[none]

[Tom Bryant <tbryant@pars5.gsfc.nasa.gov>]

Hl Luggers,

    Ted has thrown down a gauntlet for an irresistable spewing of opinions.

1: when did the first Leica appear?

   1926 or so.

2: Who invented the Leica?  And when?

   Oskar Barnack, circa 1912-13

3: What is the NOOKEY"   "I did not have sex with that camera!" :)

    A close up device for screwable Leicas, Oops!... I mean screw mount Leicas.

4: what is the actual difference between a Summicron and a Summilux?

    1 f stop.

5: Which is the better of the two aforementioned lenses? And why?

    See photodo.com for MTF tests. 

    The Summilux.  It's a great trade off between sharpness, portability, and
    speed.  Especially with the vented shade, you don't loose much of the
    lower right corner of your view.  I find that I use it wide open about 50%
    of the time.  Of course, if you are always using f/5.6 on your tripod
    mounted Leica, this argument is, in the best Vulcan tradition, illogical.
    Get a late model Summicron.

6: When did the first Leicaflex appear on the market?

    circa 1968.

7: Is it true that senior E Lietz thought the SLR camera design was a fad?

    Probably.

8  How many screw mount Leicas were made?

    A lot.

9:  Before WW2 and after?

    Yes

10: Which Leica body design is considered the best?  (No fighting now!)

    The late model M3.

11: Which one actually "IS THE BEST TO DATE?"

    The late model M3.

12: Is the Noctilux the best Leica lens ever made for speed?

    It's the best 50mm commercial lens for the 35mm format for f/1 speed ever
    made.

13: How about registering on film quality?

    Depends on manfacturing differences between the film lots, grain, what
    effect you (the photographer) wants (you usually don't really know until
    *after* the shoot), age of the film, actual light during the shoot, care
    in processing (fresh chemicals, clean tanks, compentent darkroom
    technician), and, to a lesser extent, temperature and humidity during and
    after the shoot.

    In short, it's a bit of a crap shoot.  There are more variables here than
    most of us, especially amateurs, can deal with.  To tell the truth, I have
    a hard time telling between Fuji and Kodak's ASA 100 color negative stuff,
    although I have seen differences between the ASA 800+, as the Kodak seems
    to be better.

14: Did the early M4 cameras have a fault inside that caused scratching length
    wise on the film?

    A friend who had one never complained, but that's only 1 sample.

15: Of the Leica zoom lenses..which is considerd the best? To date?

    Me? Own a zoom??? Gaaaaak!!!!!!  Too delicate.  Too Fuzzy.  Too SLOW!

16: Who is considered the greatest all round Leica photographer to date?

    HCB.  Or A. Eisenstat. Or Gene Smith.  (I guess I do live in the past!)
    I've seen some very nice stuff by others, including many of the Luggers
    out there.

17: If there were only one camera in the Leica world which model would you
have?

    Late model M3.

18: What is the difference between the IIIF and the IIIG?

    Price.  You can see Steve Grady's CameraQuest site for more details.

19: What year and model did the rangefinder become enclosed as part of the
body?

    Yes.

29: Who was the designer/inventor of the Noctilux?

    It's a variant of the double Gauss design, so I'll say Carl F. Gauss.

    (The answer you're looking for is on Erwin's web pages, but I'm too lazy
    to look it up right now)

21: What other lenses was he responsible for?

    Just about every f/2 or greater lens ever made.

22: Are chrome or black lenses different in weight?

    Yawnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn! Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

    OK My turn.  

1) Leica Ms are well know to be more hand-holdable at shutter speeds slower
than, say, 1/15th second, than their SLR bretheren.  Why is this?

2) The Japanese have come out with any number of ultra wide angle lenses, in
the 13-17mm range.  Some of them are horrible (I just dumped a 17mm f/3.5
Tokina.  It was fuzzy at all apertures), and some pretty good (the high end
offerings of Canon and Nikon).  Leica has never jumped past 21.  The Zeiss
15mm f/8 Hologon (sp) doesn't really count.  The M Leica, with it's ability to
accomodate lenses almost touching its shutter (at least for the M2-M4) could
have had some memorable ultra wides.  This never happened.  Why?

3) Purists argue that a UV filter decreases lens sharpness/contrast.  By how
much?  Has anyone actually taken side by side photos which effectively
demonstrate the increased flare / decreased sharpness.?

    OK,  I have the flame retardent Nomex cover on the keyboard. Go for it.

    Tom