Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1995/12/16
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]My 35mm cameras are Leicas because I consider them the best made, and the lenses are both sharp and produce good contrast. (The Nikons I used to use were about as sharp but delivered less contrast, and therefore less tone separation. I like Leicas.) That said, I think extended discussions about whether 35 Summicrons are better/sharper/whatever than 50 Summicrons are pointless on the face of it. Even if you compared film shot on test charts, with working distances adjusted for magnification, and were able to determine resolving power and contrast for each--for, say, the two best examples in the world--where would you be? Would you refuse to use the 35 (or the 50) because the other was sharper? And that's under controlled conditions, presumably with film as sharp as the lenses (slow film). If you're trying to make picture comparisons with 400 ISO film, I think you'll never reach a conclusion, because the film's resolving power will max out before the lenses will. I think such a focus on pedigree and specification may well apply to camera collecting, but it is irrelevant to the making of pictures. --- Ed Reading ereading@oz.net 206-774-4977