Samples Images from the Leica 50mm F/0.95 Noctilux and 90mm F/2 Summicron

by Chris Gampat on 10/30/2010

After trying the D-LUX 5 at Photo Plus Expo 2010, I had the opportunity to shoot with two very legendary lenses in the Leica lineup. The 50mm F/0.95 Noctilux is the fastest lens available in the lineup and the 90mm F/2 has been touted as one of the sharpest lenses the manufacturer makes. See the samples below, all of which were shot wide open.

The intro photo for this story was shot with the Noctilux. All photos shot with the Leica M9 reviewed a while back.

Leica 50mm F/0.95 Noctilux

Leica 90mm F/2

For portraits, the 90mm is amazing. This is also one of the perfect portrait focal lengths.

Tagged as: 50mm, 90mm, images, leica, noctilux, photo plus expo 2010, review, samples, sharpness

Peter

Most of the 90mm shots are clean and sharp. A lot of the 50mm are soft. Is that typical of this wide open lens?
- http://thephoblographer.wordpress.com Chris Gampat
  
  Hi Peter,
  
  The 50mm F/.0.95 is very hard to focus, but from reviews I’ve read it is soft wide open.
  
  -Chris
  - lovinglife
    
    “I’ve read it is soft wide open” Is not true— My copy is sharp wide open – but yes, it is hard to focus and requires proper calibration with the rangefinder. The noct samples here are not in correct focus and not indicative of the sharpeness of the noct .95.
    - Primoloco
      
      So, it’s safe to say that for the lens to achieve prime sharpness has to be calibrated according to the camera body you’re using???? It’s this done with the cam manufacturer? or can one do it oneself? or through Leica?
http://BillyChiu.com paul

the leica noctilux, very large and heavy can be tough to focus at f/0.95
there are many samples on the web where incredible results were attained with the noctilux wide open.

popphoto magazine did a test last year showing that at f/0.95, the noctilux was nearly as sharp as primes by canon and nikon at f/5.6
http://www.graham-mitchell.com Graham

Thanks for posting these samples. A special lens indeed!
behyer

Re the comments about the focus (or lack thereof), It’s not that they are tough to focus, but the 50 f.95 has depth of field (at portrait length working distances) equal to the thickness of a sheet of paper. Even if you get your focus right, the shallow DOF can be a detriment. BUT, I like the flat field of the 90 better anyway. I have a 90/2 Summicron-M on my NEX-7, and it’s just sick, how sharp it is and how good the color rendition is.
Larry

i have been using the old noctilux f1 for sometime.. i have tried the 0.95 , its about the same , yes u do miss alot of focuses if ur not careful at apertures that are wide open. However most of the pictures in this article (noct), are obviously OOF, maybe the author needs more practice with such lenses.. and i am quite sure the noct can be as sharp as what you want it to be lol.