Hello
I really love Your work I have been receving your posts in emails over a year. I appreciate all your imput and your experience you share. I always loved the leica but it has been out of reach for me. Couldn’t justify buying it. I did get the Xpro1. The lenses are great and the camera as well. It has quirks but one can get used to them. I do however wouild like to try the legendary glass (manual) on it. But I am not shure if I cen get the speed in focusing using it on Fuji xpro1. Is it really a hard work at the beggining? How can one learn to do it well and relatively quickly?
Thanks again
Hello Darek,
Thank you for following the blog and for your kind words.
I haven’t used the Fuji but I can probably guess that it won’t be as fast focusing manual lenses on it as on a rangefinder “M” camera. For those not familiar with rangefinder cameras, they have a central focusing “patch” that allows one to achieve focus by superimposing two identical images. Here is what it looks like: http://www.ultrasomething.com/photography/photos/blogphotos/2010.Q3/Rangefinder_Viewfinder.jpg
A few years ago, I was using several manual focus lenses on the Nikon D3S and D700, and although they are very quick-shooting cameras, I found that they did not allow me to focus as quickly and reliably as the rangefinder focusing patch.
By the way, from what I’ve seen of the Fuji lenses, I think they are very nice and you’ll probably get nicer images with them on your XPro1 (because they have been designed to work well together as a system) vs. what you’ll get by attaching a Leica lens to your camera. So, don’t worry, save your money and enjoy the nice lenses Fuji makes!
Peter.
Great photos.. The lens really shines here but of course your post gives it the extra edge.
This lens is now… history. Yup, you heard it here first.
what a pity, Peter…
Peter – what happened between Dec 16 (your post on the lens itself) to today?
The New Year happened! (every year I try something new). The Noctilux 0.95 was fantastic and I had a perfect copy, but I wanted to move in a new direction. Same thing happened last year at this time when I sold my Konica Hexanon 60/1.2.
Peter…Peter…Peter.
Sigh.
Peter.
You worked magic with that lens! Sad to hear…but I can’t help but wonder what you are going to come up with next.
All the best,
M.
Peter, serious…you sold this beauty:-(
It was like a wand in the hand of a magician:-)!
Like a famous (Dutch) soccer player once said: ‘every disadvantage has it advantage’. So I am curious to see which new direction you will move to:-).
Thanks Jeroen,
The one thing that bothered me, and I couldn’t get over, more than the size and weight of the Noctilux f/0.95, was the 1 m minimum focusing distance. If the thing could focus down to 0.7 m I would have had a difficult time parting with it.
As it was, I couldn’t get as close to my subject as I wanted. It really bothered me.
Fair, I understand your struggle! I think I would have had the same.
And the advantage of selling this lens is that you now own a medium format camera. I am really really exicted to see what you can do with this machine:-).
Prosophos 
Hello
I really love Your work I have been receving your posts in emails over a year. I appreciate all your imput and your experience you share. I always loved the leica but it has been out of reach for me. Couldn’t justify buying it. I did get the Xpro1. The lenses are great and the camera as well. It has quirks but one can get used to them. I do however wouild like to try the legendary glass (manual) on it. But I am not shure if I cen get the speed in focusing using it on Fuji xpro1. Is it really a hard work at the beggining? How can one learn to do it well and relatively quickly?
Thanks again
Hello Darek,
Thank you for following the blog and for your kind words.
I haven’t used the Fuji but I can probably guess that it won’t be as fast focusing manual lenses on it as on a rangefinder “M” camera. For those not familiar with rangefinder cameras, they have a central focusing “patch” that allows one to achieve focus by superimposing two identical images. Here is what it looks like: http://www.ultrasomething.com/photography/photos/blogphotos/2010.Q3/Rangefinder_Viewfinder.jpg
A few years ago, I was using several manual focus lenses on the Nikon D3S and D700, and although they are very quick-shooting cameras, I found that they did not allow me to focus as quickly and reliably as the rangefinder focusing patch.
By the way, from what I’ve seen of the Fuji lenses, I think they are very nice and you’ll probably get nicer images with them on your XPro1 (because they have been designed to work well together as a system) vs. what you’ll get by attaching a Leica lens to your camera. So, don’t worry, save your money and enjoy the nice lenses Fuji makes!
Peter.
Great photos.. The lens really shines here but of course your post gives it the extra edge.
This lens is now… history. Yup, you heard it here first.
what a pity, Peter…
Peter – what happened between Dec 16 (your post on the lens itself) to today?
The New Year happened! (every year I try something new). The Noctilux 0.95 was fantastic and I had a perfect copy, but I wanted to move in a new direction. Same thing happened last year at this time when I sold my Konica Hexanon 60/1.2.
Peter…Peter…Peter.
Sigh.
Peter.
You worked magic with that lens! Sad to hear…but I can’t help but wonder what you are going to come up with next.
All the best,
M.
Peter, serious…you sold this beauty:-(
It was like a wand in the hand of a magician:-)!
Like a famous (Dutch) soccer player once said: ‘every disadvantage has it advantage’. So I am curious to see which new direction you will move to:-).
Thanks Jeroen,
The one thing that bothered me, and I couldn’t get over, more than the size and weight of the Noctilux f/0.95, was the 1 m minimum focusing distance. If the thing could focus down to 0.7 m I would have had a difficult time parting with it.
As it was, I couldn’t get as close to my subject as I wanted. It really bothered me.
Fair, I understand your struggle! I think I would have had the same.
And the advantage of selling this lens is that you now own a medium format camera. I am really really exicted to see what you can do with this machine:-).
Enjoy your new GAS!