[Leica] 35mm Summilux ASPH imaging (was: Ein Stuck Lens ?)

[Jeff Moore <jbm@instinet.com>]

At 20 Feb 1998 01:51:13 +0100, Alfred Breull <puma@hannover.sgh-net.de> wrote:

> But, as soon, as the unsharp fore-/background is a fundamental 
> part of the picture (or if DOF includes distances above 30 feet), 
> I'm disappointed, and wished my old 2/35 Summicron back to me.

Yep.  As you may recall, some months ago I mentioned having borrowed a 
friend's ASPH Summilux at a party for a few snaps.  I ended up taking a 
picture with it which I like, but which I wish I'd taken with my pre-ASPH 
Summicron, the lens I'd come with.  It's a head-and-shoulders shot at 
f/1.4 or f/2, with some green leaves in the near background;  it was a 
gently overcast day, so the color saturation is appealing.  But there's a 
hard-edged look (your word "blocky" describes it well) to the out-of-focus 
leaves, and the subject's shirt, a pattern of black-and-white squares, is 
rendered in a disturbing fashion as it goes out of focus.  That picture 
was enough to keep me from continuing to consider saving my pennies for 
an ASPH Summilux.

On the other hand, I *did* get swept up in the feeding frenzy for 35mm ASPH 
Summicrons -- and I like that lens a lot;  there's a snappy crispness in the 
range of good focus, but I see no disturbing artifacts as objects go out of 
focus.

 -Jeff