Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1996/11/03

[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]

Subject: Back to Basics
From: Marc James Small <msmall@roanoke.infi.net>
Date: Sun, 03 Nov 1996 10:58:57 -0500

At 04:14 PM 11/3/96 +0100, Magnus wrote:
>

>Zeiss has designed for maximum optical performance...
>
>Leica are renowned for optical performance...
>
>What is the *real* difference?
>
>What you are talking about - sure this is not true.


There are two completely different things being discussed here.  One is what
the Carl Zeiss optical designers were striving to achieve.  The other is the
public perception of Leica lens performance.  

The main point is that Zeiss lenses are designed for bench-test performance
and have always tested 'well'.  Leica lenses, until the 1980's, weren't so
designed, and did poorly on the same sorts of tests.  Max Berek, through a
simple trick, caused his lens designs to produce a final image which looked
better than it was, and this is WHY Leica lenses are renowned for an optical
performance which cannot be found on the test charts.

As to your last sentence, it is gibberish.  Perhaps something got lost in
cyberspace.

Marc

msmall@roanoke.infi.net  FAX:  +540/343-7315
Cha robh bas fir gun ghras fir!