Re: [Leica] 50mm Noctilux-M f1

[ted grant <75501.3002@compuserve.com>]

Leon wrote:

<<<You and I have just paid a refreshing tribute to -Motivation-  (In
Photography) on this  Noctilux thread.  I'm in agreement with your well
written and succinct summing up!    >>>>>>

Leon,

Thank you kind sir! :)

I've said before many times that I don't test lenses to the extent that
some of the LUG folks do. As there is only one aperture that I want to see
what it looks like.  Wide open! 

After that I don't give a hoop, as I know the depth of field will increase
if I close down and how much who cares! In most cases I don't really care
as I work most of the time with the lens as close to wide open as I can
keep it and get a correct exposure.

If I know I need greater depth I just whack it down to the smallest
aperture and it works! :) See that's me, the KISS guy! :) I just try to
keep everything as simple as possible, it's easier to remember things! :)

The one test I do regularly with a new lens is, I shoot a couple of rolls
with the lens wide open at varying distances from as close as it will focus
and a bunch in between there and infinity. Achieving correct exposure by
adjusting only the shutter speeds.

Now you have an idea of just how your main subject will stand out from the
background and what the background will look like. I guess it has something
to do with that "bokeh thing" that I never knew what it was until we went
through all those weeks of the out of focus stuff.

Here all these years, I always thought it was supposed to be the in focus
stuff that was important. :)  And all this time when I've done my wide open
test to see what the infocus part looked like against the out of focus part
in the background, I bet I was "doing the bokeh" just like the "funky
bokeh!" And didn't even know it! :)

So much for my lens testing ability.. Keep em wide open all the time and
get rid of all the junk in the background, unless it's good junk and you
need it. Then stop all the way down, don't mess with anythin in between!:)

Like I said keep it simple and it'll work. Lots of nice pleasent surprises
when you shoot this way.

ted