As long as I was at it for the 35’s, I decided, why not test ‘em all. My Summicron is the last tabbed model with the removable hood. My Noctilux is a second version (Canadian), with the removable hood. (Sorry, I don’t own a Summlux or I would have included its results as well!) I used the same testing procedure as described earlier for the 35’s. I had not bothered with this test in the past, because I knew the Summicron would blow the Noctilux away… but there were a few surprises…

At f1, I would rate the sharpness of the Noctilux as “good” at the center and edges. There is noticeable vignetting of about 2 stops at the extreme corners at f1. At 1.4, vignetting is greatly reduced but still noticeable; and center sharpness moves up to “very good”, while the edges remain “good”. At f2, vignetting is gone in the Noctlux, and the center is now almost as good as the Summicron (Surprise!); but the edge still only gets a “good”, while the Summicron is “very good” at the edges. At f2.8, 4, & 5.6, the Noctilux gets a “very good” for center and edge sharpness, but the Summicron rates “excellent” in this range for both center and edge sharpness. Surprisingly, at f8, the Noctilux is “excellent” at the center and “very good” at the edges, and almost equals the Summicron in center and edge sharpness here (Surprise again!). At f11 & 16, both lenses remain very good, and are very close in performance, but have succumbed to slight losses in sharpness due to the small apertures. No loss of sharpness was detected in the Summicron when the Leica UV filter was attached. The Noctilux has an ever-so-slightly warmer color-cast than the neutral Summicron. Flare control is nothing short of “superb” in the Noctilux. None was noted anywhere. Period. The Summicron exhibited excellent flare control, with a slight increase in flare noted when the UV filter was attached. Bokeh on the Summicron was very smooth, and pleasing. On the Noctilux, I have to describe the bokeh as “liquid”, imparting a stunning and very “painterly” quality to the out-of-focus portions of its images; one of the characteristic traits that the Noctilux is known for.

Which one is “best”? They are both so unique in their applications, I can’t really pick a winner. It would be interesting to see how the Summilux fared in this grouping, possibly making an interesting compromise lens. But for now, the Noctilux and Summicron are both keepers!

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), March 08, 2001

Answers

There isn´t much to add to your posting, otherwise very helpfull, just to thank you for the kind info.

-- R. Watson (al1231234@hotmail.com), March 24, 2001.