New: LEICA NOCTILUX-M 50 mm f/0.95 ASPH.
The world’s fastest aspherical lens
The new LEICA NOCTILUX-M 50 mm f/0.95 ASPH. launched by Leica Camera AG, Solms, represents a milestone in lens design. It is the successor of the famous NOCTILUX-M 50 mm f/1 marketed by Leica for over 30 years, beginning in1975. Due to state-of-the-art optical and mechanical technology, Leica has now been able to make substantial improvements to the predecessor product. It is now possible to “break the optical sound barrier” of a lens speed of 1:1.
The LEICA NOCTILUX-M 50 mm f/0.95 ASPH. offers a unique performance spectrum: A noticeably higher lens speed has been achieved without any major alterations to the size of the lens. The characteristic rendering of the previous 50 mm f/1, valued by many users as a means of creative photography, has been retained with extremely shallow depth of field at full aperture. However, when stopped down, the lens performs comparably with the LEICA SUMMILUX-M 50 mm f/1.4 ASPH. launched in 2004 which was regarded as the best standard lens ever produced. On top of this, the vignetting and distortion values have again been improved on the predecessor model.
“The LEICA NOCTILUX-M 50 mm f/0.95 ASPH. is not only a unique high-performance lens in the M system, it also combines extremely high speed with imaging performance that can easily bear comparison with the other top lenses currently on the market. It is made of high-quality materials and intricately assembled by hand at the Solms factory to give a particularly reliable product that will retain its value for decades. The combination of state-of-the-art technology and meticulous craftsmanship based on skill and experience ensure the constant quality of every single Leica lens, once again widening the creative potential of Leica M photography”, says Stefan Daniel, Product Manager for the Leica M system at Leica Camera AG.
The new LEICA NOCTILUX-M 50 mm f/0.95 ASPH. can be used for a particularly wide range of applications. At full aperture the lens features an extremely shallow depth of field, allowing incomparably esthetic portraits or detail studies, for example. The lens is also useful for available light photography, even surpassing the speed of the human eye. In normal light, it can be unhesitatingly used as a universal lens, and the extremely natural effect of the 50 mm focal length enables a true-to-life rendition of the subject.
The LEICA NOCTILUX-M 50 mm f/0.95 ASPH. integrates eight elements arranged in a double Gauss design symmetrical to the aperture. To ensure high imaging performance, two aspherical lens surfaces are used, which, due to their size and shape, are manufactured in a complex grinding and polishing process at the Solms factory. Five of the glass elements exhibit partial anomalous dispersion, three of them are extremely highly refractive and therefore exceptionally expensive (the price per kilogram of this glass is roughly twice that of silver). An outstanding performance in the close-focus range is also guaranteed by a floating element, the last lens group of which changes its relative position to the rest of the system during focusing. Despite its higher speed and imaging performance, the LEICA NOCTILUX-M 50 mm f/0.95 ASPH. is still equipped with an E60 filter thread and a telescopic lock-on lens hood. Like the new SUMMILUX-M 21 mm and 24 mm f/1.4 ASPH. lenses, the new NOCTILUX-M 50 mm f/0.95 ASPH. has to be manufactured to extremely narrow tolerances, and new methods for centering and adjusting the lens elements were developed for this purpose.
The LEICA NOCTILUX-M 50 mm f/0.95 ASPH. will be on sale at authorized Leica dealers from February 2009.
Related Content:
Leica Prime Lens User Reviews
Leica M8 Digital Rangefinder Pro Review
All Leica User Reviews
Digital SLR Forum
Leica Camera Web Site
next page – Leica Noctilux-M 50mm f/0.95 ASPH Aspherical Lens Specs >>
before digital you had to chance to produce best photo…..but know if you want to produce the best you must have the best…..only if you have money…talent is in the second step……………..
Talent is the second step? I think most experienced, working photographers would disagree with that. You can’t buy your way into being a good photographer. Buying the best camera only means you have the best camera (or lens). No matter how good your equipment is, without proper technique and a good eye, you’ll still be taking bad pictures. They may have great image quality. But that won’t make them good.
I totally agree with John, It is not the camera that matter , but the person behind the camera.
Camera is just a tool, it is there to do the job , not there to show off how expensive the camera or lens is,
Yes, great tools makes the job a lot easier, but again, it is the eye and the person that counts.
I have seen people with 10k+ camera (Leica) and posting reviews about the camera when they don’t really even know what to shoot, it is like a guy driving Ferrari , and try to race… without knowledge , anybody can drive, anybody can take a photo with expensive gears, but are you going to benefit as much as a person who knows how to use it ?
Go to flickr.com search LOMO,, those are $40~80 dollar camera we are talking about here, but they produce amazing photos,,,, again. CAMERA , LENS, It is a tool, its the person behind the camera that matter.
Pingback: Leica Noctilux-M 50mm f/0.95 ASPH Aspherical Lens