Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/01/29
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]>Current conventional wisdom has it that the current Leica M 90 f2.8 Elmarit >(not the tele-Elmarit you tested) is the best 90 Leica has ever made. The >raves have come from all over ... I think it's the choice if you can live >with >the f2.8 maximum aperture. Well, since it's four times the cost of the Nikkor, the fact that it's a stop _slower_ is kind of a slap in the face, hence my interest in non-Leica and hence possibly less expensive alternatives. >I would argue that, if you are applying contemporary standards of judgment >to >lens quality, you will not be happy with any of the older lenses you >mention >... Many of them are quite sharp, but all of them will fall down in >contrast >and saturation as compared with today's models ... To each his >own--but, as I >say, if you apply contemporary standards, considering >sharpness, saturation, >and contrast, I think you'll be happier with >current lenses. I'm sure you are right, and I'm also sure I will not find an early-design, non-multi-coated screw-mount lens with the general optical excellence of a Nikkor lens that was introduced in the early 1980s. BUT... I shoot only black and white, and much of my work is done indoors and in situations where only a very small portion of the image is even _meant_ to be in sharp focus. If the lens renders the central portion of the field sharply at all apertures, and if the rendition of out-of-focus areas is smooth rather than lumpy, I'll be happy. >Have fun with your search--Charlie I have already been offered the opportunity to purchase a used Russian Jupiter 85/2 thread-mount lens for less than what I will probably have to pay for the TM -> bayonet adapter, so the search has indeed been interesting. - -- Nick - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Nicholas Hartmann hartmann@interaccess.com P.O. Box 1005 73057.724@compuserve.com Oak Park, IL 60304 (708) 524-1191 USA fax (708) 524-1355 Technical and scientific translator: German, French, Italian -> English