Does negative refraction make a perfect lens?

A discussion of a question, studied earlier by Veselago in 1967 and by Pendry in 2000, is given. The question is: can a slab of the material with negative refraction make a perfect lens? Pendry's conclusion was: yes, it can. Our conclusion is: no, in practice it cannot, because of the fluctuations of the refraction coefficient of the slab. Resolution ability of linear isoplanatic optical instruments is discussed. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.