90/2.2 Leitz Thambar

[Leikon35@aol.com]

     I have just been playing with my new Leitz toy;  it cost more than a new
35/1.4 ASPH & doesn't take as sharp a picture.  For those of you that dont
know the 90/2.2 Leitz Thambar; you might find this of interest, all others
just
click delete.
     As you have previously read about Bernack not being able to match the
sharpness of Zeiss lenses, he concentrated on a quality of selective sharp-
ness, where the center was very sharp but the rest not.  This is what was 
refered to as "Plastic Quality" of Leitz lenses & from there the mystique
grew.
Hollywood of the 30's & 40's used the technique (along with various
diffusers)
to achieve what was called glamour photography, with starbursts in the catch
lights of the actress' eyes.  Of course the Hollywood still gallery cameramen
used 8x10 cameras & film, so that they could be easily retouched.
     In 1935, the Thambar hit the scene; a lens that was sharp in the center
but
uncorrected & soft elswhere.  It use a special filter with  a 1/2" opaque
disk in
the center, to cover up the sharp area of the lens.  Wide open, with b&w
film,
it produced an almost etheral quality unlike any obtained by diffusion
filters
which were common in those days.  Unfortunately, I haven't had very good 
luck getting the same effect on color film this week-end.
     Today the emphasis is on crisp needle sharpness rather than the so
called
Leica Plastic Quality of the past.  At my age,  I dwell a lot in the past &
that is 
why my feelings differ from todays "Young Turks".  Working 35 years in the
Hollywood Motion Picture Industry gives one a slanted viewpoint, but I do
know
from being there, that many top photo-journalists of the 50's, used Nikon LTM
lenses on there Leicas because they were sharper than the Leica lenses of 
the day.  Until the Summilux was developed, the Summarit was no match for 
the Nikkor 50/1.4.  Of course, the Summicron is a whole different story.
It was & still is one of the best all around f:2 lenses, even though it has
gone
through at least 6 or 7 design changes.

Marvin Moss