Re: [Leica] leica pimples?

["Henning J. Wulff" <henningw@archiphoto.com>]

At 5:49 PM -0700 4/6/00, Julio Marcos wrote:
>It's funny how people consider their Leica and Contax glass a step above
>Nikon or Canon, have religious wars about it, but then go and put Cosina
>lenses in their Leicas. Isn't Cosina the maker of those super-cheap,
>plasticky consumer zooms?
>I know that this statement is unfair, and that Cosina is doing a good
>job at promoting a rather affordable rangefinder system.
>
>I am going to get a Leica 24mm Elmarit but if could not afford it I'd
>use my 24mm Nikkor, a beautiful lens, with an adapter, rather than a
>Cosina 25mm.
>
>I also like the Konica RF, which I have seen, but not taken pictures
>with. But from the people talking here it looks like there is bias
>towards Voigtlander / Cosina.
>
>Just a thought....
>
>-Julio

....have you _USED_ any of these Cosina lenses?

As you said, this statement is unfair. Not on account of the promotion, but
because you are passing judgement on lenses you haven't tried, purely by
association of other lenses, the zooms, which you possibly haven't tried
either. I have a lot of Nikon stuff, some Canon stuff, various Leica lenses
and a fair bid of other optical items. I had a 24/2.8 Nikkor, and have had
a 24/2 since it came out. It is a very useful lens, and I'm happy with many
of the images it has produced. On the other hand, the Cosina thread mount
lenses I have used have outperformed their Nikon equivalents every time.
Since my 15 Cosina outperforms my 15 Nikkor (and my 15 Hologon), I wouldn't
be surprised if the Cosina 25 did well in comparison to the 24 Nikkor.

This doesn't mean I'm getting rid of my Nikon and Canon gear, which has
definite uses for me, but the Cosina lenses I have are a very useful
addition to my Leica gear, and are close enough in quality to not embarass
anyone.

Cosina's cheap zooms have nothing to do with these lenses for thread mount.

If you have the money for the 24 Leica lens, go for it! I'm sure it is
better than the Cosina. Even though it is hard to judge lenses of different
focal lengths against each other, I would definitely rate my 21 ASPH as
better than the 15 Cosina. On the other hand, the 21 ASPH is a lot better
than the 24 Nikkor, or the 20/2.8 Nikkors, or any other lens in this focal
length range I have tried.

This out of hand judgement against lenses, especially now against the
Cosina line, seems ridiculous to me. Find a lens, try it out, see if it is
useful for you and then judge it against alternatives. Anything else is hot
gas and vanity.

   *            Henning J. Wulff
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