Traveling with a low light lens. Which one, Noctilux or 35 Asph Summilux. Is the extra stop worth the extra weight? I haven't had either available long enough to chose.

-- mark (mramra@qwest.net), April 10, 2001

Answers

Get the 35 lux. The 50 Noctilux is too heavy and the extra stop isn't really necessary unless you insist on shooting ultra slow film in the dark. The 35 you will find much more practical as it is the same weight as the newer 35 Cron. The heavy lens in my outfit now is the 75 lux. Great lens but it sure is one PIG!!!!!

These days it gets left out of the bag unless I know I'll be doing some portraiture. The 35 Cron (older model) is my workhorse and 90% of the photography is done with this lens. My 24 Elmarit gets about as much time as the 75.

No regrets, but thats how things worked out,

Good luck.

-- John Chan (ouroboros_2001@yahoo.com), April 11, 2001.

The older Summilux is almost as light and small as the older Summicron.

The black versions are pretty much the weight champions. The Summilux is more versatile because it is small, and because in many travel situations that are available light, you will be indoors and need the extra 'elbow-room' of the the 35.

The Asph Summilux is a phenomenal performer by all accounts (I've used only the the old lux, cron, and current Asph.), but is larger.

Others who have the Noctilux will give more valuable opinions than I can, but to me a 50 at f1 has limited (though potentially very valuable) utility. I'm sure Tony Rowlett, say, may beg to defer.

For me and IMHO, the depth of field is too shallow, and the 1 stop gain can often also be gained by bracing the camera against something handy. As David Alan Harvey the photographer said, even a beer bottle on a table top is good enough.

-- Mani Sitaraman (bindumani@pacific.net.sg), April 11, 2001.

I use a noctilux on a M3. If the goal is low light then you cannot beat it.

-- Russell Brooks (russell@ebrooks.org), April 11, 2001.

The DOF of the Noctilux at f/1 is too shallow for any practical use I have. Other than finder brightness on an SLR I've never found a use for f/1.4 with a 50mm lens. The 35/1.4 OTOH while still giving shallow DOF, at least is usable in a number of situations. And since a 35mm can be handheld at about one speed slower than a 50, the 35/1.4 can be shot in the same light as a Noctilux. I own the 35/1.4 ASPH-M and the 35/1.4 Summilux-R, which are my night lenses. During the day I carry Tri-Elmar or 35-70/4 R. The 35 length isn't great for doing portraits, though, but for that I'd go for a 90, not a 50. The Noctilux is also a very heavy and bulky lens (but not as much as the 35/1.4-R lens) and while its performance at smaller apertures in daylight isn't too shabby, the 35/1.4 ASPH-M is suberb throughout the aperture and focus range.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), April 11, 2001.

If it's for travel, the 35 Summilux ASPH gets my vote, hands down. Mostly because of the weight, but also because the 35 is much more versatile in low-light situations. When I travel I like to include some context in my photos, and the narrower angle plus the lower DOF of the Nocti would make that more difficult.

While you can hand-hold one stop slower with the Summilux, remember that you'll also have less action-stopping power as a result - the camera moves less, but the subject moves more, so to speak. I've always felt the trade-off was worth it, and with 400 speed films so good, I've rarely found anything I can't shoot at 1.4 and 1/8.

For travel, light weight is the name of the game. When I went south recently I took 6 lenses, including the 75 :-/ Next trip it will be the 35/1.4 ASPH, the 3E, and either a 90 or 135 with a Hexar RF and a .72 M6.

The 35/1.4 ASPH isn't just a lens, it's a photographic paradigm all unto itself :-)

-- Paul Chefurka (paul_chefurka@pmc-sierra.com), April 11, 2001.

Mark:

I own both, and depending on what I plan on shooting, I sometimes take both. However, almost always, I bring the 35 along...

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), April 11, 2001.

Thanks for all the opinions. I own the 35 and can easily borrow the Noct so its not a question of purchasing. However, I definately don't want to take both. I think I'll go with my 3E for daylight and 35 lux for night.

-- mark (mramra@qwest.net), April 11, 2001.