But who will win? Apparently all of us, because there is a lens that is right for everyone depending on budget. The winner for value has to be the TTArtisan 50mm .95 lens (Year of the OX 2021 Edition) as it comes in way under $1k, or 6 to 7 times cheaper than the cheapest Leica lens we had on hand, the Leica Noctilux f1 v4. The Award for sharpest wide-open goes to the Leica 50mm f.95 Noctilux but its just barely more sharp than the TTArtisan lens. Its clearly the most “modern” and sharp of the group and the most expensive brand new, though the 50mm f1.2 may cost more on the second hand market than it. The least “bokeh” came from the slower Leica 50mm f1.2 Noctilux reissue. Its a slower lens, f1.2 , so that made a lot of sense, the bokeh balls seem smaller but the blur in the further background of the image isn’t necessarily more in focus the the other lenses. It also looks to be sharper than the Leica f1. The most character and cleanest bokeh ball award goes to the Leica 50mm f1 v4 Noctilux lens which shows no “onion-ringing” like all other lenses exhibited in highlights and less aberration. BUT the classic f1 seems to be the softest of all 4 lenses wide-open, and provided the most “Leica Glow” a term often used to describe the soft ghostly/soft-bokeh haze characteristic often a Mandler Era designed lens. The Leica glow can be a beautiful thing if used appropriately however, BUT we reckon most normal Leica enthusiasts will prefer a snappier wide-open image over its classical rendering.
