[Leica] BD's lens choices

["Stewart, Alistair" <AStewart@gigaweb.com>]

BD,

I just saw my friend Tom Arndt downtown in Central Camera yesterday.

He normally uses 2 motored M6's with 35/1.4 Asph and 75/1.4. Yesterday, he
was carrying one body only, with a 50/ 'cron. I always tease him about the
weight of his gear, and how using 75/1.4 on the street is like driving your
4WD yuppiewagon to pick up the groceries. He is the one guy I know that can
use a 75 like most of us use a 90. Yesterday he 'fessed up to enjoying a
lightweight outfit more and more, however.

So, on to your ???. If you have only two bodies, load them up with tri-x for
regular light, and either tri-x pushed 4 stops, or Tmax3200, Neopan 1600, or
Delta3200 pushed appropriately.

At the wide end, go 21. You will have a learning curve  - which would be
less if you chose 24.
Ignore the 75 (gulp, I see the flames approaching) and buy 2 50's  - a
'cron, and a Noct.

Low light - go 35 & Noct, with the 90 in your bag.
Regular light go 21, 35, with the 50'cron, and 90 in your bag. 
Regular light, confined spaces: 21, 35, with 50'cron & possibly 90 in your
bag. 


If you have 3 bodies, put 2475 film in the third, and get vready for a whole
new experience, with the lens appropriate to what the situation demands.
Remember to code your bodies with a touch/visual cue as to what's loaded, in
addition to the film speed dial. I do this by keeping my 2475 body armed
with one of Tom's black Softies, and an ARW. The Tri-x bodies have green
softies.(I only use Tri-X these days, I get better results pushing it than I
did with Tmax2300/Neopan - but that's probably due to me not working hard
enough at souping technique and consistency


BTW, I have all the lenses we discuss above, except my 21's are SA/3.4, and
last 21/2.8 non-asph, goggled up by Reinhold. The 75 is the hardest to use -
like the Noct it comes from the factory with a stiff focus. Under passport,
no problem to get it adjusted, but maybe $40-$100 if out of passport. Wide
open, about one shot per roll is tack sharp focused in situations where I
can't control things, people, and events.  The Nocti or 90'cron wide open
hit rate is marginally less terrible.

Also, the Nocti on the M3 is great unless you use the shade, when I really
find myself in trouble seeing what it is cutting off. So although the
focusing accuracy might be technically better with the M3/M6 HM models, it
comes at a price. (damn, where is that free lunch?) When attempting Nocti
composition, the move-the-camera-down-and-to-the-right bob looks very funny.


I hope that this helps and doesn't confuse you even more.

Best of light,

Alistair
- -----Original Message-----
From: B. D. Colen [mailto:bdcolen@earthlink.net]
Sent: Thursday, August 26, 1999 2:02 PM
To: Leica-Users@Mejac. Palo-Alto. Ca. Us (E-mail)
Subject: [Leica] THANKS! From Dr. Blacktape and B.D.


Over time I will respond privately to those of you who were so kind as to
offer your wishes, best and otherwise!;-)

I want to take this opportunity to say, briefly, that I really was
overwhelmed both by the number of those of you who sent best wishes, and who
some of you were...Folks whom on occasion the good doctor may have
"disagreed" a tad with. This list really is an amazing little experiment in
instant universal community of one sort or another....It is, quite frankly,
the only thing I would really miss if I had to give up the internet...

NOW..onto the IMPORTANT STUFF...

I hate question like this, but I'll pose it anyway:

Suppose you already had a 35 1.4 and a 90 f.2...You could add either a 21
ASPH and a 24ASPH....a 21 ASPH, or a 24ASPH, AND a 75 Summilux. You shoot
virutally all b&w...all available light...all people, much of it in tight
surroundings,....which would you chose and why? (I have used a 21
extensively, love it, do get enormous use out of it, but find it a bit
extreme at times. I have owned a Nikon 24 and used it extensively, but found
at time it wasn't quite wide enough...Which means, do I go for the two
wides, and say to hell with the 75? Or do I add that fabulous 75 with it's
extra stop, and settle on one super wide?...Help Me Before The Insurance
Check Comes!

B. D.