King of the Night
LEICA 50mm f/0.95 Noctilux-M ASPH is developed as one of the standard lenses for the Leica M rangefinder camera. It had the largest aperture in the Leica world.It attracts a great deal of attention as the ” King of the Night”, as it exceeds the perception of the human eye. Even the light from street lights can be sufficient for handheld photography.
The lens is very solid with aluminum and brass construction. A “floating element” retains high image quality even in close-up range. The focus ring feels very smooth when turning and the aperture ring clicks in place very nicely.
Bokeh
The Noctilux is sharp at f/0.95 if you compare it to the Noctilux 50mm f/1.0 or Noctilux 50mm f/1.2. It also offers unequal aesthetic effects. The Noctilux 0.95 has a similar type of bokeh to the Noctilux 1.0. The background light spots become oval towards the sides of images.
Introduced in 1966, the Noctilux Lens' f/1.2 aperture (total production: about 1500) was more of a technical demonstration and marketing gimmick than anything else.
Focus Throw
Noctilux 0.95 is quick to focus compared to the Noctilux 1.0, which has a somewhat long focus throw. Focus throw is measured in degrees and represents the amount of rotation needed to turn a lens’ focus ring from its MFD (minimum focus distance) to infinity.
Purple Fringing
Sometimes, the Noctilux will give you some purple fringing on a digital M camera when you use it wide open facing strong light sources.
My Noctilux 0.95
Noctilux 0.95 is a lens that many people dream about. After almost two months of consideration I became the owner of a Noctilux 50mm F/0.95 lens. My consideration before purchasing was due to the combination of three important issues, cost, portability and weight.
After months of use, I was not completely satisfied with it. Looking through the viewfinder when the Noctilux was fitted, I found its huge diameter obscured a good part of the view in the bottom right corner. I have locked the Noctilux in the box for a long time, as I feel that the Summilux and Summicron fit my needs for street photography better.