Noctilux 1.2/50mm 11820 first batch
Startpreis
10.000 €
Gebote: 0
20.000 – 24.000 €
Versandnformation
Rare extremely early Noctilux 1.2/50mm, the 48th from the very first batch of 200 lenses starting with no.2176701. The 1966 Noctilux 1.2/50mm was the first 50mm lens in the world containing an aspheric element. Leitz Wetzlar optical designers Helmut Frank and Dr Paul Sindel were responsible for optical computation. The lens was introduced in 1966 and was received by the market as a sensation. It is almost entirely free of spherical aberration and coma while producing an exceptionally high contrast. Forty-five years ago, however, even for Leitz, it was quite a challenge to create such a lens, a fact reflected in its price: the lens was almost twice as expensive as the body of a Leica M4. It was replaced by the 50mm Noctilux f/1 in 1976, which – using optical glasses new at that time – could be calculated without aspherical elements and was even cheaper than its predecessor. In ten years of its production, only about 2500 units of the 50mm Noctilux f/1.2 were produced in total, representing one unit per business day. The Noctilux f/1.2 lens can truly be called a legend in the technical development of the Leica lenses. It is sought-after by collectors and still a favourite of some photographers. The offered example is in very good condition, with normal signs of use on the barrels, very good optics only showing a couple of hair thin cleaning marks, with both caps, delivered on 01.11.1966.