[Leica] Is the TE a zoom?

[red735i at earthlink.net (Frank Filippone)]

The TE and WATE are probably really zooms, except that they are corrected
only at the 3 FL.  And the cams etc that move the elements may not be linear
( or whatever) for In between FL.  As well, there probably are not the
relative coordination of the different elements.

But why worry, take a R lens and give it a M bayonet and you are off to the
races.......

This stuff is not brain surgery... ( with apologies to the brain surgeons
that may be on this list...)

While I do own a TE, the use of the lens in between FL stops is out of my
curiosity space......

I think a Zooming M would be a market winner, but I think it is not
something I would have any interest in.  I prefer to concentrate on my shots
rather than spin another ring....The M ( since 1953) has done that
brilliantly.

Frank Filippone
red735i@earthlink.net



        Is the Tri-Elmar anything other than a 28-50mm zoom lens with
detents  
at 28, 35, and 50? The lens diagram seems to indicate that only a  
single element moves during the focal-length change, so unless there's  
something about the design that screws up the focus at intermediate  
positions, it seems to me that it should have a continuous range of  
FLs. Has anyone tried taking photos with the FL ring in intermediate  
positions? What was the result?