Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/10/25
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]>> There is no Leica glow... >[snip] >well, I disagree to a certain extent. I know the glow when I see it and I >can get it with any of the following (these are just the ones I've seen it >in): > >pre asph 35/1.4 >50/1.4 (second computation) >Skinny TE 90 >Canon 28/2.8 LTM >Canon 35/2 FD > >You use them wide open or one stop closed, especially in high contrast >environments, and it's there. The use of silver rich emulsions gives you a >richness in the grays that more modern emulsions don't have. As to the rest >I don't know because the glow is right there on the negs when scanned. It's >partly halation, partly coma, partly flare, partly spherical aberration, >partly the shape of the film's response curve... it's a lot of stuff, >really. It's a 'look'. Thankfully it's so overdetermined that (a) you can't >fake it in Photoshop (b) Erwin doesn't think it exists. > >Ultimately I do prefer the look of the more modern lenses. > >Johnny Deadman johnny, you can add the ltm summarit to the list. wide open or at f/2 it can produce either really flat or really creamy, 'glowing' images depending on the lighting, background, tonal range of the subject, etc. i agree that it's probably more a product of shortcomings on the part of the older lenses than of any secret recipe, but, like you, i can definitely see it and appreciate it when it works right. i also prefer modern lenses, and use them exclusively on my m6, reserving the older glass for my iiif. i continue to shoot with both of them, and get stuff i like from both. guy