RE: [Leica] Notes from off in the bokeh

["Dan Honemann" <danh@selectsa.com>]

Mike,

Thanks for the very informative and thoughtful treatise on bokeh!

Funny, I've always noticed the o-o-f areas of photos.  Maybe it's the taoist
in me.  I also tend to notice the blank space in drawings, and the silent
pauses in music.

I hear glowing remarks (pun intended, and apologized for) about the bokeh of
the pre-asph 35, summicron and summilux alike.  I'd very much enjoy seeing
samples taken by these lenses next to their asph heirs.  I had all but made
up my mind (not a frequent occurrence) to get a pre-asph 'lux, when I began
reading more and more lavish praise of the asph, and decided I'd welcome the
flare resistance and better edge sharpness of these later models.  I've also
heard that the 35/2 asph has smoother bokeh than the 1.4; I wonder if anyone
who owns both could speak to this.

I have noticed that there are some photos--mainly color slides (velvia and
provia 100) that I've shot with my 50 summicron that have a three
dimensional look to them.  When I study them carefully, the effect seems to
be a quality primarily of the light, the way it falls both on the subject
and the background.  The other characteristics I notice are the very smooth
out of focus areas, and the extreme edge sharpness of the subject in the
foreground.  It helps to have a long background too, such as looking down a
road or alley way--with lots of contrast and texture.

My next lenses will likely be the current 35/1.4 asph and the 75/1.4.  I'll
be interested to investigate the difference in bokeh between them.

Cheers,
Dan