The Noctilux f/0.95 (50% and 100% crops).

Inspiration, Leica 50mm Noctilux f/0.95, Portrait, Teaching point

Yesterday, I posted the image Father Figure, which was taken with the Leica Noctilux f/0.95.

I know many of you — in addition to being interested in viewing photographs taken with the Noctilux f/0.95 — are also interested in the technical aspects of this lens.

So, I’ve decided to display the central portion of the Father Figure image at 50% and 100% magnification.  Note that the photo was shot at f/0.95, at the minimum focusing distance of 1 meter, and therefore any conclusions you draw should be considered in the context of this aperture and distance.

First the 50% crop

I’ve chosen the 50% crop because it nicely displays the quick — but extremely smooth — transition between the in-focus and the out-of-focus elements (I’ve used the word “rounded” to describe this exquisite rendering):

(please click on the image to view the large version)

↑Leica M9 and Leica Noctilux @ f/0.95 (50% crop).

Now the 100% crop

I’ve chosen the 100% crop to illustrate the level of central sharpness available at f/0.95:

[Note: the point of focus was his right eye; minimum sharpening was added during post-processing.]

(please click on the image to view the large version)

↑Leica M9 and Leica Noctilux @ f/0.95 (100% crop, minimum sharpening).

I hope you’ve found the above useful.

—Peter.

6 thoughts on “The Noctilux f/0.95 (50% and 100% crops).

  1. Jeroen's avatar

    Beautiful Peter! The Noctilux suits you very, very well! I am 100% sure that this is just the begin of a new creative episode of the life’s little moments:). Looking forward to join you on this photography adventure!

    Thank you for explaining the technical aspect of this masterpiece. It is indeed gorgeous!

    Cheers

  2. Tiago's avatar

    Hi,

    beautiful picture.
    I want to know if you sent the M9 and noctilux to Solms for calibration Focus and
    Did you use ND Filter ?
    Thanks

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