Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/03/29
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]At 10:04 AM 3/29/98 -0500, Jim Bielecki wrote: >Does anyone know if Leitz (or Leica) have ever used the "Sonnar" optical >design for any of its 50mm lenses? Or have they pretty much stuck with the >"Tessar" design or the "Gauss" design? Does the "Sonnar" type design have a >"look" (I hesitate to say bokeh) that is distinct from the others? The short answer is a resounding "NO!". The Sonnar formula is a rather severely modified triplet and is an exceedingly expensive lens to produce; some of the early Berek formulae are also modified triplets (such as the Hektor, Thambar, and the first Elmarit), but only distantly related to the Sonnar. Most of the later Leitz and Leica lenses have been modified unsymmetrical Double-Gauss derivations of one sort or the other. Zeiss has always aimed at the maximum performance on all optical axes, so their lenses avoid the distinctive flavour of early Leitz glass. Marc msmall@roanoke.infi.net FAX: +540/343-7315 Cha robh bas fir gun ghras fir!