Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/09/01
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Paul Schliesser wrote: > One characteristic of what you call "brittle sharpness" is the way soft > textures, like human hair or a fuzzy sweater, are rendered. The hair > looks really detailed, and you can see individual strands, but they are > so artificially sharp that they look like fine wires instead of hairs. SNIP > Since almost all images now get scanned and are digitally processed, this > same effect can happen if the image is over-sharpened. If you don't > sharpen enough, the image can look mushy when reproduced, but some people > get seduced by seeing all of the small details pop out and get heavy > handed with it. Paul, So true. I just saw some like this the other day. Having playing a bit with Photoshop recently, I recognized the characteristic. The sharpness of Canon and some of the third party lenses are like a blade which is both sharp and thin. The edge is easily bent and blunted. But a knife of outstanding steel can be sharpened to cut just as well, but is thicker, stronger and has a different feel as you cut. The Leica has that master swordmaker feel. I handled a hand made shotgun the other day, owned by a hunter/collector friend. It was made in Germany in the early 1900s. It probably took about three months full time to make. The feeling and the fit were simply incredible. To compare, I handled one of his recent vintage guns of high quality. It worked well too, but there was something even in the sound of the barrels closing that did not translate to the production model. Clank, click or snick. Donal Philby San Diego