[Leica] Noctilux

[FIGLIO4CAP@aol.com]

Dear Folks,
My Noctilux arrived and I put a roll of 800 KOdak print film in the camera and
went out to take some low-light photos. I have always wanted to try this lens
and decided , as time is going by, to make the plunge, throw caution to the
wind and do it! Of course, the numerous comments about the lens here had a
definite bearing on my decision.
Well, the film went to the drug store and an hour later I was looking at the
results. I have discovered that a well-maintained and operated C-41 machine
can produce some pretty good results, especially if getting those results
quickly is the aim of the excercise. I still shoot mainly Kodachrome and fine
grain BW, but I needed to see something from this lens now.
Comments made here about seeing information in the photo that one's unaided
eyes did not see are true.  Further, the amount of detail conveyed in shadow
areas of,say, a street-lit scene is amazing. I also took some daylight photos
with the Noctilux and the Summicron. The results, in terms of color rendition
and overall shadow detail were quite similar, although the Summicron is
clearly superior in rendering fine detail.
Most impressive to my eyes with the Noctilux, is its ability to generate an
interesting image in very low-light environments. This characteristic will
open a whole new world of photo potential for me.
Thanks, all , for your discussions regarding the Noctilux.