Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/11/27
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]In message <97257C34017E1B00@mailgate.hcjb.org.ec> "BIRKEY, DUANE" writes: > I have also heard those statements and I have read that Leica designed the >Noctilux for wide open shooting only, assuming that users would switch to the > Summicron for stopped down shooting in several magazine articles. Obviously all lenses can be used at any opening, the best being (generally speaking) two or three stops in the middle range. The large-aperture lenses are designed to perform better than average at those wide openings knowing that photojournalists, wild life photographers and others need to work at those apertures either in low light conditions or to limit depth of field. I am not an optical expert, but I am sure that the Big Three (or four, or five) would not produce optics of great light-gathering properties without placing due emphasis on the performance at those apertures. There are of course exceptions; Canon f.07 (or some such nonsense) and others, I am sure designed so that the owner could indulge in one-upmanship. During the hay days of the Nikon 50/1.4, the company claimed that it was designed to perform well at that aperture. I am certain, however, that the claim did not imply that f1.4 delivered the best performance of the range or that it should be used exclusively at that aperture. Giuseppe.