This shot was taken in a boring parking lot (carpark) in a strip mall. It's literally in-between the auto parts store and a Spirit Halloween that temporarily took over the vacant shop.
For mid-day use in direct sunlight, Noctilux pretty much requires a neutral density (ND) filter to avoid blowing highlights, if you want to open it up. The ND filter here isn't for some creative long exposure photography: even at low ISO at 1/4000 sec, you'll risk blowing highlights if the Noctilux is wide open without an ND filter. It gathers so much light.
Figure 2. Particularly photogenic bartender at local pub. Ambient, artificial light. She agreed to quickly model for a couple shots while I had my camera with me.
Focus is very difficult with Noctilux, wide open. It's a manual focus lens (all rangefinder M lenses are manual). At portrait distances, the depth of field might only be about a centimeter wide. If you're even a centimeter off critical focus, it's noticeable.
I used the rangefinder mechanism to focus for the flowers in Fig. 1. This rangefinder focusing technique involves a) using the focus ring on the lens achieve rough focus for the desired composition and subject location, then b) bobbing your head back and/or forth to fine tune the focus and recompose, and c) iterate if you have time (optional), and finally d) press the shutter. With practice, this technique can be very fast and speedy -- can be faster than autofocus since you can start focusing before the camera fully turns on -- which is one reason why street photographers prefer rangefiner cameras (among other reasons). Of course you might look like a drunken chicken bobbing your head back and forth, but that's a small price to pay for the shot. I try to practice this technique every chance I get, since I've got a lot of practicing to do.
For figs. 2 and 3 I switched over to an electronic viewfinder (EVF) that I attach to my camera's hot-shoe. In low-light situations (such as a dimly lit pub), the rangefinder mechanism becomes difficult to use and that's where the EVF comes in. It allows the camera to operate as a modern mirrorless camera (still manual focus though) together with all the high-tech advantages like focus peeking.
Figure 3. Nailed focus on this shot. Ambient, artificial light. This low-light portrait situation is where the Noctilux really shines. This.
Figure 4. Carpark cars in evening fog. Ambient, artificial light. I went back to rangefinder for focus on this one. The background separation isn't dramatic if the subject isn't in the foreground. Still, the light gathering ability of the Noctilux helps reduce noise without camera shake/motion blur. Keep in mind this photo was taken as a single shot, handheld, using a camera without in-body image stabilization (IBIS).
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. Particularly when the depth of field is small.