Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/01/13
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I've used the 6-element, the pre-ASPH and now have the ASPH. Of all fo them, the ASPH is by far my favorite. It has the look I like at all apertures - contrasty (both macro- and micro-), flare-free, sharp as a tack even at 2.0, wonderful tonal subtlety, bla bla bla. I am perfectly sanguine about its bokeh, too. Unlike others on this list, I didn't much like my pre-ASPH 7-element. It just wasn't sharp at f/4.0 or wider, and I don't think its bokeh is all that different from the ASPH in practise. Even if it were, all the bokeh in the world doesn't compensate for a fuzzy subject (at least for me). Now, I may have had a duff sample, but I suspect - given Leica's quality control - that it was a case of my tastes being out of sync with the lens. The 6-element I had only briefly, but its character left me strangely unmoved, so I moved on. The ASPH 'cron is the first lens I've owned since the old 120/2.8 SMC Takumar that has made me sit up and say "Wow!". All the rest of them were just lenses - acceptable, with disappointing aspects. These two lenses give (gave) me shivers of delight. I've never done objective measurements or tests on any these lenses - I leave stuff like that to people who know hat they're doing and actually care to do it. My judgements are purely subjective based on the results I get, so YMWV. Paul Chefurka