The Hubble telescope for Leica? Close, but you're wrong.

This is the Konica M-Hexanon 50mm f1.2 rangefinder lens, in Leica mount. Or, As Konica put it, KM-mount.

This lens was produced in a limited run of 2000, numbered 0001/2001 to 2001/2001, and (suprisingly) released in the year 2001. 

Strange fact: although there were also 2000 Konica Hexar RF Limited Edition cameras built, some lenses and bodies were sold separately from the start. I bought a lens only, and it came in a blue velvet covered box  with all accessories, but no room for a Hexar RF body. Somewhere on the planet the body which number matches my lens has its own box, with no room for a lens... Strange.

The lens is heavy, although it's made from solid titanium. You can tell the difference in color from the Leica M3 chrome body behind it.

Some will see this as a poor substitute for a Leica Noctilux lens (50mm f1.0 available, even a new 50mm f0.95 underway!). Those who feel that paying sereval thousand dollars for a single lens is rediculous never seize to mention that the Noctilux is prone to lens flare, hard to focus, heavy, etc.

Some will even go as far as to consider the 1960's Canon 50mm f1.2 LTM lens a better alternative than this here miracle. I have owned a Canon 50mm f1.2 and it is a lens with a definite sweet spot, but this truly amazing focussing distance always seemed limited to a single meter, focus either closer or further away and the image turned dull. Might have been my copy of this lens only, though.

On the Noctilux I cannot comment. I have ever even seen one 'in the flesh'. In fact, I do not need to, since the M-Hexanon has it all as far as I'm concerned.

It is a modern, coated lens, it is easier to focus than the Nikkor 50mm f1.2, since the focus throw is more to my liking, I have not found any noteworthy vignetting, it is a great color renderer in low light, period! I prefer to shoot this lens with Kodak E100G slide film, for its saturated colors, although metering is very critical with this film, since underexposure easily results in purple and magenta hues which are difficult to completely fix in software.

The lens comes with a Konica 62mm UV filter, mounted on the lens in the above shot. There is a dedicated Konica vented, rotating lens hood with it. The filter has a Konica labeled plastic container, the lens hood has a velvet-like pouch, the lens is stored in a sheepleather velvet lined pouch. A lens cap is included, titanium as well. Note to self: don't lose the lens cap!

Here's an example of what it is capable of.