Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/03/29
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Ted Grant, Jim Brick, Erwin Puts, et al There's been a lot of significant "chat" over the last month; I just could not stay offline any longer ;-). First & foremost, I've traded in all my M gear, I know it was not easy :-( ; however, my primary motive was to get to a basic set of Leica SLR gear. I've just ordered the new 180 APO f2.8 glass & will then try to sort out how to further prune my gear. It looks like, based on what I shoot, I'm converging toward four fixed focal lenses; a. ) 24mm. b.) 35mm. c.) 80/90mm d.) 180mm. However, I'm certainly not going to give up my 70-180 APO ( a great field lens ) & my 280 f4 APO; the optics are just too damn good. Besides I'd lose too much money :-)! Relative to an optimal blend of process ( R8 ) & content ( Leica glass ); nothing beats a Leica SLR system. Throw in the R8 winder & the resultant balance with these fixed focal lengths ( 24, 35, 90, 180 ) are a sheer joy to use. Don't get me wrong, I'm not giving up my R7s; they have turned out to be very reliable cameras. I'll keep two R7s & two R8s; & nothing beats that R7/handgrip with my 90mm lens for hand held portrait work. I'm only left with one "puzzle"; that concerns my 80mm Summilux. I like the focal length & the glass has a special "character"; however, I'll have to sort out which focal length ( 80mm OR 90MM ) becomes my choice for portraits. It'll be more difficult if Leica comes out with a R 90 f2 APO; however, I'll probably end up keeping the 80mm Summilux because of it's unique optical "character". Erwin, are you able to define the unique character of the Summilux? Enough ramblings for now :-)! Tom D.