Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2007/02/11

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Subject: [Leica] not entirely OT: the recurrent dilemma
From: philippe.orlent at pandora.be (Philippe Orlent)
Date: Sun Feb 11 09:50:20 2007
References: <l03130301c1f3f1fb34f4@[129.89.124.186]>

Thanks Alan,
It's good to know that these lenses aren't on par with Leica glass: I  
always wondered if the Canon L series was a good runner up.
And I will keep my MP ofcourse: I might be a bit foolish, but not  
crazy... ;-)
Cheers,
Philippe



Op 11-feb-07, om 00:22 heeft Alan Magayne-Roshak het volgende  
geschreven:

>> Date: Sat, 10 Feb 2007
>> From: Philippe Orlent <philippe.orlent@pandora.be>
>> Subject: [Leica] not entirely OT: the recurrent dilemma
>
>> I'll go the Canon 5D route, and I have almost decided on lenses, too.
>
>> What are your impressions of the following lenses?
>> Canon EF 24-70mm L f2.8 USM
>>
>> Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS USM
>>
>> Canon EF 16-35mm f2.8L USM
>>
>> And, if you'd only keep one lens on your analog M, which one would
>> that be?
>>
>> Other -and wise(r)- suggestions?
>> Thanks,
>> Philippe
> ...................................................................... 
> .........
> This isn't a suggestion, but more of an account of my experience.  
> I'm sure
> I'm part of a very small minority (of one?) with my preferences.
>
> FWIW:
> I use Canon 1D, 1D MkII, and 1Ds at work.  The 70-200mm f2.8 IS  
> lens is my
> favorite.  It is sharp wide open, and has that stabilizer, although  
> I use
> it on a monopod 90% of the time.  It must be tough, too.  I slipped  
> on a
> wet patch in a building lobby, and this lens, mounted on a 1D and  
> monopod,
> slammed down onto the floor.  I was sure it would need repair, but it
> tested out as good as ever.  I think the lens hood took most of the  
> force.
> My second favorite lens is the 85mm f1.8, third is the 50mm f1.8.
>
> We have the 28-70mm f2.8L lens and the 16-35mm f2.8L.  These don't  
> satisfy
> me as much as the 70-200.  I always counted on being able to use  
> Leica,
> Nikon, or even my Olympus lenses wide open, but when I try that  
> with these
> Canon wide zooms, I get soft images, especially off center. Even  
> stopped
> down to 4.5 or 5.6 they don't give the crispness I want.  To be  
> fair, maybe
> it's my technique.  I have never been comfortable with autofocus,  
> even with
> the film Canons, and the screens are not anywhere near as suitable for
> manual focusing as the ones in Nikon F2's and F3's for example, so  
> I have
> to rely on AF.
>
> Maybe these cameras sense that I'm an RF kind of guy. I think I've  
> gotten a
> greater percentage of out-of-focus pictures since our lab went to AF
> cameras. Before this I thought nothing of shooting at f/2, and got  
> great
> results with those prime lenses and bright screens, or with my Leicas.
>
> Strangely, since I like fast lenses, I seem to have gotten pleasing  
> results
> with our bargain lens, the 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS.  It's sometimes  
> slow to
> focus, but at the tele settings even the wide-open f5.6 aperture  
> seemed to
> give better results than I'd expected.
>
> Partly because I have to haul these big lenses and bodies around  
> all week,
> I look forward to getting away from them on my time, so getting rid  
> of M
> equipment is foreign to me.  It's just such a pleasure to pick up  
> an M or
> other small camera.  I know the 5D is smaller than the 1D, etc. but it
> still is large compared to an M or OM-2. If I were ever to go  
> digital, I'd
> probably would want to save money and bulk by getting just prime  
> lenses.
>
> Long winded Alan
>
> Alan Magayne-Roshak
> Senior Photographer
> Photo Services
> Univ. of Wis.- Milwaukee
> Information & Media Technologies
> amr3@uwm.edu
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Alan+Magayne-Roshak/
>
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>


In reply to: Message from amr3 at alpha1.csd.uwm.edu (Alan Magayne-Roshak) ([Leica] not entirely OT: the recurrent dilemma)