The Noctilux-M 50mm f/0.95 has made great strides over its well-known predecessor, the Noctilux-M 50mm f/1.  It was able to create 11% more light gathering capacity without lowering the peak central resolution.  Perhaps 11% doesn’t sound like much to you, but when you’re talking about an 11% improvement upon an already-amazing f/1.0 aperture it becomes quite substantial.

The Noctilux-M f/0.95 is born to shoot at absurdly large apertures of f/1.4 and brighter.  Don’t buy the Noctilux for normal use; choose it instead because it can allow you to make pictures other lenses, no matter the camera behind them, could never achieve.  Together with the M8′s excellent high-ISO abilities you can do things like capture an image of someone’s face only lit by a tiny candle or cigarette’s ember.  If you can see it, you can shoot it.

Add a neutral density filter and try shooting at f/0.95 in bright daylight; imagine beach snaps where backgrounds are completely unrecognized washes of sky/water blue and sandy white blobs.  It is almost like the feeling of a dream.  With the Noctilux’s unique capacity, you could capture a full-length picture of your friend in Times Square and perhaps not even be able to tell that they were in that immediately-recognized setting.

The Noctilux has a floating rear lens group, which aims to provide higher performance at closer focus ranges.  Leica’s also decreased vignetting with the Noctilux-even at f/0.95 with the M8 you’ll only have 1.5 stops of light loss in the image corners.  Coding on the rear lens barrel will communicate to the M8/8.2 the particulars of the lens.

• World’s brightest lens for digital SLR cameras

• Produces the most extremely diffuse, soft backgrounds

• 11% Greater light-gathering capacity than its predecessor (Noctilux-M 50mm f/1)

• Improved peak resolution over that of the Noctilux-M 50mm f/1

• “Floating” 2-element rear lens group retains consistent performance at closer shooting distances

• Just ~1% of maximum distortion (barrel type); nearly undetectable

• Dedicated collapsing hood

• Accepts E60 filters

• Lens mount’s rear has 6-bit code allowing digital M-series cameras to identify lens and its characteristics

• Classic depth-of-field scale at rear of lens barrel

Canon MIV

However, more than previous 1D series cameras, the 1D Mark IV has a lot to prove. Whereas, in the past, Canon’s flagship models have been a fairly safe bet, autofocus problems with the 1D Mark III have cast a shadow over the range. Those problems, which appear to have come from a combination of manufacturing error, increased complexity of AF customization and the AF sensor occasionally being overwhelmed in bright conditions, have become notorious.

These issues, combined with the coincident arrival of the Nikon D3 that offered, for the first time, an equal level of AF sophistication, brought into question Canon’s long-held position as AF front-runner. Since then, however, a combination of engineering revisions and user education have meant that many shooters have been able to use the camera without any problems – Canon admits there have been issues, but the woes that were so widely reported early in the camera’s life span are unlikely still to be affecting nearly as many users as its internet reputation might suggest.

Canon is clearly hoping to assuage any doubts still lingering after the ’1D III Affair’ by introducing a new AF system. Although the 45 AF points are arranged in a layout that dates back to 1998′s EOS 3, the 1D Mark IV uses a totally new AF sensor with 39 cross-type points that are sensitive both in the vertical and horizontal axis. The AF point selection method has also been revised, both for manual selection and for automated selection with subject tracking via the new AI-Servo II system.

Canon M IV front

The 1D Mark IV retains its predecessors’ 1.3x crop, APS-H sensor size, but this time increases its pixel count to a whopping 16MP. This may not seem like many in the era of 25MP full-frame DSLRs and 14MP compacts, but it’s a lot when you consider the Mark IV still has the ability to shoot at 10 frames per second. If you consider that this is almost the same resolution as offered by the last generation of Canon’s studio-targeted camera, the 1Ds Mark II, but with the ability to shoot twice as fast, then you start to appreciate what this camera is promising to do.

Model line history

The EOS-1D Mark IV is the highest pixel-count 1D series, with 50% more photosites creating a 26% increase in resolution over the previous model. Sadly the release of the EOS-1D Mark III coincided with one of the busiest periods in dpreview’s history (including an office and studio move, staff recruitment and training and more consumer level DSLR launches than ever before), meaning that, although much work was done and thousands of sample shots were taken, our review of that camera was never completed.

Canon PowerShot G11

Review based on a production Canon PowerShot G11, Firmware version 1.00

The Powershot G series has represented a fairly formidable presence at the top of the compact camera tree. From a keen photographer point-of-view, there’s little on the market that can match its mixture of zoom range, lens flexibility, build quality and level of manual control. Somehow Ricoh’s GX and Nikon’s P series have never quite had the same impact but Panasonic’s LX3 has been enough to tempt some potential customers away, with its bright lens and convincing (for a compact) low-light performance.

The G11 seems determined to wrestle back its position as undisputed champion of the market, though, incorporating what Canon describes as a ‘high sensitivity’ CCD. In what might be a first, the company has reduced the pixel count in comparison to the preceding model. In principle, there is no disadvantage to having more pixels when you consider the whole image (other than the larger file sizes that might slow down the camera and fill your memory card faster and the added complication of having to apply noise reduction before demosaicing, which is not something many people are willing or able to do). However, the often larger photosites of a less pixel-dense sensor will tend to receive more light, in the same exposure, making it easier to produce an image that looks cleaner at the pixel level. Almost as if Canon wants its flagship compact to be a handy all-rounder.

The body style dates back to the G7, which upset many existing G-series owners by omitting several features they’d become used to. Those missing features have, one-by-one, been re-included as the range has developed, leading us to the G11, which finally regains the fold-out, swivel display that went missing after the G6. There’s no denying it’s a well featured camera and one with styling that appeals to many photographers.

However, since the G10 arrived, Olympus and Panasonic have released their Micro Four Thirds compact interchangeable lens cameras, the E-P1, E-P2 and GF1, the Powershot G series has looked like a less obvious choice. The Panasonic GF1 for instance, is no larger than the G11 and offers a similar level of external control (albeit without the nice retro metal dials), but is built around a sensor with more than five-and-a-half times the surface area. So although the GF1 and Olympuses can’t compete with the G11′s 28-140mm equivalent lens range (at least, not while remaining as compact packages), they are likely to offer greater image quality and control over depth of field than the small sensored Canon can.

Headline features

• 10.0 Megapixel CCD sensor
• 5x wide-angle (28-140mm equivalent) zoom lens with optical image stabilizer
• 2.8” tilt/swivel LCD (461k dot resolution)
• RAW image recording
• Claimed 2-stop advantage in low light compared to G10
• Dedicated Exposure Compensation and ISO dials
• DIGIC 4 processor
• i-Contrast boosts brightness and retains detail in dark areas
• 26 shooting modes with manual control and custom settings
• Accessories include tele-converter, Speedlights flashes and waterproof case
• VGA movies, 30fps

Changes compared to G10

• 10 megapixel ‘high sensitivity’ sensor, down from 14.7 megapixels
• Gains ISO 3200 as full setting (Rather than option-limited scene mode)
• White balance fine tuning
• Tilt and swivel LCD 2.8″ (rather than 3″ fixed screen)
• New Low Light and Quick Shot modes
• HDMI connector
• No Superfine JPEG compression (Fine is least compressed option)
• No voice annotation or sound recording function
• No remote (tethered) image capture

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Powershot G11 against its peers

Canon PowerShot G11