Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2013/01/19
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]M-8 and 24X36 Leitz lenses. 45 years ago I got infected by a dangerous virus called Barnack from the known Leitz variety. To keep things short. Professor Max Berek, a young and capable scientist specialised in transparent crystallography, was hired in the 1920's by grandfather Ernst Leitz (Ernst Leitz I) for the small camera Oscar Barnack had invented. For the suggested film surface and the then known formulas and glass types he calculated a totally new lens. It was the redoubtable Elmax 50 mm f 3.5 triplet i.e. made of lenses in different types of glass to correct the inherent defaults of each type of glass. Calculating a new lens before the computer era could several months and was the work of a whole group of mathematicians. This Elmax later renamed as Elmar was a perfect shot at the time. The types of glass and structure where gradually changed and improved. That famous Elmar, now with an opening of 2.8, is still made today. After his retirement an assistant took his department over. Today he is remembered as Doctor Mandler who was sent to Canada after the war to start the Midland Ontario Leitz factory. Instead of coming back to Wetzlar he remained in Canada and developed most of the famous Leitz and Leica lenses we know today. Some collectors pretend to prefer Leitz and Leica lenses made in Germany. Many of these lenses where not only developed in Canada by Doct. Mandler, but many of them where not even made or assembled in Germany. Only lenses that where much in demand where made on both sides of the Atlantic. You can do a lot of things in photography. You can put a Leitz lens in front of a 10x12 inch technical camera and you can even put a Hasselblad lens in front of a DSLR, but it is not made for that purpose. All lenses are made for a specific format, be it a Minox or even a camera for aerial surveillance. No doubt the Leica-8 will be an expensive collectors item one day, such as the special 18X24 Leica during the 50's and 60's. There was even a special Leica Post 24X24 square format camera with a fixed focus lens for telephone companies. The M-8 was made to satisfy the market at a time that full format was not reasonably available, even for the Leica company. The M-8 was in fact a compromise that will not last in time. Even the DSLR formats are increasing gradually. I never believed in the M-8, I left it to others and waited until last year to by my M-9. I certainly will never regret it. Of course you can walk around with a huge technical 11x14 inch camera and an almost medieval lens like Bret Weston, or try to develop in tea or black coffee like Steve Anchell and come back with wonderful pieces of art. But in my opinion, keep things simple. Once you have chosen a camera for a specific subject, take the best lense(s) that go with it. Cedric Agie cedric.agie at gmail.com 2013/1/19 Jean-Michel Mertz <j2m46 at hotmail.fr>: > > > > > I am not sure, this is of course based on my own experience, but I have > come to believe that the M8 18x27 sensor can best handle images produced > by a 50mm lens. I think the wealth of information sent by wider lenses is > not as well processed, cf landscapes when the background appears to be a > bit blurry (with my Sum 35 asph, for example). Can't discuss 50+ lenses. > Would anyone share this opinion?Jean-Michel > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information