i was fortunate enough to be asked by ed9119 to try the ridiculously fast leica noctilux 50mm/f0.95. yes f**ing 0.95. oh yes, this baby also costs USD11k a pop. that's the price of a sedan in some debt-ridden european countries at the moment.
when i was first handed the lens, the first thing i noticed is that it was massive, almost announcing it's supremacy of being the world's fastest lens. i was certain that this was not a stay on lens on my m9. it weighs more than the m9 i was using to test the lens.
the aperture and focusing rings were as smooth as the butter
yakun slap on the toast. however, it is a long turn from minimum to infinity focus, reducing my agility. i was so slow that the guy with the m6 (the owner of chiifcameras) had to pose for me to focus. to be fair, my skills were the main reason.
i shoot street with my m body and always preferred a wider lens, and i thought 50mm will be a little too long for my liking. i was surprised it worked for me without me compromising my preference of being close to my subject.
i am not a professional photographer nor an equipment reviewer, so there is no shots to compare the depth of field, brick-wall or vignetting tests. this is just me doing the 'usability' test. and since this is a mother of all bokeh, most shots are left at f0.95 or f1.4. i am not going to bore you, or myself, with what might the sweet spot or how f-something is sharper than others.
back to my 'usability' assessment, i have the following notes
1. this lens is massive and it attracts attention. this is a non-issue if i am taking street portraits but for stealth street, this lens, despite its engineering feats, is unsuitable for me. this lens make my m setup look like a disproportionate slr.
2. while the stealthiness is lost, the ability to do subject isolation using this lens for street is brilliant. i can isolate subjects with ease in tight places.
3. this lens is freaking heavy. it makes the setup heavy. it makes me sluggish and prevent to keep going like the energizer battery. each gram costs usd15, i can use in the reduction of weight and cost.
4. focusing is a hit and miss, at 0.95, my lack of precision in focusing shows. this is by no means is the flaw of the lens, but when used by me, we are flawed.
if i had more time with this lens.....
the photos can be viewed at
http://flic.kr/s/aHsjvKh9nm i will try to upload them here but my firefox keep crashing for some reason.
