Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/04/15
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Hi All, In a message dated 98-04-15 22:50:00 EDT, Isaac Crawford wrote: << I have always heard that Leica lenses had superior "bokeh" (smooth rendering of out of focus areas), my question is which lenses? I'm looking at getting an M system. My most used lenses in 35mm are 50mm f1.4, 85mm f1.9, and 135mm f2.5. Any suggestions as to which lenses would do what I want? Are the new "Aspheric" lenses better or worse in this regard? Are there any older lenses that would be better for this (primarly for the 135 and 90)? Thanks for any info... >> You are correct in assuming this question has been worked ad nauseum on the LUG, but it is still a favorite topic. I personally believe that Leica lenses tend to have good out of focus rendition in general, and the M lenses in particular. As for which ones provide the best bo keh, this has also been the subject of much dispute. In my experience, the third-generation, or last non-aspheric, 35mm Summicron has the most pleasing out of focus rendition. The 50mm "rigid" or original fixed Summicron is excellent in this respect (the Dual Range 50mm Summicron is a variation of this lens and the same comment applies). Now, many folks are fond of the 90mm Summicron for this effect, but I believe that within the limitations of f2.8, the current 90mm Elmarit-M is outstanding in both the image sharpness and bo keh. For an example of this, check out the first Seagull shot in my "stock" pages at http://www.fsl.noaa.gov/~vondaust/stock/ . As for the 135s, I think the original f4 Elmar is quite good, but it is not as sharp as the current f4. All of the above reflects only my experience and opinion, of course. Will von Dauster