Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2017/07/05
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Some Leica R zooms were actually Minolta designs, and the earlier ones were actually built by Minolta. That?s back when R-series cameras were still based on Minolta designs (R3, R4, R5, R6, R7). -- Chris Crawford Fine Art Photography Fort Wayne, Indiana 260-437-8990 http://www.chriscrawfordphoto.com My portfolio http://www.facebook.com/pages/Christopher-Crawford/48229272798 Become a fan on Facebook On 7/5/17, 4:47 AM, "LUG on behalf of Frank Dernie" <lug-bounces+chris=chriscrawfordphoto.com at leica-users.org on behalf of Frank.Dernie at btinternet.com> wrote: >Interesting Frank, with respect to the R zoom I had always thought that >they were Sigma designs built by Leica to Leica tolerances in Leica type >mounts. Thanks for the update. >My main 50 is the f1.4 Leica on an M though. >cheers, >Frank D. > >> On 4 Jul 2017, at 23:07, Frank Filippone <red735i at verizon.net> wrote: >> >> #1. if you do not wish to read about techie stuff, quit now. This is a >>very >> nerdy test that takes absolutely no interesting pictures. It is a Lens >> test. Period. >> >> >> >> For a while I have been trying to cut the weight and bulk of my M kit, >>at >> the same time, making travel photography less complicated. >> >> My preference is towards the least user intervention in the photographic >> process. Changing lenses is a big distraction. >> >> Getting a SL and lenses, is not in my budget, even after they dropped >>the >> price of the body by almost $1500. >> >> >> >> Museums and Churches are dark places. I want one fast lens to do >>Churches >> and museums. 50mm seems the right lens. >> >> To that end, I collected a bunch of lenses, and ( thanks to Doug, yet >>again) >> a Sony A7II body (24MP body). >> >> Using that body as my test device, I tested out my 50mm lenses for use >>in >> low light conditions.. Full open Aperture.. For zooms, they were only >> evaluated at 50mm. >> >> I used a tripod, self timer, manual focusing at max magnification, >>distance >> of about 12 feet, in bright light, ISO 50. >> >> My subject is the cedar fence ( now 45 years old) in my front yard. >>Lens >> Hoods were used in all cases. >> >> I took 3 images for each lens, keeping the best , and evaluated all the >> images through LRCC at 1:1. >> >> Only the center of each image is evaluated, at full aperture ( F1.4 or >> whatever) Because that is how I will use this lens. Full open >>aperture. >> >> >> >> For the results.. Best to worst.. This is all about central >>resolution, and >> ability to get fine detail... >> >> 1) Leica M 50mm F1.4 ASPH. Wins by a big margin optically. Fully >>manual >> operation, as are all M and R lenses. >> >> 2) LeicaFLEX Vario Elmar R 28-70 F3.5-4.5 ( 1990 design, Rom version, >> with Novoflex adapter. Fully manual) ( Stick that in your .. "old >>lenses >> suck". pipe and smoke it) >> >> 3) Sony 55mm F1.8 ( very close to the Leicaflex lens. Lightest lens >>in >> the test and it is AF and auto-aperture) >> >> 4) Leica M 50mm F2 ( early 1990's vintage) >> >> The next bunch are pretty close, but if you leave out 1 lens, the >> differentials are greater. so the lenses do decrease in capability >> >> 5) Leica M 28/35/50 Tri Elmar F4 >> >> 6) Sony 28-70 F4.5-5.6 Zoom (AF) >> >> 7) Nikon 50mm F1.4 AF non D lens ( with Fotodiox adapter, no AF as >>it has >> a mechanical aperture connection to the body) >> >> 8) Nikon 50mm F1.4 G lens ( which will AF on the Sony body with the >> Fotodiox adapter) >> >> Big gap in image quality, but that is not the prime purpose of these >>lenses >> >> 9) 7 Artisans 50mm F1.1 Chinese (New, $369, 400grams, delivered in 1 >> week!) >> >> 10) Noctilux 50mm F1.0 >> >> >> >> Yes, the best lens of the bunch was the 21st century marvel. But you >> probably believed that before you started to read this. >> >> To me, the surprise was the Leicaflex lens doing so well... FYI, I >>believe >> this lens is a Leica design produced by Sigma in Japan >> >> And to me, the most rewarding part of the test is how well the Sony 55 >>F1.8 >> lens did..since that lens is part of my proposed new kit. Optically, >>it IS >> good enough to do what I ask of it.. >> >> >> >> Remember, these results are specific to MY lenses and MY needs >>(wants?). If >> you were to evaluate your kit, or, even using my images, or making up >>new >> images using my lenses, may result in a different order. (YMMV) >> >> >> >> Comments? >> >> >> >> I also tested the Sony 16-35 Zoom lens against the Leica 16/18/21mm Wide >> Angle Tri Elmar. >> >> Hands down, the Leica lens is superior at 16mm. At 18mm, they are much >> closer, but the Leica is still better. At 21mm, the Sony lens is >>superior. >> >> >> At these focal lengths, manual focusing errors are more prone to >>happen, AF >> was used and results were gathered from the AF Sony images. >> >> >> >> BTW, my time to do this came about as I tend to my Wife, as she is now >>lying >> prone ( last 4 weeks) with back issues. so getting further than the >>cedar >> fence surrounding the house is an issue.. >> >> >> >> Frank Filippone >> >> >> >> Red735i at verizon.net >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Leica Users Group. >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > >_______________________________________________ >Leica Users Group. >See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information