Some more comments on the NOCT95. This is a heavy lens (4.4 lb./2000g) with a 4” wide barrel. The tripod foot that is built into the lens is just secure enough to avoid shake, but not quite as secure and stable as I wish. It’s OK.
The stiffness of the helicoid is my only complaint (so far) with this lens and I am going to install one of my focus-pulling gears on it with a lever and see it that helps. I have my doubts. The problem is with stacking 100 images and turning that helicoid which disturbs the camera a tiny bit with each shot, after which it returns (hopefully) to where it was before. LOL. Perhaps it will loosen up with use.
The build is all I could hope for and more. Optically, the colors seem fine and although some reviewers say it is not as highly corrected (APO) as we might prefer, so far, its APO quality is good enough for my work. It’s aperture collar (and whatever) works but I see no use for it so far. As for all the buttons, digital-windows, etc. on the lens, they don’t bother me, but neither do I find them helpful for my kind of work.
IMO, you will need a solid tripod for this lens, at least for focus stacking. I will use an RRS tripod, with either the Arca C1 Cube or the Burzynski “Protec” ball head on it. The unremovable tripod foot on the NOCT lens, as mentioned, is OK, not as sturdy as it could be. I mounted an Arca quick release plate on the foot and the stability of the foot is not quite as unmoving as I would like for stacking images. It is just inside of the limit that I would complain about, so I am not quite complaining.
The hood allows for a clear filter to be mounted within it but, because the lens moves, it will not allow external filter holders to be mounted except in a very limited range of motion. This will be a serious problem for some photographers.
The bokeh is probably the best I have ever used, with its 11 blades and very fast aperture, smooth and subtle.
As someone who stacks focus, this is a perfect lens because it allows me to shoot wide open and have a lovely out-of-focus background. Then, using the very narrow slice of focus at f/0.95, I can paint focus on objects in the foreground, stacking layers of focus to create whatever I want to be in perfect focus. Since it is 58mm, this additional wideness allows for subjects with considerable context surrounding them. I wish it were a macro lens since it is already quite flat, but we can’t have everything. I am glad it can do what it does.
This lens does NOT take extensions well at all, although I don’t have an extension available to me that is ultra-thin. If you know of one, let me know, but even then, it would be like painting graffiti on a Ferrari.
In summary, the lens is for me a keeper. I will use it for much of my in-studio work and when spring arrives, slap on a clear lens, and take it outside, but not too far because of its weight.
I would like to hear from other users with their experience of this lens.
