Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/10/15

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Subject: RE: [Leica] One Day in School
From: "B. D. Colen" <bdcolen@earthlink.net>
Date: Tue, 15 Oct 2002 13:37:32 -0400

I stand corrected, Henning. If distortion with the Cosina is a non-issue,
and the slower speed is acceptable to the shooter, than at its price, the
Cosina is a no-brainer! :-)

B. D.

- -----Original Message-----
From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
[mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of Henning
Wulff
Sent: Tuesday, October 15, 2002 1:09 PM
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: RE: [Leica] One Day in School


At 11:32 AM -0400 10/14/02, B. D. Colen wrote:
>The problem with going downmarket with a 21 is that the distortion can be a
>killer. I make no bones about using non-Leica equipment, but I am also
quick
>to say that when it comes to the 21, nothing begins to touch the M 21
ASPH -
>including the non-asph M 21 2.8. I have a 17-35 AF D Silent Wave for the
>Nikon, as well as a 20 1.8 Sigma AF - which is cheap as dirt. Both produce
>sharp, contrasty images. But both produce really marked, unpleasant
>distortion at the edges of the frame - while the 21 ASPH M does not.
>
>If you are going to shoot full-frame with the 21 for anything more serious
>than your own entertainment, I'd say plan on trying to find a used 21 ASPH.
>
>B. D.

A 21mm lens is very important for me, and I am quite fussy about the
quality of images that these lenses can produce.

While the 21ASPH is definitely the best of all, the 21 Cosina is a
close second among all the lenses I tried. In various comparisons
over the years, I've tried probably 25 different lenses in the
20-21mm focal length, and to be #2 in that bunch after the ASPH isn't
bad.

Distortion is a non-issue, even for quite critical work. The
distortion levels of the 21ASPH and the Cosina 21 are as close to
identical as any practical (non-lab) test can determine. If you
really need the very lowest levels of distortion available, a 21/3.4
SuperAngulon is best, and better than either the ASPH or Cosina.

- --
    *            Henning J. Wulff
   /|\      Wulff Photography & Design
  /###\   mailto:henningw@archiphoto.com
  |[ ]|     http://www.archiphoto.com
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