[Leica] Visoflex III + telyt 400/6.8 ?

[Doug Herr <Telyt@compuserve.com>]

Xavier wrote:

>>>
- - Is the viso still a solution compared to modern SLR camera ?
- - What's the quality of the 400 mm ?
     (should be ok, I saw some terrific pic one the web site of Doug Herr)
- - What about the focussing ?
- - Which other lenses (200 mm?) fit the viso III ?
- - Is the price correct ?
- - etc.
<<<

Xavier,

I'm not what one could call an unbiased LUGger on the subject of the 400mm
f/6.8 Telyt, but:

The Telyt is bright, sharp and contrasty, gives me clear, saturated colors,
but shows some flare (not bad) when the sun is shining directly on the
front element.  Lenses with this simple two-element design show some field
curvature.  This hasn't been a problem for me since most of the photos I've
made with this lens are of a single subject with an out-of-focus foreground
and background.  In some cases the field curvature has improved the
sharpness of foreground areas.

I've hardly ever used it any any aperture other than f/6.8, because I use
it hand-held and want the fastest possible shutter speed.  With the
shoulder stock I can use it at shutter speeds as slow as 1/60 sec with
excellent results (i.e., the Prairie Warbler photo on my website).  IMHO
it's not as convenient on a tripod as a more conventional lens.

I'm no Viso expert so I can't say much about its usefulness.  Lenses from
65mm to 800 were made to fit the Viso, some with a bewildering combination
of adapters and fittings.  One really cool thing about Viso lenses is that
they can also be used on R-bodies with the 14127 or 14167 adapter, or can
be adapted to other brands of cameras with a modified 14127 / 14167.

The Telyt's focussing took me a few days to get used to but after a month
or so it was intuitive and much quicker than anything else I've used. 
After using for 20 years I'm still shocked at how quick and positive the
focus is, especially with the SL viewscreen.

The price sounds good if it includes the shoulder stock.

Doug Herr
Sacramento
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/telyt