Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/06/04

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Nikon + Tamron revisited
From: V8PWR@aol.com
Date: Mon, 4 Jun 2001 16:21:36 EDT

Dans un courrier daté du 04/06/01 12:13:21 Paris, Madrid (heure d'été), 
dkhong@pacific.net.sg a écrit :

> 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.
>  =================================================================
>  
>  


Hello Dan . A couple months ago a acquired an F80 ( N80 in the US ) with 
a Sigma 2.8 / 35-105 . Did 5 rolls on it and was disgusted by the results too 
:
- - Lack of spontaneity 
- - Pale slides 
- - heavy noise 
Sold after 26 days . Will never go back on such a catch .

JO GOODTIMES -FRANCE/ AIRBORNE RADAR TECH / LIVE FREE OR DIE
will soon walk with mud covered combat boots...