Re: [Leica] My cheap kit (I wish)

[TTAbrahams <TTAbrahams@aol.com>]

Andrew, good luck with your "cheap" Leica kit. It is not a bad set up,
disregard any marks on camera bodies, it is a;lways better to get slightly
bashed up cameras than those mint ones. It does not hurt as much when you dent
it yourself. There is nothing worse than having paid multi$ for a Leica and
then ding and realize that you right now have a camera that is worth 1/2 what
you paid for it!!
 The weakest link in your lens chain is probably the 90/4. The early 35 and
the 50 are very good lenses, even by todays standard. The contrast is lower
than on the newer lenses, but they are certainly sharp enough for most work.
The mark on the inside of the 50 could be beginning of "fungus". The coatings
and " canadian  balsam" used to assemble the lenses is subject to aging and
can cause this spots. In most cases it does not affect the picture taking
quality of the lens, it might cut a bit off the speed of the optic ( your f2
could be a f2,001 instead).
 The one thing to be very carreful with is cleaning these lenses. The early
coatings on the M-lenses are quite prone to scratching. In your case I would
advise to put UV-filters on them. 
 Sorry, there is no known cure for the " large  aperture syndrome" that you
are suffering from. The Nocti is a great lens, if you like wide open apertures
and minimalist depth-of-field, the 75/1,4 is another champ in that area. It
will teach you the meaning of  careful focussing as well as build up strength
as these are heavy lenses to carry around. My suggestion is to start looking
around for a slightly faster 90, a 90/2.8 or even the old style 90/2 ( a very
good lens and provides excellent training for carrying Nocti's and S-lux 75's
around). The old 90/2 is not a hot seller as shooters tend to favour the newer
90/2 or even the 90/2,8 Elmarit-M, this has kept the price down on the old
style 90/2.
Good luck with the Leica and buy more film instead of lenses.
Tom A