Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/01/21
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Patrick, Erwin, Thib, etc: With the exception of Ted, who talks of Leica glass as I might cutlery, I have never thought, or heard that Leica's strength was sharpness. I use Leica lens for these reasons. 1. Smooth tonality, easy to spot on B&W film, but more important with films like Velvia because it turns the blazing contrast into resolvable shadows. 2. Detailed images. Often the micro details visible in a Leica image make an image look less sharp. But the details are what allow those great enlargements. 3. Great color. I can't say that it is specificaly warm, because my Canon lenses are warm, but sometimes neutral tones can go a bit yellow with the canon glass. The Leica lenses give you the thing that makes evening light so nice, without the color shift. 4. Smooth Boke. Sorry guys, but it's there. If you want sharpness shoot with a Fuji GS645s. It's a 120 camera that will cut you with it's sharpness. But make sure everything is in focus, because the out of focus areas look terrible. The thing I love about the 50mm Summicron is how the things that aren't sharp are rendered. I had a 1960s vintage Nikkor 50mm 1.4 that was nearly as nice, but it was a unique specimin, I tried to find others and never could. Sharpness doesn't make the list. If you want sharpness buy japanese lenses. There are some great sharp Nikkors, they just make uninteresting photographs. Don't start, I know photographers make uninteresting photographs, not lenses. Tom