Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/11/26
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I've been hearing so much about this lens that I am seriously considering obtaining one. I'd always considered it too long for a standard and too short for a tele, but now I'm looking from another perspective, which is that it might actually be the most economical way to have a super-fast M lens for occasional low-light work, as opposed to both a 50/1.4 and 90/2 (I currently own only 50/2 and 90/2.8). I'm searching for a second-hand one in my travels, but until I find one to try out I'd appreciate some feedback from anyone who has used this lens extensively... just a few specific questions: Performance wide-open vs. the current 90 Summicron (both lenses date from 1980)...does the 75 have the same low-contrast, slightly-soft rendition @ "portrait" distances? Flare. How does it handle point-sources such as ceiling floodlights in theatres? Focussing. I'll be using mine on 0,72 viewfinder (which was the only type available with 75 framelines for 17 years, so Leica must have felt it was up to the task?) But has anyone who uses this lens on a 0,72 found it difficult to get sharp focus @ f/1.4 in the 1m-5m range? Handling. What is the slowest handheld shutter speed you find practicable with this lens to obtain acceptibly sharp images? Also, do you find that having the lower right 1/4 of the frame obsured by the lenshood presents an infuriating problem? Lastly, Eric mentioned a savings of $1000 by buying second-hand. The least price for a used version in Mint to Mint- condition which I've been able to obtain from any of the well-reputed dealers mentioned frequently on the LUG is US$1699 compared to a new German version at US$2295. Even $600 is a lot of money if the 2 versions perform identically. Is there *any* advantage (beside a 40g weight decrease) to the new version? If not, does anyone know what's missing from the new one that cut the weight? Thanks so much. Nigel ___________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]