Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/01/29
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I have just finished printing some pictures taken with <brief mention of non-Leica equipment> a Nikkor 85 mm f/2 AIS on an FM2 body. At wide-to-moderate apertures and fairly close range, the results are very appealing: tack-sharp down to the grain of the fast film I was using, and with a very smooth, unobtrusive quality to the out-of-focus areas. That same lens also yielded excellent results when used at infinity for landscapes. However, the center of my photographic life is now an M6 with 50 and 35 Summicrons, and I am not going to drag a Nikon around just for those occasions when I might want a tighter head shot. So this is going to sound like sacrilege, but: Can the LUG in its collective wisdom recommend a Leica M- or screw-mount lens that is as good as this Nikon optic? Notes: 1) I once tried out a Canadian 90/2.8 Tele-Elmarit and was underwhelmed: the definition, at infinity and f/8, was perceptibly poorer than with either of the Nikkor 85s (f/2 and f/1.8) to which I compared it. 2) Marc James Small has sung the praises of the collapsible 90/4 Elmar M, and I have no reason to doubt him. The lens appears to have collector value, however, and seems expensive for being so ugly and so slow. 3) A maximum aperture greater than f/4 is another nice feature of the Nikkor lens, so what's with all the weird screw-mount lenses I see in the Woodmere Camera flyer every month: 85/2 Canon Serenar; 85/2.8 Steinheil; 85/2.8 Super Rokkor; 85/2 Jupiter <??>; even <gasp> 85/2 Nikkor. If the optical formula of the latter is what was reused for the AI/AIS lens, then my search is over, but that's too much to expect... ANY GUIDANCE WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. Thanks in advance. - -- Nick - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Nicholas Hartmann hartmann@interaccess.com P.O. Box 1005 73057.724@compuserve.com Oak Park, IL 60304 (708) 524-1191 USA fax (708) 524-1355 Technical and scientific translator: German, French, Italian -> English