Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/12/08
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Mike Johnston wrote: > > Mark Rabiner: >>>If I got the Contax I would go with the 45 2.8 Pancake. > I'm even slow when it comes to groundglasses<<< > > Mark, > Nice lens (Tessar, similar in cross-section to the Leica Elmars, Nikkor > GN, Pentax 40mm pancake, etc.), but the mount (barrel construction) is > sub-par for Kyocera--old ones get loosey-goosey almost universally. If > you get a new one, take care to be gentle and not to crank it hard. And, > the lens is tough to focus on many of the new "bright" screens. I > haven't tried it on an Aria, but, interestingly, the Aria has a "real" > groundglass screen as opposed to a "bright" screen, for ease of focus > with slower lenses. The Aria screen "snaps" nicely with the 35/2.8. I > used the new 28-70 slow zoom on the Aria without focusing problems, but > I found the 45/2.8 on an RX was almost impossible for me to focus. > > Killer lenses in the Contax line include the 25/2.8, 85/1.4, and > 35-70/3.4 zoom; the 85mm in particular is almost worth buying a body > for. It's a really lovely lens. > > --Mike > > P.S. For those who will point out that this is a Leica list and I should > be talking about Leica cameras, etc., I will: Aria + 85/1.4 = approx. > $1,500; R8 + 80/1.4 = approx. $5,200, making the Aria/85mm combo a > viable budget alternative for someobody looking for a portrait lens. Okay, I'm visuallizing Cartman dancing around chanting "Aria, Aria, Aria," and the other boys (facing bankruptcy with Leica bodies in hand, shouting "shut up Cartman!"