Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/12/20
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Nathan, HCB used a Zeiss lens (Sonnar 50mm F1.5) for some time on his Leica camera as he wanted the fastest lens available. This was in large due to the slower films of the day. With faster films and a Tri-Elmar he may have been happy to use that combination had they been available to him some 40 to 50 years ago. Peter K - -----Original Message----- Erwin, > Some comments on the maximum aperture. We now speak with some disdain > about an f/4 aperture. Do we remember that from 1925 till 1960 the > workhorse lens was the Elmar 3.5/50? And that with film sensibility > around 10 to 50 ASA. Many HCB pictures are made with apertures around > 5.6. This is true, of course, and it makes me admire the masters of the "old days" even more. But do you have any doubt that HCB would have used the modern Leica lenses if they had been available to him 50 years ago? One of the main attractions of today's Leica lenses is precisely the fact that they deliver outstanding image quality even at maximum aperture. You are the one who has educated me and the rest of the LUG on this very point! It allows me to use slow films like Fuji Velvia or Provia 100 or KM25/64 and get sharpness, gradation and colour rendition undreamed of just 20 years ago. So, the bar has been raised higher and our standards are higher today than in the 40s or 50s. I am of course not saying that our artistic standards are correspondingly higher, but Leica has spoiled us and gotten us used to the idea that you can achieve incredible image quality at f1.4 or f2. > In my view the demand for f/2 lenses and wider, even in the > classical M picture environment is a bit exaggerated. Of course there > are situations where a 1.4 and a filmspeed of 1600 will save the day. > But in many situations an f/4 will do very fine. Optically the > Tri-Elmar is equal to the current 28, 35 and 50 lenses at relevant > apertures. A few years ago Canon did a very extensive study on the > use of apertures and examined thousands of pictures. Result? > Apertures wider than 2.8 are very scarce in practical use. There is > hardly any professional zoomlens with an aperture wider than 2.8. > That fills the need of many users. I have no disdain for slower lenses. The fastest lens I own for my R system is the 2.8/60mm Macro Elmarit. I just bought the 4/35-70mm Vario Elmar to go with my R8. But when I shoot with my Ms, it is a different story. I paid a lot of money for my 90mm Apo Summicron and the 135mm Apo Telyt (and of course my Noctilux), with the express purpose of using the wide apertures. Of course, the easy solution is to buy the Tri-Elmar *in addition* to the other lenses, but before I do that, my Baan stock would have to appreciate a lot more ;-) Kind regards, Nathan - -- Nathan Wajsman Overijse, Belgium General photo site: http://belgiangator.tripod.com/ Belgium photo site: http://members.xoom.com/wajsman/ Motorcycle site: http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Downs/1704/