Re: Summilux-R 80mm f/1.4 info wanted

[ted grant <75501.3002@CompuServe.COM>]

Pascal wrote:

<<Anyone having experience with the Summilux-R 80 mm f/1.4 lens?>>>>

Hi Pascal,

I have had one since they came on the market and have used it at all apertures
and it works just fine from wide open to smallest.

It is absolutely fantastic wide open and I've shot lots of Kodachrome 64 wide
open where others fear to tread. :)  It creates a wonderful out of focus
ethereal effect of the background that separates the main subject like nothing
you've ever seen.

If you are going to purchase this lens, as it is very expensive surely you would
buy it to use wide open or closed down only a couple of stops for most of it's
use.

I believe I've said before, I have always purchased lenses for the speed of the
lens first and what it'll do after that second, due to the way I shoot 99.9% of
my work by available light.

I've used the 80mm 1.4 in steel mills, operating rooms, mines and factories and
high roller restaurants and it has never failed to give pictures by available
light that make me look good. :)

<<<They said that quality of this lens would be deteriorating if used at normal
(smaller) apertures.>>>>>

When I hear things like this from "Leica people" or others it usually means one
of the folks referring to the test bench where you might see something, but they
have never taken the lens out and shot pictures with it where in actual fact the
human eye probably wouldn't detect any  deteriorating effect from aperture to
another unless you were using an incredibly powerful magnifier like on a test
bench.

My bottom line comment: If you are going to use it for wide aperture available
light shooting there isn't much better. If you are not going to do the majority
of the shooting in this fashion, why spend the money and buy something else. :)

ted