Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/09/26
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]"Rodgers, David" <david.rodgers@xo.com> wrote: >I'm amazed at how badly a lens can be damaged without it showing up in the >results. Over the years I've used played around with some pretty scratched >up lenses (front and rear elements). I've yet to identify degredation. I have a spare 50mm M Summicron which is full of fluff and fungus. There's no need to shine a light through the back of the lens, just look into it from the front and it looks like one of those souvenir snow-storm paper-weights with the flakes frozen mid-shake(!) If that's not enough, the rear element(s) have half-separated and behind the fluff you can make out a bright rainbow of newtons rings. You would think that a lens like this would only produce fuzzy, Nikon quality images, but not so. Typical Leica M razor sharp images with lots of contrast. The only time things get strange is when shooting into the sun or spotlights - then the newton's rings colour the flare (rather than keep it a uniform white). I use the lens mainly when I'm down by the beach or out in the rain. I also like to carry it around to give the occassional fussy Leica fanatic a heart attack. :?) Regds, Andrew Nemeth <http://4020.net> -> photos, 360° panoramic vrs, sounds <http://nemeng.com> -> vr java applets, leica faq, tech info - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html