Re: Clash of Titans - Battle for the ultimate Nocturnal lens
So here\'s a question, what about the Otis vs. the noct? At nearly the same price, it seems to me the Otis wins ... and the Otis is still in production.
azenis wrote:
I think the 58g is very good successor to the noct. It\'s not a replacement per se. But a very close contender.
At nearly half price, I think unless one wants the absolute best. Else, the new 58g offers 90% of what noct has to offer.
ohsnaphappy wrote: azenis wrote:
So I recently got the Noctilux I *lent* to my dad back after almost three years. I thought I will do a quick testing of the two lenses whose designs concentrated on nothing but the usage at night. Therefore possessing the illusive term \"NOCT\" in their name: Nikon Noct-Nikkor 58mm F1.2 and Leica Noctilux F0.95 ASPH.
Moreover, Nikon recently introduced the 58mm F1.4G that suppose to pay a homage to the original Noct 58mm F1.2. Therefore, I also added that into this comparison.
For anyone\'s reference, this test was not perfectly controlled. I did use a tripod+using LV to make sure accurate focus.
I only include wide-open shots because after all, who want to step down their lenses when light isn\'t available.
The setup:
I haven\'t received my NF-E mount adapter. Thus I used my D700 for both Nikon. But again it\'s not meant to be a perfectly controlled testing. For the Noctilux, I used the Sony A7 with a Voigtlander LM-E adapter.
Nikon Noct:
First introduced back in 1977. It contains a precision ground (hand) aspherical element. It was designed to minimize sagittal comma at maximum aperture. Unfortunately, its complication of the aspherical element led to high price tag and ultimately led to its discontinuation in 1997. I really love the construction of the old lenses. The noct\'s bokeh is the reason I keep going back to this lens. Its unique characteristic is simply not found on any other lens.
Leica Noctilux F0.95:
Leica has always looked for the boundaries of optical design when planning their lenses. Noctilux is a lens designed to achieve great optical performance at very large apertures. The Noctilux F0.95 is simply a statement of what extreme optical design and manufacturing capability can achieve. Noctilux\'s bokeh at full aperture is almost dreamlike, while keeping the subject with good colors and contrast. I used dreamlike because it captures so much light in so little time that the light itself seems to be compressed; similar to what one experience in the dream.
Nikon 58mm F1.4G:
When Nikon announced the 58G, I was very disappointed that they didn\'t make it a F1.2. Nevertheless, Nikon has made sure that the 58G is not simply a lens with the same focal length but rather a re-designed lens that follows all the little details that made Noct-Nikkor a Noct. Nikon kept their focus on a lens that produce beautiful bokeh as well as the suppression of sagittal comma. From the pic, you can see that at full aperture, the 58G produces a very similar bokeh than the Noct. All in all, I think Nikon did a good job on producing a lens that intend to pay homage to their own legend and I think it\'s a good buy if one is looking for that Noct bokeh without the Noct pricing.
This is an amazing test. There\'s a lot of history here. Nikon has made great lenses for so many years and the original 58 is such a good testament to their skill. I think this test just shows what a bargain the new 58 1.4G really is. Thanks so much for posting. PS this might be the first shot I\'ve ever seen by the the Leica!
Jan 30, 2014 at 04:47 PM
Previous versions of Andre Labonte's message #12101620 « Clash of Titans - Battle for the ultimate Nocturnal lens »
For the Noctilux, I used the Sony A7 with a Voigtlander LM-E adapter.
