Re: [Leica] Leitz vs. Voigtländer

[Mark Rabiner <mark@rabiner.cncoffice.com>]

Kurt Miska wrote:
> 
> Fellow LUGers,
> Recently I contemplated replacing my 1950s 35/3.5 Summaron with a
> pre-owned 35/2 Summicron for my M2. Even used 35/2 Summicrons come with
> hefty price tags; around $1,000 to $1,100 at Tamarkin. So, one thought
> was to investigate the Voigtländer 35/1.7 Ultron. A LUGer alerted me to
> Erwin Puts’ test report on the Voigtländer lenses. I printed out the
> report and read it several times. Very interesting indeed.
> 
> Now, I suppose questioning the omnipotent Mr. Puts amounts to sacrilege.
> I am quite certain that I will be hunted down mercilessly, tried before
> a kangaroo court and summarily dispatched to the hereafter.
> 
> Anyway, here’s my beef. Mr. Puts is comparing apples and oranges when he
> compares the Leitz 35/2 with the Voigtländer 35/1.7. Obviously, there is
> going to be a difference in performance but will the casual eye detect
> this difference in performance? Is it that obvious? I don’t know. The
> price difference is, of course, staggering. A new 35/2 Summicron (black)
> runs $2445 vs. $479 for a new Ultron. That’s over five times as much,
> based on Tamarkin’s website.
><Snip> 

Sometimes you get what you can afford at the moment and other times you get what
you have the patience and need to save up for.
The thing to me is you are using Leicas' but you have a casual eye? (eyebrow
raised smily face)
I think in the majority of cases Leica users eyes are less casual.
But only you know how many 11x14's or larger you've made or can guess you ever
will make from your 35mm images.
Mark Rabiner