Here's a odd way of buying lenses - I have never tried or even held the 'lux 75/1.4, but I have a feeling the the perfective would fit me very well. I've read all the "I hate this lens/yes, that is why I sold mine" in the archieves, but I'm willing to give it a try.

How much bigger and bulkier is it than the Noctilux (which I have tried)? How much of the vf does it cover up?

How is the DoF wide open? How slow can one exect to shot (hand held) it wide open?

Please let me know, 'cause I want to place my order asap (getting around the APAC price increase)

cheers,

-- pat (modlabs@yahoo.com), June 07, 2002

Answers

Pat
Id be inclined to try out the lens for yourself, before taking the plunge as it can turn out to be an expensive mistake. But if you have used the Noctilux (I mean in real picture taking situations), then you may well find the 75 lux easy to use as well. Also have you compared this lens to say the 50 lux, which is much smaller, ligher and easier to use (the difference in focal length between 75 and 50 is not that great after all). Just some thoughts.

-- Karl Yik (karl.yik@dk.com), June 07, 2002.

well, the 75 is only 22mm longer, the use the same E60 filter size, the largest diameter of the nocti is 69mm vs. 68 for the 'lux, and the nocti weighs 630 grams vs. 560 grams for the 'lux - by most indications it shouldn't that much "uncomfortable" to use?!

I do think the 31 degrees angle of view vs. the 45 degrees on the lux is rather different (a 90mm lens has 27 degrees), also the smallest subject area appears to be quite different. Now this is all theory on my part regarding the 'lux...

cheers,

-- pat (modlabs@yahoo.com), June 07, 2002.

I wouldn't worry about the price increase. There are tons of used 75's out there (the Canadian and German ones are identical)in mint condition (maybe better than the new ones, from things I've read here) for much less than the new price. I think the 75 might arguably be the most-gotten-rid-of lens in the M line. Many people are off-put by its size and bulk, and even more by the number of soft shots from mis-focus.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), June 07, 2002.

my line of reasoning, it's $1,649 new w/ 2 yrs int'l warranty, and I'm not able to find one for less than $1,500-1,00 used...

tad worried about how the thing would handle though. But I did use to like the Nikon 85/1.4...

-- pat (modlabs@yahoo.com), June 07, 2002.

As Jay wrote, there are many good deals to be had on used 75 summiluxes. I got mine for about 950 US$; it is from 1983 but is in excellent condition. My first rolls with it were full of misfocussed f1.4 shots - it takes some getting used to. Also, an M6 and 75 'lux weighs about as much as a Nikon F100 with a 28-105 zoom ... However, mine is not for sale. If you take the time to learn to use it, it has some lovely qualities, but buying used is a good idea.

-- Ole Swang (ole.swang@sintef.no), June 07, 2002.

you must try it first. simple as that.

it's cheaper to try than to buy it and selling it later because you didn't like it.

-- Dexter Legaspi (dalegaspi@hotmail.com), June 07, 2002.

Pat:
Also using a short telephoto on a SLR is very different than using it on a rangefinder. Telephotos are easier to focus with SLR, but harder to focus with rangefinder and vice versa when you get into wide angles. Ive just rid of a Noctilux because I 'thought' I wouldnt mind the extra bulk,weight. But after using it it turned to be a bigger pain that expected. I couldnt focus fast enough, or had sore fingers from trying to wrench that focus ring round. Anyway to cut a long story short, I made an expensive mistake and ended up with a 50 lux which is what I should have bought in the first place.
My advise to you would be to try out the 75 lux (I mean borrow one and take pictures with it) before you buy.

-- Karl Yik (karl.yik@dk.com), June 07, 2002.

I like my Noct a lot! Besides the look (pics) of it, I like that it is a bigger lens....works better with my hands, reminds me of a Nikon lens in girth, which is what I started with. Mine is silky smooth to focus...if it was tough to focus like a lot of the bigger Leitz lenses I think it would be a giant pain in the ass to use. Try a few and get one that is easy to focus,you will like it more.

-- Emile de Leon (knightpeople@msn.com), June 07, 2002.

Pat- The 75mm 'lux will cut out about 20% of the viewfinder. The 60mm filter size is a Leica size only, so cost of the filters is about 3 times what you pay for other filters, such as 58 or 62mm. I ordered a 60-62mm step-up ring and aux. lens hood (which will clip a little more out of the viewfinder). My kit feels like I'm back into medium format. Can we imagine a kit with a 50 Noct, a 75 Lux and a 24 Elmarit! I believe Leica will bring out either a 75 Elmarit or a 75-90mm "BiElmarit-M". I am more interested in the 75mm focal length than all the speed of f1.4. I think 75mm is a very useful focal length. Leica can't be very happy about some recent used prices for the 75 Lux-- less than half retail. I think a mint one just sold on this forum for $1100. I wonder if the supply of these (new) might be delaying introduction of a smaller 75. Another thing is the viewfinder frames- they should be more pronounced, like the 50mm frames. You just have 4 little corner brackets.

-- Frank Horn (owlhoot45@hotmail.com), June 07, 2002.

The 75 'lux is my longest lens for my M system. I absolutely love it and wouldn't give it up for anything. By Leica M standards, it is a large lens. But compare it to a nikon 85/1.4, or the behemoth canon 85/1.2, and it looks downright small. It also balances quite well on the M6. I have an 80/1.4 R which rarely leaves my house.

I don't shoot with long lenses very often, but when I need a bit of reach this lens fits the bill. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it is capable of the highgest magnification of any current leica lens. So the FL combined with the fact that it focusses down to .75 m means you can get great, very tight portraits. I also use it a lot for street or landscape scenes where I want the more compressed look of a longer lens.

I've handheld it wide open at 1/15th with good success. How slow you can handhold all depends on how steady you are and what your idea of "sharp" is. But I'm pretty picky about sharpness and I've gotten good results with the lens at some pretty slow speeds.

I haven't used a Noctilux, so I can't really compare. The DOF wide open is very small. You have to choose which eye you want sharp in a tight portrait, because they won't both be sharp unless you're shooting straight on. I like the effect, but focussing obviously isn't as easy as wider M lenses. I use mine with an M6ttl .85. As others have mentioned, it would be best if you could borrow/rent one, and shoot a few rolls before you spend your $$$.

-- Noah (naddis@mindspring.com), June 07, 2002.

I love my 75 lux. Complementing my 35 lux perfectly. What else do I need? Nothing really. I think it handles very nicely on the M6, adding an extra place to hold the camera. Doesn't obstruct the framelines hardly. The f/1.4 is what Leica M is all about.

-- James (snodoggydogg@hotmail.com), June 07, 2002.

For what it is worth, and after reading Karlīs post, I must say that I really liked the noct. I was and still am used to SLR and the extra weight didnīt bother me at all. The focus on my noct was silky smooth and I really liked the shallow DOF. I (tentatively) sold the noct together with my M6, but if I were to keep one lens it would definately be the noct!

-- Eric Kragtwijk (e.kragtwijk@hccnet.nl), June 07, 2002.

While the Noct is heavier it seems to me to balance a lot better when mounted to the camera body, with the 75 making it just a little more "front heavy". Just making an observation - it doesnt bother me, and both are magical optically

-- Gregory Goh (GregoryGoh@hotmail.com), June 08, 2002.