Re: [Leica] Nikon + Tamron revisited

[D Khong <dkhong@pacific.net.sg>]

Friends,

Over the last weekend, I was assigned the job of "official" photographer
for my departmental retreat and "team building" workshop in the tropical,
idyllic island known as Pulau Langkawi* in Malaysia. To do my job, I
decided to bring along my:

1. Nikon F90 + Nikkor 50/1.8 AF + Tamron 28-200/3.5-5.6 lenses + SB23 flash
(all which I have not used for almost 3 years)
2. Contax G2 + 21/2.8 Biogon lens only

A strange combination, yes. I was itching to relive my pre-leica days in
which the use of my SLR was king. That was in the era till circa 1995.

I shot 7 rolls of film in those 2 days. 

The Kodak 400 film was sent to my usual photo finisher. I just got them
back. My reactions were:

1. How come almost all the pics lacked vibrance?
2. The colour lacked saturation.
3. These pics have no life in them !!!

One roll had vibrance, life and saturation. The shots were taken with the
Contax G2 and Biogon lens. This did not surprise me. The CZ 21/2.8 Biogon
is a legendary lens capable of sharp, saturated, vibrant and 3-D effect
pictures.

The shots taken with the Tamron and the Nikkor disappointed me. I have been
so used to the quality that my Leica and Carl Zeiss lenses have been giving
me in the last 3 years that I can immediately see the difference that a
"highly rated" Tamron lens can deliver. The Nikkor did a bit better but was
nowhere near the vibrance and life that my "German optics" can deliver.

The Nikon AF mechanism was a pain. For some strange reason, with the Tamron
at between 100-200mm focal lengths, it oftens hunts repeatedly for the
correct focus. In the past, I would have have been more forgiving but this
time, it turned out to be extremely irritating. In my mind, I wished I had
my M6 with me to beat the irritation out of this mindless contraption.

This experience makes me think twice about giving up my leica rangefinders
for those "super duper state of the art" electronic AF marvels. I reckon
that when I find that my eyes no longer focus properly, I might have to
rely more and more on my Contax G2. At least, being a cross between a
rangefinder and an AF SLR, the G2 will not irritate me when the focus is a
wee bit off.

Dan K
*this idyllic island was into its hot season. Hot means sweating on the
spot. I had to bathe thrice a day to get rid of the sweat. This drains your
energy and at the end of the day, nothing beats a nice cold beer. 

- -----------------------------------------------------------------
                   He who conquers his anger,
                    conquers a strong enemy.
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