Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/09/12
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Dan, I just carefully studied some slides taken with the recently purchased new 90mm Apo-Asph Summicron. The pictures are not particularly interesting, so I will not be posting them anywhere, but the conclusions are as follows: 1) My standard lens testing procedure is to take pictures of some small statues of the Three Kings that my wife keeps in our dining room. They are about 1 ft. tall, and I put the camera on a tripod at a distance of about 1 m. I then took a series of pictures at all apertures. This is quite a stringent test for both the lens and the rangefinder. Looking at the slides (Fuji Provia 100), I find that the image quality is excellent at all apertures, and I can barely see a difference between f2 and f8 in terms of sharpness. In fact, I suspect that if I did not see the effect of the wide aperture from the varying depth of field, I would be hard pressed to tell the difference between the images. In other words, like other top Leica lenses, this one delivers outstanding performance already at full aperture. 2) Handheld shots of some fountains and building details confirm the testing impression: very snappy and sharp slides. I do not find the contrast excessive, but then again, I have not tried the lens with Velvia. Somebody asked about the comparison between this lens and the latest 90mm Elmarit. I used to have one of those and liked it a lot. In handheld shooting I don't know if the new lens is sharper, I will trust Erwin's test results there; but it is certainly a lot better at f2 ;-) Also, the lens is quite compact for its focal length and aperture, and there is no problem with viewfinder blocking. Nathan Dan Cardish wrote: > I appreciate your post, but I am looking for comments from the few people > who actually have the lens. This mailing list is full of opinions about > things from people who never actually use those things. I have also read > Erwin's reports, but I want to see some actual "field reports", if there > are any. > > Dan C. - -- Nathan Wajsman Overijse, Belgium General photo site: http://members.tripod.com/belgiangator/ Belgium photo site: http://members.xoom.com/wajsman/ Motorcycle site: http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Downs/1704/