Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/10/08
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Tom --
Glad to hear you are ok... good luck with your treatment and transplant.
Remember, the world of rapid winding is depending on you!
I found your writeup -- as usual -- very interesting. The aperture ring is
not really "raspy" like the Canon lens; it is smooth but takes more force to
turn than the Summicrons or M-Hexanons. Maybe three times as much (although
this is really distorted by the Summicron "ears," which exert a lot more
leverage on the ring). No accidental aperture changes. F/5,6 and be there,
especially if you have an AE camera like a CLE or a Hexar.
What I think we lose sight of sometimes is that historically, the vast
majority of LTM lenses have had stiff aperture rings. The black Canon stuff
must have had huge detents; the black-and-chrome rings similar. The Nikon
lenses (esp the 50s) had really narrow rings that had a lot of resistance.
The Leica lenses did not exactly had that "gliding on ball bearings" feel,
either. And the Soviet items were either too easy or too stiff (or gritty).
Setting aside the Soviet lenses, maybe LTM is supposed to be more
contemplative and as a result the revival lenses (save, say, the 35 ASPH)
may be designed to have this traditional feel.
An interesting thing I forgot to put in there is that I have been told that
Konica does not participate in the zaibatsu of LTM lens manufacturers - it
manufactures the LTM lenses (glass and barrels) entirely in-house ("in its
own factories"). Talk about abnormal security, over-control and what must
be absurdly-high manufacturing costs.
Cheers
Dante
on 10/8/01 1:42 AM, TTAbrahams@aol.com at TTAbrahams@aol.com wrote:
> Dante, thanks for the information on the 35/2 Hexanon 3rd generation. I did
> indeed have the first version, the infamous 35/2L lens. This was a direct
> "transfer" from the Hexar camera and it somehow lost a lot in the
> translation. The Hexar was (is) a great little camera, except for the limited
> top-speed of 1/250 and a tendency to lock up at inopportune moments. The
> 35/2L in the screw-mount was inferior to the Hexar lens in most every way. I
> ordered one in Tokyo when I heard about it and took delivery the next trip to
> Japan. Shooting for a day or two I realised that it was at most mediocre, but
> it had already become highly collectible and doubled in value! I promptly
> traded it for some essential Leica stuff (I think it was another M2 or
> something) and hoped that Konica would do the right thing! Last year at
> Photokina I saw the 3rd generation of the lens and tried to borrow it for a
> test shoot, but Konica had a bunch of reasons why they would not let me try
> it "We can't find the keys to the cabinet it is in." It is the only one we
> have and we need it for showing to dealers" and "Hey, you did not like the
> first one and maybe you will not like this one either!"
> I have heard from some friends in Japan that have tried the latest version
> and they all seems to like it. The aperture ring seems to be a weak spot on
> the Konica LTM lenses, both my 50/2,4 collapsible and my 60/1,2 had the same
> "metallic" feel that you indicate. Very much reminiscent of the Canon 35/2.
> It is not a big deal, but it makes the lens feel a bit "cheap" in my opinion.
> Probably not to difficult to correct with a different lube. It is an
> interesting alternative to a 35/2 Summicron, particularly with the ability to
> use it on a LTM body and it is considerably lighter than a 35/2 Asph chrome
> in LTM mount
> (and very much cheaper than an original 8 element screw-mount Summicron
> 35/2). It is a tempting lens and if I find one next time in Japan, I might
> still get it, although I do have a large amount of 35/2's in various
> configuration. Admittedly I seem to use either the early Summicron 35/2 ( a
> 1959 black paint one) or a 1982 3rd generation 35/2 Summicron for most of my
> shooting. I do have the 35/2 Canon and it is a neat little lens and a very
> good performer, deadly sharp from 2,8 on, but it does have that "raspy"
> aperture ring. It is cheaper than most of these screw-mount 35/2's and you
> can still pick them up for about $350-400 in Mint- condition. I have had
> several of the Nikon 35/1,8's in both Nikon RF mount and also in LTM mount.
> It is a very sharp lens, but extremely prone to flare and the performance at
> 1,8 is not that good, even the old style 35/1,4 Summilux beats it hands down.
> I am still waiting for my stem cell transplant. It looks likely that I will
> be going in for it on Wednesday. It will be 3-4 weeks of medical "fun and
> games". I am just shooting tests with a variety of bodies and lenses (and
> films) to decide what to document this whole process with. A great excuse for
> shooting 5-6 rolls a/day - all in the name of testing of course. It is right
> now down to either a M2 with a 35/2 ( the aforementioned 35/2 from 1959) and
> the Elmar(it) 50/2,8 collapsible ( current version) or a M2 with the 2nd
> generation 35/1,4 and a 50/1,5 Nokton. Of course I could use my Replica
> Null-series too, but remembering uncapping and capping the shutter all the
> time and also the fact that you can only set the shutterspeeds with the
> shutter ½ cocked while on chemo could be a problem! Neat camera and a very
> good lens (probably the same type of optics as the 50/2,8 Elmar (it). First
> roll I lost 7 frames, 2nd roll I lost 5 frames and now I seem to average
> loosing 3-4 frames per roll. Film will of course be Tri-X although I have
> been shooting some HP5+, APX 400 and Neopan 400, just to show that I have an
> open mind about the whole thing. But when the time comes to make my mind, it
> is into the Tri-X box and D76 1:1/10 minutes. I always suspected that M2's
> and 35/2's were made for that film.
> Thanks again Dante for the write up on the Hexanon 35/2 and once I am back to
> Mint- minus status (hell, I would settle for Exc+ at the moment) I might try
> one out. Nothing like the prospect of a new lens to speed up recovery too!
> All the best,
> Tom A
>
> Tom Abrahamsson
> Vancouver, BC
> Canada
> www.rapidwinder.com
>
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