Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2008/05/08

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Subject: [Leica] Square Film Format for the R10
From: mark at rabinergroup.com (Mark Rabiner)
Date: Thu May 8 12:49:23 2008

> Hi Luggers,
> One time lugger, Ray Tai, now participating, I think, at the
> Rangefinder forum, has used some Leica R lens on the Hasselblad Xpan
> ( 24mm X 65mm). None of them have an image circle to cover 65mm but
> the 35 Curtagon comes closest. Ray noted that there was very little
> fall off at the edge of the R lenses' image circles (like the R28)
> and he thought that some older style lenses had larger image circles
> than some of the later models. Leica needs something to differentiate
> it from the excellent DSLRs from Canon Nikon and others and going to
> a square format - no more vertical and horizontal shots - like a mini
> Hasselblad - could be a way to do it. I wouldn't be at all surprised
> if they go square format - reinventing the 35mm format which Oskar
> Barnack is credited with starting (even if he wasn't first). Older
> lenses, if they do have a larger image circle might become sought
> after and suddenly more valuable. I am keeping mine. Look at what has
> happened to the price of Visoflexes with the M8. Photokina is going
> to be very interesting. I am going and hope to lay hands on an R10.
> Anybody else going to be there??
> Cheers,
> Howard
> 


Why though form an engineering optical design logical standpoint would Leica
all these years be producing lenses which are up to spec way out twice the
size of its image circle?
Seems like bad design to me.
Or weird design.
Or just plain weird.
The specs are just not going to be there very many millimeters out of the
43.3 crop circle. They're not going to be there because they didn't have to
be.




Mark William Rabiner
markrabiner.com



Replies: Reply from tomschofield at comcast.net (Tom Schofield) ([Leica] Square Film Format for the R10)
In reply to: Message from cummer at netvigator.com (Howard Cummer) ([Leica] Square Film Format for the R10)