[Leica] divergent opinions

[Doug Herr <71247.3542@compuserve.com>]

Erwin wrote:

>I myself cannot contribute to the Lug anymore since Eric in his Olympic
>wisdom has decreed that testers of lenses have worthless information about
>lenses compared to his own views.

I value the opinions of Eric and the analysis of Erwin.  Erwin tells me
what optical performance the lens is capable of, while Eric's opinion is of
the equipment in field use.  At various times my goal can be either to
maximize the technical quality of my images, in which case I'll use a good
tripod, Kodachrome 25 and optimum technique, where Erwin's opinion carries
more weight, or to capture a fleeting image under difficult conditions,
where Eric's opinion of the equipment's handling is paramount.  IMHO, both
are valid uses of Leica equipment.  I favor the field use opinion because I
frequently use my equipment under difficult field conditions and at the
same time Jim Brick's optimum technique with his R-cameras demonstrates
under real-world conditions how much can be done with 24x36mm of film.

Given two lenses of equal optical quality, I'll choose the one with better
handling.  Given two lenses of equal handling qualities I'll pick the one
that cuts a finer image on film.  When faced with equipment with unequal
qualities I'll pick the one best suited to the task at hand.  Now will you
guys quit bickering?!?

Doug Herr
Sacramento