Re: Dreaded "Christmas Tree Test."

[pgs@thillana.lcs.mit.edu (Patrick Sobalvarro)]

   From: "Richard W. Hemingway" <n5xrd@telepath.com>
   Date: Wed, 01 Jan 1997 21:30:58 -0600

   Actually, I don't remember where I first read about it, where it was called
   the "dreaded Christmas tree test" - but I believe it was in a publication
   about Leica cameras.  Anyone else that has seen it called that???

This was in the caption on page 36 of the first quarter 1996
Viewfinder, in the article on the Summarit 50/1.5.  I only know this
because I was looking at it recently, because this great series of
articles ("Legendary Leica Lenses") mentions the Zeiss Sonnar a few
times, and I wanted to see if they said anything about it displaying
coma, because I have this Jupiter-3, which I think is a Zeiss Sonnar
copy, and it displays coma, at least in Christmas tree lights that are
out of focus.  I'm sending off another test roll tomorrow where I've
actually photographed Christmas tree lights that are in focus, and
we'll see...

Umm, for those of you who were wondering what coma looks like, there's
a picture in that neat little book, "Leica Lens Practice," by Dennis
Laney.

- -Patrick