LEICA DG NOCTICRON 42.5mm F1.2 ASPH./POWER O.I.S.

Nocticron. I'm pretty sure that old Leica users felt skeptical about the name, but surprisingly, it has come into existence. Leica has the F2.0 Summicron, the F1.4 Summilux, and the F0.95 Noctilux. And, this F1.2 Nocticron fills the gap between the Summicron and the Noctilux. Including its metal shade, the appearance is actually very similar to the Noctilux. And, it's a special high-speed AF lens generating massive bokeh even on the micro four-thirds format whose depth of field is deep by nature. The focal length is 42.5mm and it's equivalent to 85mm in 35mm format, which is often the tele-end of a standard zoom lens. In this report, I shot many shots wide open to show the unique rendition.

( Photography & Text : 48 )

The 3D quality is a specialty of a high-speed lens. Although the amount of bokeh decreases in the distance background, the depth of focus is shallow even in the near distance. I think the sweet spot is around 3m to 5m, and the focal point guides viewer's attention naturally.

Showing how bokeh changes by aperture. This image was shot at F2.8, but you can see another shot at F1.2 by clicking it. As you can see, it becomes sharper and the vignetting is gone by stopping down slightly. On the other hand, the vignetting and the soft focus wide open add to the dramatic rendition. Which one do you like better?

Each sand grain speaks about the bokeh taste. It doesn't swirl like old lenses. I know I shouldn't expect it from a modern lens.

What a 3D quality! It becomes clearer and sharper by stopping down, but this shot wide open looks sexier due to the vignetting. So, I humbly recommend you to turn off the camera's vignetting correction.

The 50cm minimum focus distance is very short for a lens of this kind. Usually, I should stop down on this shot, but as an image for a review article, I thought I should shoot wide open. Although I needed to step back a bit to include the coffee, the short telephoto focal length realized this distortion-free depiction. This lens is ideal for table photography as well.

Straight lines are captured as straight lines even wide open. This natural bokeh reminds me of film photography.

The focal plane of a high-speed lens is very thin. It has a nice MF feel, but AF gives me a peace of mind. Switching between MF and AF is easy with the slider on the barrel.

The resolution of this lens is outstanding. With the GX7 body, it becomes sharp from edge to edge at F2.8 and smaller aperture only increases the depth of field. This means that sharp depiction is guaranteed even in the dark situations.

Of course, the Nocticron is made for night. And, with this speed, you are not forced to raise the ISO. At the same time, taking the advantage of the excellent high sensitivity performance of modern cameras, you can shoot even more freely.

There's a world only this lens can capture

Remember the day when you were amazed by your new prime lens you switched from the kit zoom lens. Then, you became able to take a shot just like the one you had seen before. Soon after that, you started wondering the difference that a high-speed lens can make. If you have a F2.8 lens, you want F2. If you have a F2 lens, you want F1.4. This is such a "natural" process, but the desire for a faster lens never stops until you reach the ultimate.

This lens is ideal to satisfy such greed. With the GX7's 1/8000 shutter speed, I could shoot wide open even during the day. And, with this speed and focal length, you can enjoy the difference of expression by controlling the aperture. Of course, the thin focal depth makes focusing harder, but thanks to the AF and the Optical Image Stabilizer, it was easy. The moderate size and weight make this lens a great everyday lens. Yes, the price doesn't sound like it, but considering the value of the once-in-a-lifetime moments you will capture with this lens, it's even reasonable.

The dream lens for the micro four-thirds body has arrived. And, there's a world only this lens can capture.

( 01.02.2014 )