Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/06/21

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Subject: [Leica] Erwin on the new M-50/1.4 ASPH
From: jonathan at openhealth.org (Jonathan Borden)
Date: Mon Jun 21 13:34:37 2004
References: <40D5F83A.6030905@wanadoo.nl> <3.0.6.32.20040620194110.00863e80@POP6.sympatico.ca>

Dan Cardish wrote:

>Yes, he likes it, but he also notes "Bo-ke aficionados will have mixed
>feelings about the performance of the lens".
>
>This is what I fear about the new lens.  The old lens had beautiful bokeh,
>but from the way he describes it, the new one is awful.  
>  
>
It is fairly well known that spherical (and other) aberrations can have 
a decidedly pleasing effect on photographs, particularly portraits. For 
example the Kodak Portrait lens was *designed* to have aberrations wide 
open, improving when stopped down, such that one could select how much 
effect was desired.

Of course not all aberrations are visually pleasing, so the design of a 
good portrait lens, as is the design of a lens with pleasing "bo-keh" 
remains an art form. I am not surprised that the latest and greatest 
aspherical computer designs -- which seek to eliminate aberrations -- 
may not always provide the most pleasing of the intangible renderings of 
an image.

The old 35/1.4 with its flare and all wide open, still has a warm and 
cozy place in my camera bag. As I recall this is a symmetric design 
modulo a thin meniscus and and consequently I'd expect a fairly 
rectilinear image.

Jonathan



In reply to: Message from michiel.fokkema at wanadoo.nl (Michiel Fokkema) ([Leica] Erwin on the new M-50/1.4 ASPH)
Message from leicaman at sympatico.ca (Dan Cardish) ([Leica] Erwin on the new M-50/1.4 ASPH)