Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/03/09
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]DonjR43198@aol.com wrote: ><Snip> > The APO-TELYT-M 3.4 135 MM lens on the other hand, has a sloppy feeling > focusing mechanism and the diaphragm feels as if it had been made in some > area just coming out of the stone age and the adjustment was just plain > sloppy. > > This "made in Germany" label must really shame true German craftsmen who know > true precision craftsmanship and know this is not reflective of their "made > in Germany" work. > > Thanks Mikiro for confirming this problem. > > Don I picked up my 135/F3.4 APO-Telyt-M over the counter here at Camera World in Portland Oregon which is a 45 minutes walk from my house/studio but I forgot if I walked that day. It was 13 months ago: February 1999. I noticed quickly as I handled the lens at the counter deciding if I should buy it or not that the F stops were loose. A lot looser than my other Leica M lenses. And it was their only lens. They assured me if I didn't like it I could bring it back in a couple of weeks or whatever. I half thought that it was an easily corrected mistake, a screw that needed to be tightened. And I half thought that it might be on purpose, a new direction for Leica. Perhaps I'd discover some funtionality to twirling F stops on the fly with my pinky?! ...That little cursor of a small rectangle travels over the changing landscape quite quickly. Your little LED's blink furiously trying to figure out what's going on! A looser F-stop barrel makes it easier to keep those led's centered in those quickly changing situations. And at no time did it slip to the wrong F-stop as a result. Next time I get my Leica stuff repaired I'll bring that lens in and I imagine they will tighten it up for me. By next time I mean first time because in seven years of Leica M shooting and I do run some film I've never had one break and my other M6 body has taken some hard falls. I watched the repair guy adjust my focus once and now I do it. I'm sure there are plenty of Germans with monocles and riding crops whipping those lazy good for nothing Portuguese into shape at the factory there in sunny Portugal! Mark (time for a siesta) Rabiner The quality of image that this 135/F3.4 APO-Telyt-M gives is phenomenal. This really is a strong focal length for the M6! I find the little rectangle very usable!