Look what popped in the buy and sell today. A Leica 50mm Noctilux f/1.2
Hey all! Happy weekend! I spent all last week recovering from some sort of illness that I caught while away with Olympus in South Carolina just over a week ago. I am 100% better now and will be doing some work with the new Olympus lenses this week, as well as prepping my Sony A7RIII review. Also have a new Wotancraft bag to show, new straps from Rock N Roll straps and MUCH MORE! So check back all week for new stuff. Other than that, I was browsing my own BUY AND SELL forum today and look what popped up in the listings:
The super rare Leica 50 Noctilux f/1.2..in the BUY AND SELL HERE.
Crazy indeed. This lens is rare, so yes it is expensive. But the good news is there are TONS of used gear deals in the buy and sell, so be sure to check it out if you are looking for gear!
See you this week!
Steve
The 1.2 Noctilux is a very, very good lens. If you’re a fan of smooth bokeh, it is indeed noticeably better than the 1.1 Nokton. And this one’s a bargain at the advertised price; sellers routinely put opening bids at more than $20,000, though I’ve not seen one actually bought at that price.
One thing about this listing that’s very interesting is that it includes what looks like a Leica-made clip-on filter holder (the lens is not threaded for screw-in filters) which is NOT the 12503 hood (which doubles as a holder for the required series VIII filters). The 12503 hood does a fine job as a filter holder, but it also blocks some of the M-series camera viewfinder. The filter holder pictured would block less.
This filter holder might be really rare; not many of these lenses were made, and I’ve never even seen a mention or a picture of this accessory. If it was made specifically for the Noctilux, it could be very valuable to collectors. I’d be interested to know what its Leica part number is.
This same lens just sold above $22,000 USD on eBay…
Cheers!
Please somebody! Try to convince me that this lens takes better pictures than the Voightlander 50mm f1.1 Nokton at $799. I understand the Leica ‘mystic’ and the collector’s cravings. But, come on now. The picture of this lens indicates it has had some real knocking about. Not something I’d want to have displayed on my collectors shelf, which does contain a couple of 1930’s Leica’s in pristine condition.
So if I would have held on to my old noctilux that i sold for $3,000 a few years ago i could have made a killing? Anyone have a time machine I could borrow?
No, this version, the f/1.2 version, is very rare. The older f/1 version would be around $5k. This version, even in 2010 was selling for $13-414k.
Very cool lens. I ran into a photographer in San Francisco, Vladimir, and he shoots with a version 1 Noct. I shot a photo of his Noct, customized so he can focus and shoot one handed. I don’t know if you accept photos so if you’d like to see his Noct., let me know how I can send the photo to you.
I am glad you recover now! All the best.
I have bad stomach after trip to Nigeria last week…
In any case we look forward to read some of your reviews over the holidays,
Wolfgang