Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/05/14
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]>If you REALLY want to find out how crappy your technique is just use >a grain focusing magnifier with a fine grain black and white film. > >You will never again believe there is any such thing as depth of >field and you will swear that you have a constant case of the >jitters! > >The point is, very few photographers print thier own stuff and of >those that do, a large portion use high speed film almost >exclusively. For these folks most of this discussion is esoteric. You hit it on the nail. When I use 400 film I often ask myself: "Why did you buy a Leica?" > Good is good enough. (I won't get into why they payed so much for >just "good"). > >I have come to believe that the best overall optical performance >comes from the lens/camera combination that allows hand held use >with a minimum of system vibrations. This rules out the SLR in most >cases, and even the M is not as recoil free as....(and I hate to say >it) the CONTAX G....man, that was painful. > >Best wishes, >Dan States > > > >> >>Bottom line the issue is more fundamental: there is without any doubt a >>difference between the film register of a Leica body/lens unit and a >>Konica body/lens unit and mixing these systems brings incompatibilities >>and a drop in image quality. >>If some argue that they do not see this difference, does that proof >>there is no difference? >>Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, someone of lost fame wrote in the >>past. I would paraphrase: "image quality is in the eye of the >>photographer". >> >>The classical discussion about which lens is best (Summicron DR or >>current one) can be illuminated by the insight of the Konica/Leica >>compatibility issue: if you do not see a difference, it does not imply >>that there is no difference, but that the standards of image >>quality/optical performance need to be upgraded or redefined. >>Quoting from Zeiss for once: if a lens has a potential of 100%, most >>users would have trouble extracting 50% of that. To extract 80% or more >>needs considerable expertise and years of experience. >>If the Konica/leica incompatibility will reduce image quality >>significantly but not enough to get below the 50% threshold with which >>most users seem to operate, all is fine? >>In a wellknown German book (by Mr Scholz) the author fitted a Leica body >>with a simple glass element from his spectacles (he could have used >>the bottom of an empty bottle of whiskey with equal results) to prove >>that a simple meniscus (box lens) would suffice for highly acceptable >>image results. The resulting picture is very convincing. As long as we >>seem unable to differentiate between a 9 element super quality optical >>system and a simple spectacle glass in front of the M-body (or Konica >>body) why question the impact of a mere 0.2 mm of defocus. >>Would it not be time for a re-calibration of our standards of image >>quality? >> >>Erwin >> >> > >_________________________________________________________________ >Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com - -- Christer Almqvist D-20255 Hamburg, Germany and/or F-50590 Regnéville-sur-Mer, France