Re: Noctilux 50/1 versus 50/1,2

[Donal Philby <donalphilby@earthlink.net>]

Marc James Small wrote: 
> Peter Dechert, no mean critic, has used both versions professionally and
> stands behind the f/1.2 as the better lens, as does noted pro Mike
> Fletcher, though Mike owns the f/1 version as he was unable to find an
> f/1.2 at a decent price.

Interestingly, I was speaking with Luis Casteneda not long ago and he
had just received a new f/1 to replace his slightly older f/1 (not an
f/1.2) and said the difference was night and day--the new was wonderful,
he said, in fact, stunning.  He had given up using the older f/1 version
because of image quality.  What he didn't know was whether the
difference was due to design change or because the older lens was out of
alignment or some such.  He liked the quality of the new version so much
it had become his standard 50mm.  

Which got me to wondering just how often I should be having ALL my
lenses checked for alignment, especially since I was trained as a "devil
may care" photojournalist where cameras just get thrown in the Domke
bag, itself almost 30 years old, faded and tattered. 

Photography's equivalent to "grunge" fashion.

Donal Philby
San Diego