Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/01/23
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]---------- Francesco wrote....... >I recently bought a 35/1.4 and an 80/1.4 to go with my R8. > >Wide open, during daylight conditions, neither lenses are >stellar performers. The 35 introduced visible corner vignetting >at 1.4, which was completely gone by 2.8. I suppose one would >not expect the 1.4 lenses to be excellent at 1.4 during the day. > >The 35/1.4 also worked very well wide open at night to capture scenes >of a street market in Bangkok, lit only by street lamps.....no vignetting >here either. > >Does anyone else agree that the 35/1.4 is not that great wider than f/4, or >is >this a technical fault of mine? > >Francesco =================================== Francesco, I fail to see how a lens that vignettes in the daytime suddenly stops at night!. Can you tell me when this changes? 6pm? 7pm? Sunset? I'm a fan of my 35 Summilux, I know there are imperfections with the ultimate technical quality of the design, (it's curvature of field rather than flat field) but then all lens design is a chosen compromise. Because it's an F1.4 lens I'm happy to use it like that, if it was only useful from F4 onwards then I'd look for an F4 lens. There are of course 2 further developments of the 35/1.4 for you to try if you're dissatisfied, for myself I'd say that it's probably no technical fault of your lens but that you're mighty critical of the performance. The subjects sounded interesting, street scenes and dancers. Can't we be satisfied with taking pictures and having the tools for the job? Or do we need to know that there is no sharper clinical instrument with which to 'scalp our trophies'? And finally, does anyone know how rare the all-black M3 - 35 Summilux is? I like the fact it focuses closer but I'm unsure whether its a good trade off, vis a vis the extra bulk in the bag... Part of me likes the fact that it's a bit of an oddball thing top put on an M6! Jem K