Re: [Leica] Old ./. new lenses

["Dan Post" <dwpost@email.msn.com>]

DC-
I have to agree. Erwin is right, insofar as the stand alone properties of
Leica lenses, they are getting better all the time, but we are not all
blessed with access to sophisticated equipment, and I am for certain that
the lab I work in has none. The means with which we produce the finish
images- prints in particular, have not keep apace with Leicas work
We can discuss the MTF of the Leica lenses all day long ( and, golly, we
sure have done that on occasion!) but the MTF of your whole system- the
camera lens MTF, the MTF of the film, the MTF of your projector all play a
part, and the best image, in the end, is determined by the weakest element.
Heaven help us who make prints, and have to contend with the MTFs of the
enlarging lens, and the paper!
Earlier some discussion on LTM lenses- well, once my film is printed out on
our Fuji printer, the photos taken with the Summitar, Elmar, and Summicron,
all look about the same! I take that to mean that when I print with a
Fujinon lens, even the Summitar looks good!!
Under a 40x microscope, I can see the differences, but in terms of getting
what you want on film, any Leitz lens made in the last 40-45 years is going
to be hard to beat... Unless by another Leica lens!
Dan
- -----Original Message-----
From: Dan Cardish <dcardish@microtec.net>
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Date: Saturday, May 08, 1999 8:14 PM
Subject: Re: [Leica] Old ./. new lenses


>I think it depends on hard hard you look, and who you ask.  My 60s era DR
>Summicron makes an excellent photograph, every bit as good as modern lenses
>(IMHO), yet the resident expert on these matters, Erwin Puts, will tell you
>that the modern Summicrons are optically better.  I am sure he is correct,
>but no one has told my DR!
>
>It depends on how much of a perfectionist you are by nature.  If you simply
>must have the best, the ASPH lenses are the way to go, and if you are
>careful, you will probably see the differences.  Otherwise, the older
>lenses are still fine performers.
>
>Dan C.
>
>At 01:31 AM 09-05-99 +0200, you wrote:
>>   Hi all! I am new to this list, but I am old leica fan. I own a M3, M4,
>>M5, Summicron 35, 50, 90, Elmarit 135. 2 Pradovit 250 Autofocus combined
>>with a  DU 24M, etc. Everything bought in the 70 except the M3 which I
>>bought a few  months ago. (I always wanted to work with a M3!) >>> Do you
>>think a can sell my lenses and buy new  ones, those with APO and ASPH? Or,
>>to be precice: Can you really see the difference??? What are your
>>experiences???  Thanks for your  advice: Peter
>>__________________________________________
>>                   Wolfgang Peter Loehndorf
>>       Am Zollhof 23,  D-46487 Wesel, Germany
>><wp.loehndorf@cityweb.de><wpl@privat.wmo.de>