[Leica] Erwin reviews new Summilux

[hopsternew at gmail.com (Geoff Hopkinson)]

Sunday morning coffee time here, Mark!
Your thread was my contribution for the day on rebutting critiques of
Leica..
You are very welcome to disagree of course, thoughtful discussion is always
educational. Just tell us the rationale behind each pont then.
 Why do you categorically disagree strongly with every point? Can you expand
that beyond yes, yes, yes?
No, no, no format was meant to be light hearted, see the smiley.

My views revisited are that Leica does not want to compete with the Cosina
Voigtlander range and price point for example.
Leica does not want to produce M lenses that are not suitable for every M
camera in production now, the past and possibly the future.

I agree with your preference for compact modest aperture lens with great
handling. I voted with my wallet by waiting 3 months and spending hundreds
of dollars more for my new Elmar M 24 over the Elmarit M 24 (usually very
much more expensive here). I also relish and use though, my fast Leica glass
wide open. No one does it better wide open than Leica.
Regarding the M8 not being able to exploit the quality of the lenses, as far
as I know you haven't personally used the M8? I've only had mine for about
11 months now but have shot 5000 frames. Honestly they are capable of superb
output. My own criteria is printing here up to 12 inches by 18 inches.
Putting a print from the same lenses on my M7 beside one from the M8 is a
very rewarding experience.
Do you think that the Summarits are not small enough for what you had in
mind? Or still too expensive? How about the Elmarit 28 ASPH.?

All the real DX format lenses I see (Nikkors) are very much bulkier.
Naturally zooms are a part of that. Did you note that now Nikon have a
quandary because they have new full 35mm sensor size dSLRs and all of the DX
glass cripples those cameras? I can't imagine a pro with an expensive
collection of Nikkors being pleased with that. Do you doubt that the Nikon
and Canon ranges will keep moving to the larger sensor size? Sorry to
mention the four thirds lenses, I know that you are very fond of them ;-)
;-) ;-), but although designed to be used with a smaller sensor area they
are not my idea of compact largely. There is more to the designs than just
the size of the image circle as you know.

Surely one of Leica's optical design strengths is how they do manage to
package amazing performance into very compact form factors already. The very
best example of that I can think of is the Summicron M 28 ASPH. I guess the
Elmarit M 28 ASPH. takes that further? It is much easier to design higher
performance lenses if you are prepared to accept a bigger form factor.
I just read your new post as I was typing. To the best of my knowledge it
would be grossly impractical and expensive to produce a curved sensor as you
have suggested! Maybe you were referring to the angled micro-lenses
overlaying the photosites?
I think that the new sensor technology and image processor of the S2 will be
the basis of future R& M sensors.There you go, fire away, ready to repel
boarders here ;-)




2009/2/1 Mark Rabiner <mark@rabinergroup.com>

> Wow Geoff! you are poised at your keyboard ready to pounce!
> I categorically disagree strongly with everything you seem to have quickly
> typed out here. Yes yes yes!
>
>
> Mark William Rabiner
>
>
>
> > From: Geoff Hopkinson <hopsternew@gmail.com>
> > Reply-To: Leica Users Group <lug@leica-users.org>
> > Date: Sun, 1 Feb 2009 07:29:33 +1000
> > To: Leica Users Group <lug@leica-users.org>
> > Subject: Re: [Leica] Erwin reviews new Summilux
>  >
> > No, no, no, no Mark.
> > No because they already make a new range of extremely compact modest
> > aperture lenses, the Summarits.
> > Those are tiny, relatively cheaper and have nearly all of the performance
> of
> > the other modern designs but still covering your full 35mm crop circle.
> > No because the M8 sensor capturea a stunning amount of information from
> > their best glass already.
> > No because the resolution of the M8 sensor is already appropriate if you
> > want to go mathematical and calculate crop circles of confusion.
> > No because any 'DX' lens would be useless on the film Ms that Leica still
> > makes.
> > No because any 'DX' lens would  be useless on any future 35mm sensor M
> > camera.
> >
> > The extra capability mentioned with the Elmar 24 for example is the
> > performance in the outer field which is not recorded by the M8 'crop
> circle'
> > Performance in the extrem corners is pretty academic.
> >
> > Did I mention no? ;-)
> >
> > 2009/1/31 Mark Rabiner <mark@rabinergroup.com>
> >
> >> These super lenes by Leica to be used at a fraction of a fraction of its
> >> capabilities on an M8 with a 1.33 crop factor its enough but not quite
> >> enough to get someone to shoot film.
> >>
> >> Leica could make some killer DX lenes for the M8.
> >> Incredibly sharp compact glass designed for the 1.33 crop circle factor.
> >> Film shooters are getting to be the tip of the iceberg of a niche.
> >>
> >> A niche niche.
> >>
> >>
> >> Mark William Rabiner
>
> --
> Cheers
> Geoff
> Weather is here, wish you were beautiful
>