Leica's long-running history heavily influences and inspires its M rangefinder camera system and library of compatible manual-focus lenses. Its Noctilux-M 50mm F1.2 ASPH. ($7,895) is a reimagining of one of the rarest, most sought-after collectibles on the camera market, the original see-in-the-dark Noctilux 50mm F1.2 (which was initially on sale from 1966 to 1975). The updated edition makes a few tweaks to the original's optical formula but retains the soft, wide-open rendering, flare, and other character quirks that contribute to its status as an obscure object of desire. Best of all, it's available at retail, not just auction houses.

A Rare Lens, Made New

The original Noctilux 50mm F1.2 is a nearly mythical piece of photo kit. Even though it was in production for nearly a decade, Leica produced just 1,757 copies of the extra-bright lens. In recent years, copies have sold at auction for more than $20,000, while press-time listings on eBay start at around $45,000. Reports indicate that the famous Leica-fan Seal even owns one.

This new version is expensive, though not out of order for a Leica. Third-party options aside, factory-fresh M lenses start around $2,800 and exotic entries fetch nearly $15,000. The Noctilux series definitely qualifies as the latter: After the original F1.2 left the market, Leica produced a 50mm f/1 version of the lens for a while, and the current-edition Noctilux-M 50mm F0.95 ASPH. goes for around $13,000.

The Noctilux-M 50mm F1.2 sports the same black finish as the original, which was the first M lens to do so. The anodized aluminum makes for a relatively light lens (14.3 ounces) given the 2.0-by-2.4-inch (HD) barrel. Collectors can look for a limited edition chrome, silver-over-brass edition in 60s-inspired packaging, though it's rarer even than the original, with a production run of just 100 units.

The box includes the lens, a vented metal hood, metal front and rear caps, and a plastic dome display container. We didn't receive the latter accessory—Lensrentals provided our review loaner with just the basics—but it protects the lens during transport and keeps it free of dust in storage.

The lens doesn't include any of the weather protection of most modern optics, but it doesn't have any electronics either, and we couldn't confirm whether it has a fluorine coating either.

Handling and Controls

Although it's small for an F1.2 optic, the Noctilux is on the chunky side as far as M lenses go, especially if you attach the included hood. The combination is not a pain to carry, but you do have to be aware of how much of the viewfinder the hood blocks. I paired the Noctilux with the M11 Monochrom to test the extent of the issue.

Without its hood, the Noctilux partially blacks out a tiny portion of the bottom right corner of the 50mm frame lines when focused at distance. If you do attach the hood (necessary to reduce flare), it partially obscures a triangular area that accounts for about a fifth of the frame. The effect worsens at closer focus distances because frame lines shift down to the right to compensate for parallax. Whether this bothers you is a matter of preference. With digital M cameras, either an add-on EVF or live view is an option for precise through-the-lens framing, though you have to live with it if you're using an M6 or other film body.

Like other M lenses, the Noctilux 50mm F1.2 requires manual control for aperture and focus. The aperture ring sits toward the front of the barrel and goes from f/1.2 to f/16 in half-stop clicks. The focus ring just behind it is comfortable to turn and easy to find by touch, thanks to a scalloped design that includes regular indentations with milled ridges. The latter design elements serve as natural finger holds.

The focus action is pleasingly smooth, with enough dampening to keep the focus locked when you aren't using it. Depth of field marks go from f/1.4 down to f/16, and there's also a distance scale if you want to attempt stopped-down, zone focus with the lens.

Focus is available from 3.3 feet (1 meter) to infinity, which is limiting considering that Leica cameras from the days of the original Noctilux focused to 0.7m. Here, the 1-meter focus nets 1:17.1 reproduction, which is more suitable for portraiture than macro work. Some of Leica's recent releases focus much closer, including the 2023 edition of the Summilux-M 50mm F1.4 ASPH. (1.5 feet/0.45m) and the 2022 edition of Summilux-M 35mm F1.4 ASPH. (1.3 feet/0.4m).

We don't expect many to use the Noctilux-M for video, especially since recent Leica M cameras are stills-only. But the lens' character could lend itself well to cinema projects. If you opt to pair the lens with a camera for video, be aware there is some bloom in angle when you shift from one plane of focus to another (otherwise known as the breathing effect).

Noctilux-M 50mm F1.2 ASPH.: In the Lab

The Noctilux-M's optical formula was groundbreaking at the time of release: Leica touts it as the first-ever, production-line lens to include aspherical elements (there are two of them in its 6-element/4-group design). The aspherical elements did a better job of suppressing the funky spherical aberrations that were apparent with alternatives at the time, including the 50mm F1.2 that Canon sold for the Leica thread mount (LTM) in the decade prior.

To see how the vintage optics handle on digital cameras, I grabbed my Leica M (Typ 240) for color work and the M11 Monochrom for black-and-white photos out in the real world. I also ran lab tests with it on both the M11 Monochrom and a 60MP Sony a7R IV (with an adapter) to get a good handle on its resolution capabilities in Imatest. For the review, I looked at Imatest results from the Sony camera because it allows for more precise manual focus through its EVF and I did not have a Visoflex add-on available for the M11.

Lab scores correspond with what I observed in the field. At f/1.2, the Noctilux is relatively soft. It shows around 2,000 lines of resolution at the center, which isn't a particularly strong result on a 60MP sensor. Off-center results fall below 1,000 lines. Although we're certain the Noctilux shows blurred results away from the central point of our test chart, the short testing distance we require for a 50mm prime (shy of four feet) makes the numbers seem worse than they are. Of course, soft, wide-open results are more of a feature than a flaw of this lens. If you want a bright standard prime that's sharp across the frame at wide apertures, consider the Summilux-M 50mm F1.4 ASPH or APO-Summicron 50mm F2 instead.

Test scores improve as you stop the lens down. At a half-stop down to f/1.4, the Noctilux's center resolution doubles to around 4,000 lines, a result we consider very good for a 60MP camera. It crosses into outstanding territory from f/2-11 (5,000 lines). Sharpness takes just a slight step back at f/16, a result of optical diffraction. The Noctilux's rendering isn't exceptional stopped down, and I wouldn't ever describe it as clinical, but you can still get excellent resolution from center to edge between f/8 and f/11.

At wider apertures, the character reveals itself in areas of defocus. The Noctilux shows quite a bit of longitudinal chromatic aberration (LoCa) away from the plane of focus, which can lead to busy backgrounds in some scenarios. Think of scenes with vibrant foliage behind your subject or elements with heavy specular highlights like dew on grass or the sun's reflection on water. I didn't see much in the way of purple or green fringing in test shots of power lines or tree branches even at low apertures, however.

The bokeh has a slight swirl around the edges, which adds some pop to portraits, in combination with slight, but palpable, barrel distortion. Specular highlights are perfectly round toward the center of the frame, but it's easy to spot the cat's eye effect toward the edges between f/1.2 and f/1.4. From f/2-2.8, the 16-blade aperture draws an interesting, but not-quite-circular shape.

If you're trying to avoid flare, it's a good idea to use the included hood to prevent light from falling on the front element from askew angles. Make sure to avoid strongly backlit subjects, too. On the other hand, if you want some flare in your photos, it's not hard to induce the effect. Getting the sun into the frame, or just behind your subject, adds a soft glow to your picture. The lower contrast in these shots contributes further to the glowing effect.

Adobe includes a correction profile to compensate for distortion and vignette, and, depending on your import settings, it's likely on by default. I looked at some photos with and without the profile, and for this lens, I prefer the uncorrected images, but it's easy enough to toggle on and off to see which look you prefer. I processed the sample pictures in this review with the correction profile turned off.

A Gem From Leica's History, Brought Back to Life

Leica has a long, rich catalog of photo gear, and its M system is ideal for reimagined antiques, like this Noctilux-M 50mm F1.2 ASPH. After all, its M rangefinder cameras haven't changed too much in the past seventy or so years (the switch from 135 film cartridges to digital sensors notwithstanding). It's simply a treat to see which old formulas Leica trots out as new, even if the reissue line consists of just this Noctilux, the Summaron-M 28mm F5.6, the Thambar-M 90mm F2.2, and the most recent Summilux-35mm F1.4 ASPH. Steel Rim for now.

The original versions of all four are collector's items to some degree, whether out of absolute rarity, high demand, or, in the case of the Noctilux, both. Collectors might want an original to display and brag about, but reissues such as the (still very pricey) Noctilux are more readily obtainable and practical. To that last point, it's a real joy to use and snaps photos that are distinctively different than those from modern-day, perfectly corrected APO and ASPH. primes. In contrast, the Noctilux-M 50mm F0.95 ASPH. has a modern-minded, sharp look along its plane of focus when used wide open, as is the case with the bulk of Leica's current catalog.

If you don't want to spend quite so much to get the old-school look, you can consider older M and LTM lenses for your digital rangefinder. The Canon 50mm F1.2 for LTM and the Leica Summitar 5cm F2 are two favorites and you can get them for not a lot of money on the used market, though you should experiment with several older lenses to see which one clicks for you.

Thanks to LensrentalsLensrentals for providing the Noctilux-M for review.