RE: [Leica] 70-180

["Jorg Willems" <jorg@mindspring.com>]

My wife uses this lens a lot to shoot formal pictures for weddings.  Quite
often her (potential) customers are asking (requesting) medium format
pictures.  When they see her portfolio and compare her medium format
(Hasselblad) with the APO 70-180/2.8 pictures they are always speechless.
My wife is petite and constantly complains how heavy the lens is.  She
almost returned it but is thankful that she didn't.  She uses it also for
fashion photography.  Some weeks ago one of her customers used the pictures
for movie theatre advertisements.  It was very impressive to saw those 35mm
pictures on a big movie screen.

This is an awesome lens!

Jörg


- -----Original Message-----
From:	owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
[mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us] On Behalf Of Wolfgang
Hoffmann
Sent:	Wednesday, December 09, 1998 3:52 AM
To:	leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject:	[Leica] 70-180

Ben wrote:
Hello,

I have been thinking about the APO 70-180/2.8 a lot lately.  I heard
that it is a super zoom but it is also very expensive and heavy.
Meantime, I have the followinging mid-tel lens:

    APO 100/2.8
    135/2.8
    180/4

Does any one know how is the optical quality of the zoom comparing to
the 3 lens above?  (Is it really very much better than the 135 and 180
as advised by the saleman?)

Is it a good move to sell off the 135 and 180 and get the new zoom?

Thanks for the advice in advance.


Hi,
  I've had a 70-180 for as long as they have been around.  It is just a
phenomenal lens, great contrast and super sharp.  It comes very close to
the APO 100/2.8.  (BTW the diaphram blades in my 100 APO jammed a week
after I received it, the first lens problem I've had after some 30-40 Leica
lenses).  The drawback of the 70-180 APO  is its weight.  The 135 is still
in the Leica line-up because of its outstanding quality wide open, reaching
maximum at f/4.  I've never used a 180/4.

Wolfgang