Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/02/19
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Eric Welch wrote: >>I've been on the market for a Leica 180 three times. Well, four, but the first one was the old 180, that doesn't count. When push came to shove, I always bought the Elmarit.<< Today I received the new 180/3.4 Apo Telyt ROM. Shot a roll of Elite II, the same film I shot with the 180/2.8 I had for a half a day, and can definitely see the difference in the two lenses with a 10x loupe. The 180/3.4 shows better resolution/sharpness. The 180/2.8 was shot at f/4 and the 180/3.4 also at f/4 in order to keep the shutter speed up at 1/1000. I was only able to shoot 3 frames with the 2.8 before it died so I shot the exact same subject with the 180/3.4 as my first subject and to use as the basis for comparison. For me, I'm glad I went with the 180/3.4 instead of the 2.8. Something I found interesting (maybe everyone else knew this but I didn't) is the 180/3.4 is stamped made in Canada even though it is a brand new current Leica ROM lens. Or at least I thought it was a current lens. Perhaps Leica had a stock of them that they retrofitted with ROM contacts? The serial number 3637674 is possibly an older number from a few years ago? Does anyone out there have a brand new Solms lens (doesn't matter what lens it is just that it is made in Solms) that they can tell me their serial number for comparison purposes? The packaging is the same as other current Solms lenses I have seen in the recent past. Regards, Don