In addition to my review of the Leica Noctilux 0.95 Asph which you can find here I made a comparison with the Leica Noctilux and the Leica Summilux 50mm Asph. For me it was interisting to see how they perform in a direct image comparison.

The price difference is huge, you pay 3,400 Euros for a Summilux but 9,550 Euros for a Noctilux. For this 6,150 Euro difference you get a f0.95 lens instead of a f1.4 lens which is only one stop. And the Noctilux is much heavier than the Summilux as you can see here:

The Summilux is technically better at nearly all apertures. Just look at the corners. But the Noctilux has a special look which I prefer especially wide open. Plus the opportunity to shoot at f0.95. From an aesthetic point the difference between f0.95 and f1.4 is stronger than I expected.

Due to the price difference the Summilux is a better choice for a lot of reasons. It is technically better, cheaper and smaller and the handling is much better. But the Noctilux gives you this special f0.95-look which is unique. And for me the Noctilux has a bit more vibrant color rendering and it looks a bit more natural. But if you don’t use it wide open it’s definitely not worth the price.

These pictures were made with a Leica M Typ 240 at ISO 200 and very little processed with Capture One Pro 9.

Don’t miss the full review of the Noctilux here.