[Leica] Brain-dump on Tessars etc.

[Mike Johnston <michaeljohnston@ameritech.net>]

> And Mike you forgot to mention the 40mm Zeiss pancake on the Aria on the cover
> of your Photo Technics about a year ago.
> I'm sure that's nice glass on a nice little camera which I'd love to work
> with.
> I'd even set it on P sometimes what the hell!
> mark rabiner


Mark,
That's a 45mm, a classic Tessar similar to the Leica Elmar. Pentax makes a
40mm version of the Tessar-type, and in a sturdier barrel/mount than the
Zeiss version. The long-discontinued Nikon "Guide Number" is also a classic
Tessar-type "pancake." I actually like the early Leica Elmars and the Zeiss
Contax 45mm Tessar better than the current Leica Elmar-M (sorry if that's
heresy) because they show more of the classic Tessar character which I
enjoy.

I'm not sure of the actual focal length of the Zeiss Contax SLR Tessar, but
the G 45mm is actually 46.9mm, making it very close to a 50mm in feel and
effect--closer than it is to a 40mm, anyway.

The Contax Aria/Tessar combo is a neat little thing. It's no RTS III or R
camera, for sure, but fun to work with as a diversion in the same way that a
point-and-shoot is a fun change. I happen to like the look of the results
very much, although perhaps others wouldn't care for--or even recognize--the
"old-fashioned" character of the Tessar. In black-and-white at f/4 it's
distinctive and very pretty. It will sure teach you how to see field
curvature in pictures! <s>

The other nice thing about Leica R glass is that they really take care of
your needs no matter what your tastes. I've always been very frustrated by
the fact that there is no Zeiss Contax 35mm f/2, never has been, never will
be. I'd probably have an Aria if there was. The Leica R 35/2 is a great lens
for black-and-white, no question, and it outsold the 35/2.8 many times over
when both were in the catalog. I don't know the figures for Leica, but other
manufacturers back in the manual focus days found their 35/2's outsold
35/2.8's on the order of 20-to-1 or 30-to-1. With Zeiss Contax, they shove
35/2.8 down your throat if you want a compact sized 35mm SLR lens. With
Leica, you simply choose which you want. That much greater selection carries
over into the M vs. G arena too, obviously. Leica takes better care of you.

The Zeiss 100mm macro you asked about the other day is a great lens, one of
the standouts in the Zeiss lineup. Actually, the Olympus OM 90mm f/2 is
comparable in quality to the Zeiss and Leica long macros as well, especially
if you take the faster speed into account. Olympus for decades had by far
the best macro lineup of any manufacturer (still does, technically) and more
expertise with macro lenses than any manufacturer. Some people shot Olympus
just for the macro options. I happen to like the Leica R 60mm macro better
than the Zeiss Contax 60mm, but the 100mm macros are about equal. The
Olympus 50mm f/2 macro is a better lens than the 50mm Summicron when used as
a normal lens, not that anybody cares. But not quite as good in the closeup
range as the 60mm R lens.

I don't currently own any Olympus stuff at all but I'm very familiar with
the lineup. There's a funny situation with regard to the OM 90mm f/2 macro
lens and the OM 100mm f/2 lens, which is not marketed as a macro. The 100mm
lens focuses almost as close--to well under 2 feet if memory serves, much
closer than virtually all other fast short teles--and is also a great lens
(although QC isn't as good as Leica's). It's almost as if both OM lenses
serve just about the same purpose, but for marketing reasons they only
wanted to call one of them a "macro." Anyway the fast OM 100mm is also a
killer lens, and would make a decent choice for anybody who wants a
close-focusing medium-tele SLR lens on the cheap as a backup to an M camera,
I mean without spending anywhere near the three grand they want for an
Apo-Macro-Elmarit-R. I think it's also less than half the cost of the Zeiss.
Body choice is not nearly as good as with Contax, but the OM-4T is a neat
camera that's got something close to the ethos of the M camera in an
SLR--for years it was the "official" camera of Magnum, the M being the
"unofficial official" camera of Magnum of course!

Sorry for ranging so far off-topic....

- --Mike