[Leica] Film flatness

[Mike Johnston <michaeljohnston@ameritech.net>]

>>>Mike: is film flatness really an issue for 35mm cameras?<<<

Pascal,
I don't believe it is, no. It may be important for some very specialized
technical uses--for instance, for people who are for some reason trying
to maximize system resolution in 35mm. But this is not something that
most photographers would do, or would care about. It appears that most
35mm cameras hold the film "flat enough," and the advantages of a vacuum
back are either nonexistent, very slight, or else limited to certain
instances, such as a frame of film that "remembered" a kink from the
light trap of the cassette or something.


>>>Is the vacuum back of the Contax RTS III really a bonus, or merely a
technical or p.r. gadget?<<<

It's a very idiosyncratic feature, to be sure. It appears to
work--Contax has measured the flatness of the film flattened in the
vacuum back and not flattened, and it offers a summary of its data in
its brochures.


>>>Does it visibly enhance picture quality?<<<

I don't think so. I'll be darned if I could discern any difference when
I tested it against a Contax 139. Drove me crazy trying to figure out
how best to stand a chance of seeing it, too. I certainly concluded that
it wasn't a necessary feature to me personally.

- --Mike