Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/06/17

[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]

Subject: [Leica] Digital Leica M
From: leicaluvr at comcast.net (Tom Schofield)
Date: Sat Jun 17 09:28:45 2006
References: <448899970001D6CB@mssezhh.msg.bluewin.ch>

Actually, Leica hasn't used a true symmetrical design on its  
wideangle M lenses since the super-angulons.  Ever since they needed  
more distance from the film plane to the rear element to acomodate  
the swinging meter cell of the M5, and later not to block the M6's  
meter cell's view of the film plane, Leica has been using a  
retrofocus design on M wide angle lenses.  True, they are not  
designed to give as great a back-focus distance as for the R mount,  
which has to clear the swinging mirror, but they are retrofocus  
designs.  Also, an advantage of retrofocus designs over the  
symmetrical designs is that there is more even illumination (less  
vignetting).  Someone recently posted a link to the Luminous  
Landscape comparison of Cosina and Leica wideangles being used on the  
RD1, and you can see from the "before processing" images how much  
more even the Leicas' illumination is.

Tom Schofield


On Jun 17, 2006, at 4:43 AM, pwerner@bluewin.ch wrote:

>
> What remains to be seen is how the extreme wide angles perform on  
> the M8,
> as on the M series these are not retrofocus constructions.
>
> Peter

Replies: Reply from tim at kairosphoto.com (Tim Atherton) ([Leica] Digital Leica M)
In reply to: Message from pwerner at bluewin.ch (pwerner@bluewin.ch) ([Leica] Digital Leica M)