RE: [Leica] Re: 75/1.4 question

["Dan Honemann" <danh@selectsa.com>]

> It's a heavy bugger, and I find that a grip (either Leica's or
> Tom's) makes a big difference to the handling.  The focus is
> silky smooth - even better than my 90 APO.  The biggest thing to
> get used to after all this time shooting a 50 is using the right
> frame lines.

Yes, I imagine that would be a distraction: the bright, bold 50 framelines
clamouring for attention, and just that smidgen of a dotted 75 frame hiding
in there somewhere.

> As far as a portrait lens goes, it will depend on what kind of
> portraits you shoot.  If you need tight head shots this isn't the
> right lens.  I don't ever want to shoot another head shot,
> though, so it's just right for me.  It's tight enough to go in on
> your subject, but loose enough to leave some context.

Actually, I remember comparing relative "tightness" (if I can use that term)
of the M lens line with Mr. Rabiner a couple weeks back, and we determined
that the 75, with its .7m close focus, provides as tight a shot as an M lens
will get.

> Before I got it, I wondered if it might be too much of an
> "in-between" focal length, but now I realize there's no such
> thing - it's just a matter of taking each focal length on its own
> merits and learning what it will do for you.  I suspect that the
> combination of this lens and the 35 Summilux will do an
> extraordinary percentage of my shooting for the next little while.

As usual, Paul, you've sold me.  Although I am going to make one small
sacrifice to my bank account and get the 35/2 asph instead of the 'lux.  I
figure having the same filter size as my 50 cron will be convenient, and I
don't anticipate needing the extra stop with the 35.  The 75/1.4 will give
me the extra stop for indoor candids--which _is_ where I need it--and the 35
will give me the added DOF I want when street shooting.

The 90 apo will wait for a future purchase.  Or I may forgo it altogether in
favor of the 100/2.8 apo elmarit and R8, which I'm going to have another
look at in a local shop tomorrow.  Some recent threads on the Leica R line
do, however, give me pause before investing so much money in that system.

But if you're a manual focus 35mm SLR fan, you now only have one option, it
seems to me, in new equipment: the Leica R8 (or 6.2)--the last holdout now
that Contax has come out with the incompatible N1 AF mount, and Nikon has
discontinued the F3 (true, there is still the FM2n, but for how long one has
to wonder).

Dan