Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/11/18
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Bill, I think for portraits the 90 Elmarit is the way to go. I think that 135 is too short for really dramatic portraits and prefer the 90-100 range for enough compression to make a flattering portrait. I also feel that with a 90 it is a more intimate environment. The above is all touchy feely stuff so what works for you is the way to go. Either version is extremely sharp and for portraits you might need some diffusion. Also be aware that the early ones may be single cam and therefore will require stop down metering. The good side of this is single cam lenses can be had very inexpensively. As to the Elpro's for portraits you would want the VIIb as it would provide roughly at infinity coverage of 11X14 and at minimum something like 3X5 inches. The VIIa starts at 6X9 and goes down to 2X3 or so. The above is from a rough experiment I just did. As to quality, the Elpro's work like a charm as a portable closer focusing device with little to say against them. Ken-Mar Camera is fine to deal with, I have bought a couple of smallish things from them and found them fine to deal with. Ratings were accurate and they shipped on time. As to buying a three cam lens, define to yourself what is a trivial amount of money and if the three cam is within that sum from a two cam, then get the three cam. It will be newer or been in for CLA so odds are a slightly better lens. Or, as I mentioned before, put up with stop down metering and look for single cam lenses: optically they will be very good if not quite as good as the latest and as there is inconvenience in their use the price can be very appealing. Hope this helps, Don dorysrus@mindspring.com - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html