50 years of the ‘Light
Giant’
Since it first appeared on
the market in 1966, the Leica Noctilux-M has always been considered a
masterpiece of optical engineering that brings photographers enormous creative
freedom. It is the world’s fastest aspherical lens for 35 mm photography and, when
shooting in low light, reveals fine details that are hardly perceptible to the
naked eye.
Pictures made with a
Noctilux-M are characterised by the unmistakable bokeh of the lens and a visual
quality that verges on impressionism. It is a fascinating tool with which
photographers from every corner of the world master visual and artistic
challenges. The lens has been used by them to bring us fascinating stories from
the darker and lighter sides of life. The character of images captured with the
Noctilux remains unrivalled until today.
Uniquely fast –
unmistakeable depths of focus
The Noctilux-M is
characterised by its unique rendition of contrasts – this results in pictures
of outstanding brilliance, sharpness and minimal flare and coma effects when
shooting at maximum aperture. A street lamp at night, the tail lights of a
vehicle, the face of a child in candlelight, or an actor or singer spotlighted
on stage, appear with authentic and natural clarity in every picture. Subtle nuances
of colour and finest textures become visible. These images radiate a certain
delicacy and sensuality.
What’s more, a Noctilux-M
enables creative composition with the aperture, the plastic, seemingly
three-dimensional, isolation of the subject that lets it float against a
creamily dissolved background. No other lens can achieve such perfect bokeh. An
aspect that for many photographers is much more important than working with
Noctilux-M ‘only’ in failing or hardly perceptible available light.
NOMEN EST OMEN: THE NAME
NOCTILUX IS DERIVED FROM TWO LATIN WORDS, NOCTIS AND LUX – NIGHT AND LIGHT.
1966: The first Noctilux
lens is presented at photokina.
The Leica Noctilux 50 mm
f/1.2
The Noctilux astounded
visitors to the fair and the industry press with its virtually revolutionary optical
properties. For those days, it offered a simply gigantic maximum aperture, but
not only that, it was also a maximum aperture that delivered exceptional
optical performance. Also remarkable was the fact that it was the first ever
lens produced in series to feature two aspherical lens surfaces. One of these
two asphericals was made from special glass with a high refractive index. The
task of the asphericals was to reduce spherical aberration at maximum aperture
and increase quality in the image field. At that time, the production of
asphericals was a particularly complex and costly process. Even the most
innovative new lens grinding machines were no alternative to the experienced
precision optical engineers who gave each element its final polish completely
by hand. Even so, such specialists were unable to further minimise larger
tolerances in the final stage of their production. Often enough, an element had
to go through every stage of the grinding process all over again. An extremely
costly method that was in urgent need of improvement. At the same time, new
testing methods also had to be developed to assure the technically almost
Utopian precision demanded for the aspherical surfaces of the required
elements.
1976: The next generation
to appear on the market featured special glass types with a high refractive
index.
The Leica Noctilux-M 50 mm
f/1
The lens designers at
Leitz had worked at fever pitch to achieve the ultimate high-performance lens
with ideal maximum aperture of f/1. One of their aims was to use only spherical
lens elements in its construction to avoid the almost prohibitive costs of
producing asphericals. Both aims were successfully realised in the new
Noctilux-M 50 mm f/1. The glasses used in the construction of this lens had an
exceptionally high refractive index that contributed both to its impressive
imaging performance and the extremely natural look of pictures captured with
the lens. The Noctilux was able to be used wide open where competing lenses
were forced to stop down. Equally impressive was its freedom from stray light
effects– in contrast to other lenses that showed unnatural reflections,
exposures made with the Noctilux were natural and completely free of flare. As a
lens for available-light photography, the Noctilux fulfilled even the most
demanding expectations, although in other areas some small compromises had had
to be made. But anyone who saw how it penetrated the shadows, how free of flare
and coma it was, the plasticity with which it resolved even the finest details,
and how clear and delicately nuanced colours appeared, came to the inevitable
conclusion: the Noctilux 50 mm f/1 was the one and only choice among high-speed
lenses.
2008: The Noctilux lens is
revolutionised again.
The Leica Noctilux-M 50 mm
f/0.95 ASPH.
More than 30 years later
Leica introduces a new highlight of the Noctilux family at photokina 2008: The
Leica Noctilux-M 1: 0.95 / 50 mm ASPH. It newly defines the limits of the
physically possible and enables to experiment with focus and blur on a niveau never
seen before. To achieve this, the yearlong
experience of the development of the two previous models made this possible
with the help of the latest research and developments. The new Noctilux owes its outstanding
performance to a combination of special glasses with anomalous partial
dispersion, high refractive index glasses, a floating element and two ground
and polished aspheres. The latter are individually manufactured in consistently
perfect quality. Although the manufacturing method of aspheres is still very
expensive, it is now more efficient to implement compared to the first Noctilux
from 1966 and thus more practicable.
With this Noctilux too photographers can again rely on: The open
aperture is also the working aperture. It
is not necessary to stop down to achieve a very high imaging performance. The
results of the open aperture’s very shallow depth of field can be used
consciously as a stylistic element of photographic composition.
The enduring value of
cross-system compatibility
The Noctilux – usable on M
and SL cameras.
Although primarily
conceived for use on M-Cameras, an appropriate adapter also allows the use of
Noctilux lenses with SL-Cameras and preserves all their original functions. In
this way, photographers can experience the delight of having even more
opportunities for using one of the world’s best lenses. The 6-bit coding of the
adapter preserves all functions, such as exposure metering, automatic aperture
priority exposure, and manual setting.
‘In combination with its
incomparable rendering of colours, rich contrast rendition and resolution of
details, the shallow depth of focus made possible by its outstanding speed
enables photographers to create images with a uniquely fascinating aesthetic.’
– Peter Karbe, Head of
Optical Development, Leica Camera AG
________________________________________________________________________________________
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