Re: Re: [Leica] Above AF

["usinet.srlond" <srlondon@ibm.net>]

>I've never used the G2, so I can't give you an opinion about it.
>I hope our colleagues who are well acquainted with the G2 and its lenses
>would write a comparison opinion.
 
I am not familiar with all of the G2 lenses, but I have had great 
experiences with the 90mm f/2.8 Sonnar and 35mm f/2 Planar.  The 90mm 
Sonnar was stated to be the best medium tele ever tested by Pop Photo 
(take it for what you will), a claim which has been substantiated in my 
own experience.  It is very sharp wide open and has extremely good 
suppression of flare in adverse lighting conditions (spotlights in dark 
rooms, etc).  The lens is great for portraits.  It renders a pleasing out 
of focus background and neutral color rendition.  I think this lens 
shines in cases when you have to shoot wide open, but would have a 
difficult time focusing on a moving subject due to limited DOF (small 
children, pets, performances, etc.)  The lens is also commendably compact.

I am also pleased with the 35mm Planar.  While some users have complained 
about some loss of quality wide open, I have not found this to be a 
problem.  At middle apertures, I have found the lens to be comparable to 
the last pre-asph 35mm summicron in sharpness.  Photos taken with the 
lens have a certain "snap".  Color renditions appears slightly colder 
than the Summicron to my eye.  This lens is similar in size to the 
pre-asph Summicron as well (which is to say, compact).

For the money ($500 or so for the 90mm Sonnar, less for the 35mm Planar), 
you are probably not going to find better performing lenses.  I have 
found the build quality and performance of the camera to be excellent.  
The G2 is a niche camera with its own individual quirks like the M's, so 
don't expect to master it the first time you pick it up.  As a 
rangefinder, I find it much more like an SLR with its automation and 
operation, while the M6 is obviously more bare-bones.  If you're going 
for a G camera, pay a bit more for the G2.  There are extra features 
which will make it well worth your while.  Also, plan on using the camera 
in autofocus mode.  The manual focus setting is a waste of your time.... 
you are still using the electronic rangefinder and trusting the aiming 
recticle in the viewfinder, but have to fiddle with the focusing wheel on 
the front of the camera.  The AF mode frees you from troubling with 
focusing (the whole point of the G2 over the M6, IMHO), and there is a 
distance scale which gives a rough distance estimate of the focus point 
in the viewfinder, as well as a more precise number on the LCD on top of 
the camera.