Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/03/15
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Lucien van Dievoet wrote: > > Donal Philby wrote > > <I would recommend a R7 and 35-70 as similar quality except <that, maddeningly , > <the lens doesn't focus close enough. > > Donal, > > I've just finished to reed a PMA report. > Leica just launch a new 35-70 F4 with one Asph lens , minimum focusing 20 cm > ?!?!? > > I'm very disapointed !! > > I was expecting a 35-90mm or 35-100mm F2,8. > > >From my experience, a 35-70mm zoom is one of the useless lens existing ! > > (I already had three of them, Minolta (the same as the Leica 3,5) and Nikon) > > And open at F4 ?? > > What's the point to have one on your camera, if you have to switch to a 80-200mm > only to make a portrait at 90 mmm. > > I hope, whe will see soon, a 35-100mm 2,8 matching the quality of the 70-180mm > f2,8. > > Lucien, Interesting news. Why am I so often dissappointed with industry anouncements??? Nikon just released a new 80-200 with tripod collar, but with same optics and same AF focus speed. It seems like tremendous effort (both R&D and HYPE) is put into vague improvements. I find the 35-70 very useful. In fact, 80-90% of what I do can be done with that lens. My ideal would be a 35-90 f/2. I wouldn't care weight or cost, hardly. But it would be easier to focus than an F/4 and long enough for portraits. I use the 35-70 Nikkor for a lot of boat shooting because it is easy to compensate for how the photo boat is moving along side the boat being shot. And can quickly go from full frame at 70 to vertical or horizontal with sky and background at 35mm. Art directors appreciate the flexibility. Near impossible with fixed lenses, trying to change them mid roll on fast moving boat when I have maybe one or two minutes to do stern quarter, midship and bow views on one roll before we run into land on other side of lake or harbor. The 35-70 f/3.5 is not a great lens, only slightly better than the Nikkor, so the ASPH might be an optical improvement, but my view is--why did they waste their time and money? The R&D on the 100-280 could have been used here. If they made a "great" 35-90 f/2.8 or especially f/2 with one ring focus and zoom, virtually every serious Leica R shooter would have one. Of course, that might be the reasoning--it would decrease sales of the prime lenses!!! The saddest part of your news is that it means we will have to wait more years for a really useful 35-70, instead of having hope for the near future. Donal Philby San Diego