[Leica] Zeiss and Leica

[Doug Herr <71247.3542@compuserve.com>]

On Sat, 10 Oct 1998, Erwin Puts wrote:

>The R8 and the Contarex are both demanding instruments, but there
>is one essential difference.  The Contarex is a slow camera: =

>indeed it handles like a miniature version >of a field camera.
>The R8 (and M) of course ,true to Barnack's spirit, are an =

>extension of the eye. So here we see the eye and the camera acting in
>parallel. The Zeiss approach is a bit different:  taking a picture is
>a deliberate decision, made with an instrument that is optically and
>mechanically on the highest level. You take one picture and that is it.
>The 'stream of consciousness' approach of the Leica is completely
>different.
>To sum up: Zeiss designed 35mm cameras with the handling and optical
>qualities of a medium format camera and Leica designs 35mm cameras with
>the handling of a 35mm camera and the optical quality of a medium format=

>camera.

Thanks, Erwin, for explaining the difference in design so well.  This is
very much what I've been trying to point out (with varying success) in my=

observations re: the current 280-400-560-800 APO-Telyts and the 400 & 560=

f/6.8 Telyts.  These APO-Telyts seem to me like a Zeiss/Contarex design,
while the f/6.8 Telyts are much more stream-of-consciousness tools.

Doug Herr
Sacramento