[Leica] SM Lenses: Leica, Nikkor and Canon

["SML" <inyoung@jps.net>]

Hello,

  Recently lots of people were talking about which lenses are better.  Some
insisted that the Nikkor and the Canon were better than the contemporary
Leica lenses.  The Canon 100/2 and 100/3.5 were two of them that were most
mentioned in favor of the 90/2 Summicron.  These posts led me to do some
in-field comparison with no scientific analysis totally in viewers' point.
I used my M3 with the following Leica screw mount lenses with SM-M adapter;
90/2 Summicron with removable shade, black 85/2 Nikkor, black 100/2 Canon
and black/chrome 100/3.5.  The film was black and white.
  To my dismay, I think I have to agree that the Canon 100 gave better
results than the Summicron.  Actually, my eyes were most pleased with the
Canon, followed by the Nikkor and the Summiron.  I was really surprised that
some of the Canon and Nikkor lenses could produce that excellent images
because I always thought that the Leica was the best no matter what as a
long-time Leica user collector.  I knew that the Zeiss optics had been
always great but....  This simple and mundane test made me sold on some of
the third-party LTM lenses.  Better yet, they are cheaper, much cheaper.  I
cannot wait to see how well the Canon 35/2 LTM have done in Grand Canyon
during the July 4th holidays.

Regards,
David