Re: [Leica] Apo and asph: pros and cons

[TEAShea <TEAShea@aol.com>]

In a message dated 98-04-08 18:33:42 EDT, you write:

<< We have been excited for many months about the aspheric series of lenses
for
 the Leica M and the apochromatic lenses for the Leica R.
 On the one hand, many improvements have been noted compared to the older
 designs. On the other hand, some users have commented on the extreme
 sharpness of the 100mm f2.8 Elmarit R that is a drawback in portraiture and
 the lack of "bokeh"  with the 35mm f1.4 Summilux M. Since most of us are
 interested in upgrading our photographic tools it would be interesting to
 hear from users as well as optics experts about the pros and cons of these
 new designs. I hope this will stimulate some timely discussion.
  >>

Well, let me first tell you I generally have a stong bias toward sharp rather
than soft lenses.  The new generation of Leica M lenses are excellent for me.
They have largely been able to eliminate the curvature of field that many of
the older lenses had.  They also have substantially improved corner sharpness
and contrast that reveals very fine details.  

The issue of a lens being too sharp for a portrait is and interesting one.
For many kinds of portraits, I like the very sharp, detailed look.  However,
for women and girls, I often like a very soft look.  For these I generally use
a special Canon soft focus lens.  One could use one of the many soft effect
filters that are available.  Although I have never found one I really like, I
am confident that there are some useful soft focus filters out there.  I have
seen many favorable comments in the photo groups on the net about these.

Tom Shea