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Notes: 50/0.95 Noctilux-M ASPH
One reason to buy a specialty camera is for a specialty lens. The Noctilux is about US $10500, so the M9 is very nearly an accessory for such a lens.
For the price you expect perfection, and to my surprise the diaphragm blades of the Noctilux locked up one day at f/2, refusing to open further. Some back and forth with the aperture ring regained f/0.95. This might be dismissed as a sample issue, except that a reader emailed to report that his brand new Noctilux had a similar problem right out of the box. Later, another user reported the same issue. When I sent the lens to Leica, the problem mysteriously would not appear. Maybe the car-like price has something to do with it, just as problems refuse to reveal themselves faced with a mechanic!
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Diglloyd Guide to LEICA contains in-depth coverage of Leica M system cameras and lenses, with additional coverage of Leica M Monochrom, Leica Q.
Special emphasis is placed on Leica M lenses and certain Zeiss ZM lenses.
- Make better images by learning how to get the best results right away.
- Save money by choosing the right lens for your needs the first time, particularly the Summilux/Summicron/Elmarit choice and/or Zeiss ZM.
- Make better images, a sort of “cheat sheet” saving yourself months or years of ad-hoc learning. Processing parameters are discussed and shown.
- Jaw-dropping image quality found nowhere else utilizing Retina-grade images up to full camera resolution, plus large crops [past 2 years or so].
- Real world examples with insights found nowhere else. Make sharper images just by understanding lens behavior you won’t read about elsewhere.
- Aperture series from wide open through stopped down, showing the full range of lens performance and bokeh.
- Optical quality analysis of field curvature, focus shift, sharpness, flare, distortion, and performance in the field.
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