Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/05/04
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Pascal - Everyone has their own slant on the question of lens comparisons, but mine is that "identical" lenses from the same manufacturer vary quite a bit from one to the next. I think Leica lenses vary less than others, but the discerning lens tester will always detect variabilities. It is true that certain lenses seem to outperform others (e.g. Leica M Summicrons, old Nikon 85/1.8s, etc.), but I suspect that detectable differences exist even here. This may be heresy to some on the list, but for the money Leica charges for the 35/1.4, I would test two (or even three) before deciding on one. While you don't necessarily have to take the lens home to do this, it is important to test the lenses on a tripod at a few different apertures, including wide open. With the M cameras, you're probably going to own only a few lenses, and you should be very satisfied with each of them. Ultimately Marc is right though. If you like Nikon, shoot it, especially if you can't tell the differences in your final prints or slides. John McLeod