Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/04/27
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Hi All! This is a repeat of a lost message posted Friday last week. A comparison test of the new APO 180 vs the current 180 Elmarit was conducted under the following conditions: Fuji Velvia rated at 50, early morning, Pacific Northwest SUNLIGHT (yes we do get sun) about 10:1 contrast range in the picture. The subject was top back lit with no fill. I chose some small purple and white flowers growing in my back yard against a green - shadows shrubery for full density range. Tested the lenses with APO2x convertor wide open and stopped down, and with out convertor wide open and stopped down. 1) The APO exhibited a brighter, truer color from the purple flowers. The non APO lense tended to muddy the purple and make it slightly darker. Close evaluation of the entire image shows equal density throughout the green background so little likely hood of exposure error. Plus I bracketed +/-. 2) The APO is absolutely tack sharp with the 2x APO wide open! Fine detail (thistle backlit) is preserved with fantastic detail. Close focus to 5' = about 1:4 ratio? 3) The out of focus areas are much more pronounced. The outer border of the defracted light has a small halo around it. Sort of a mini mirror lense effect but much more subtle. The older Elmarit has a much softer rendition. 4) The range from f4-f6.3 shows a peculiar star shaped aperture pattern due to the unique diaphragm. 5) The APO is a great performer, no bleeding of highlights into the shadows (diffraction) which means better highlight detail through D Min. Al