Reviewing the Leica Noctilux-M Camera Lens
Posted by Cory Grassell on Mon, Oct 26, 2009 @ 10:00 AM
The new Leica lens - Noctilux-M 50mm f/0.95 asph - is a quality buy, and you 
certainly get your money's worth (a complimentary lens case is even included when you make a purchase). But it'll cost you. The average asking price for this state-of-the-art lens is approximately $10,000. Let's take a look at some of the features that make this camera so highly touted.
The manual-focus, full-frame lens is made of ground and polished glass, not hybrid or molded glass. The glass is surrounded by anodized matte-black aluminum. Due to its sheer size and weight, the lens will make the complementary Leica M8 and M8.2 cameras a bit top heavy when combined. Also, Popular Photography magazine reports that the lens barrel blocks some of the viewfinder.
With a built-in lens shade/hood, the Noctilux lens is a step up from the Canon 50mm f/1.0. Why? In tests, "barrel distortion edged close to imperceptible, outdoing the Canon by a big margin." The Noctilux also showed signs of vignetting, "but Leica says that on full-frame, M-series bodies, such as the M7, it shows 3.2 stops of light falloff in the corners at f/0.95." Unfortunately, the lens only has focus capabilities of 38 inches. But here's a photo tip that will help you get more out of your new lens: "Adding a neutral-density filter in broad daylight lets you place a sharply focused subject against a radically defocused background - even when they're only a few feet apart."
Leica Noctilux-M specifications:
- Diagonal-view angle: 36 degrees (focus ring turns 130 degrees counterclockwise)
- Size: 2.83 inches x 2.95 inches
- Weight: 1.71 pounds
- Filter size: E60
- Mounts: Leica M
- Distortion: 0.12 percent
- Light falloff: None
- Close-focusing distance: 38 inches
- Maximum magnification ratio: 1:16:28
