Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/03/07
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]At 07:52 PM 6/3/99 +0000, you wrote: > >>I still like the lens, but try not to use it wide open unless it is >>absolutely necessary. > >>>>This is normal behavior. My 35 f2 does the same thing. I was so >>>>curious about this lousy open aperture >>>>performance I even wrote Erwin, and he confirmed my results. It seems >>>>that until you get to f3.5 the edge >>>>performance of this lens is really crummy. > >I know this is going to sound blasphemous to this list, but there are some >Leica users who actually like this crummy effect. Chances are, if you are >shooting wide open with fast film then the light is not very available and >edge unsharpness becomes an effect. And I can't get that same crummy effect >with my Nikon 35mm f2. The Nikon prints don't have the same sharp, unsharp >look (glow) that the Leica prints do. I hope there is more to photography, >Leica photography even, than edge to edge tack sharpness. If there isn't, >I'm doomed. ~:) > >Bill Franson > I think that there are a lot of people who are obsessed with sharpness. They diligently compare lens charts and are most unhappy when their present lens is not "up to par". Many members of the Contax Club to which I belong talk only of sharpness and nothing else whenever they do camera small talk. They were most surprised when I brought up the subject of Bokeh. That is going to change over time because many Contax owners also own leica gear and thanks to Brian Bowers' recent Lens Book, the issue of Bokeh is now perpetually imprinted in black and white. To me, photography is an artform and the older 35/2 still delivers the goods better than my asph version. Dan K.