Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/12/28
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]PSchiemer@aol.com wrote: > > Have read with great interest the continuing threads regarding > ‘sharpness’ of lenses, as well diversions spawned from same. > > [...] > > What value a discovery the 90 Elmar is good from f-2.8 to 8, but > really great at f-11, then falls off significantly from there? > Does it really matter!? Half the fun is reading people's opinions of various lenses and hoping that you're going to get a chance to try them out someday (the lenses that is... ;) Besides, sharpness is only one of very many lens qualities. There is this mad preoccupation with a single, easily specified, numerical measure of resolving power which seems to many to be the only decisive factor in choosing a lens. I'd much rather welcome work on trying to establish means of comparing bokeh between lenses/manufacturers. I'm more interested in contrast and tonality than sharpness. But basically, I'm most interested in taking photographs, or learning to, at any rate. I recently attented a local exhibition of b&w photographs taken during the 40's and 50's with lenses whose MTF-performance was probably worse that of contemporary milk bottles, but they far surpassed many pictures taken with modern, razorsharp lenses. > In that way we wouldn’t have to use adjectives like ‘good’, ‘great’, > ‘fantabulous’, or whatever --- it would be a mathematical reference > --- like 80 lines per millimeter at one enlargement to the second > power (2X). Everybody gets better, gray area fades and contrast gets > brighter. God help us! I'd much rather read the enthusiastic message of someone who's just bought a 35 year old lens and hear them use every superlative they know, than to read that it resolved 67 l/mm at bar-code size. I think it's time to follow Ted's advice: Dig out yer underwear, breathe on that lens, give it a swipe and GO TAKE SOME PICTURES! M. - -- Martin V. Howard, Application Systems Laboratory, | Dept. of Comp. & Info. Sci., Linkoping University, | Just "DOHH" it! SE-581 83 Linkoping, Sweden. Tel +46 13 282 421, +----------------+ Fax +46 13 142 231; marho@ida.liu.se; www.ida.liu.se/~marho