Re: 100 F4 Macro-R

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

   From: seungmin@luxmail.luxcom.com
   Date: Mon, 06 Jan 97 09:24:44 PST
   Subject: 100 F4 Macro-R

    Hi,

      I have heard and read that the lens is one of the black sheep of 
    Leica lens family that I should try to avoid unless it is offered very 
    cheap.  I wonder if this is true.  I would appropriate any info on 
    this.

I don't have one of these lenses, but I haven't heard it's an
out-and-out dog; just that its performance isn't everything one might
wish for.  I am now going to do something kind of silly: I am going to
quote lens test results (argh!).  CI gave the 100/4 a "good" rating
for optical quality.  The Nikon and Canon equivalents get "very good"
ratings.  The 100/2.8 APO Macro gets an "excellent" rating.

I don't think magazine lens tests are usually very useful -- user
testimony is much better, and well-thought-out articles by informed
enthusiasts comparing similar lenses that they like are the best of
all (like the Viewfinder "Legendary Leica Lenses" series).  I haven't
used the 100/4 myself, but I've seen 8x10's made with the 100/4 for
bellows.  They looked quite good to me, but they were macro
photographs of wildflowers, and the edges of the images contained only
background which was not in the plane of focus, so I couldn't evaluate
edge sharpness.

In the U.S., the 100/4 for bellows costs about $300-350 used in
near-mint condition.  With focusing mount, it's about $600 used.  The
100/2.8 APO Macro seems to be commonly offered at about $1900 used.
That makes it not worth it to me; but at $300 the 100/4 is a bargain,
and I've intended for some time to buy one; I just haven't gotten
around to it because my 135 and 50 cover most of what I need when
mounted on a bellows -- they're just occasionally too limited.  I
might well buy a 100/2.8 APO Macro if I saw one for sale for $1200,
but (a) this is unlikely to happen! and (b) I would have the intention
of using it as an everyday lens, not just for macro.

- -Patrick