Boasting the thinnest depth of focus of any Leica lens, Leica today announced the Leica Noctilux-M 75mm f/1.25 ASPH. “Gossamer-thin” is how Leica describes the lens’s depth of field; it eclipses even the Leica Noctilux 50mm f/0.95 in narrow DOF. Leica says this is the most significant Noctilux lens to be introduced since the first one, the Noctilux-M 50mm f/1.2 ASPH, was unveiled in 1966, and the Leica Noctilux-M 50mm f/0.95.
The 75mm f/1.25 puts this lens in the same premium portrait lens league as the Canon 85mm f/1.2L II, and Zeiss 85mm f/1.4 Milvus lenses, with one notable difference: The Leica lens costs about 10 times as much, at more than $12,750. Is it worth it? For a select few, Leica thinks so.
With such paper-thin depth, the lens allows for precise isolation of subjects, while the short minimum focus distance of 33 inches allows for a reproduction ratio of 1:8.8, which can provide a portrait photography look that Leica says you can’t get with other lenses. The aperture consists of 11 blades for natural specular highlights and bokeh in out-of-focus areas.
The lens is constructed of nine elements in six groups, manufactured from glass with high anomalous partial dispersion and low chromatic dispersion. Two of the elements are aspherical and reduce other potential aberrations to what Leica describes as a “hardly detectable” minimum. A floating element within the complex focusing mechanism is said to guarantee a constantly high level of imaging performance throughout the entire focusing range of the lens.
While the lens is too big to use with the Leica M cameras’ optical viewfinder because it blocks the view, Leica recommends using an electronic viewfinder such as the Leica Visoflex, or live view if using a camera with this feature. It is otherwise ergonomically well-designed, with a built-in, pull-out lens hood, and standard Leica-design aperture and focus rings. A tripod adapter is included in with the lens.
The Leica Noctilux-M 75mm f/1.25 ASPH will be available from Adorama in early 2018, for $12,795. We wouldn’t be surprised if it will be available to rent.
