Re: [Leica] OT: New Hexar RF? Don't wake me

[TTAbrahams@aol.com]

In a message dated 6/1/2003 9:48:57 PM Eastern Standard Time, tedgrant@shaw.ca writes:

> 
> Steve Barbour asked  re:
> > Jeffery, Ted, ........OK, cheaper yes, but really, c'mon guys...tell me
> > this is better than a 35  f1.4  ASPH S' lux....please be gentle...<<<
> 
> Hi Steve,
> I have to tell you I was extremely impressed with the photographs Tom
> Abrahamsson showed me taken with his 35 1.2 Nokton. Wide open! It's a, I
> believe, "tri Aspheric lens."  What that means I don't give 
> a hoop as long
> as it makes my photographs cut into film look better. :-)

 The 35/1,2 is a great lens. I have been using it since late February and I agree with Ted fully. It will hold its own against the 35/1,4 Aspherical and it does give you a ½ stop advantage. It is not a small lens, a bit heavier than the 35/1,4 Asph but surprisingly comfortable to hold and with the “ old” style knurling. We just came back from 11 days in Japan (Tokyo, Nagano and Kyoto) and I used it as my primary 35 on the Leica’s for the whole time. Most of the stuff was shot on Tri-X, but some on NPZ 800 Fuji and the color-balance looks good. Typically Japanese “warmth” to the color (although color-neg film is difficult to judge in this aspect). I did shoot a couple of rolls of Astia F slide film and it seems to hold true for this film too. I am not a color-shooter any more, so my judgment is not perfect on that aspect of the lens.
 Jet-lag and catching up on e-mail has prevented me from posting a travel posting on the trip, but some highlights are

Spent a couple of days at Cosina/Voigtlander in Nakano and I have seen at least 14 new products for rangefinder cameras. Some close to production and some in “prototype” form. Most of this is for the Leica M and 39mm mount, but the Nikon RF users will not be left out either. Of course I can’t tell you about them, but PMA in February and Photokina in September should be interesting!
 It turns out that Cosina/Voigtlander has Japan based patents for most of the inside of the Leicavit M for the new MP, but Mr. Kobayashi is very sanguine about it.
 The M6P and the front engraved Leicavit M is virtually unobtainable in Japan. I saw one set (or at least I have to assume it was a set as the box was unopened) and that was already in private hands.
 I had a chance to handle a Leica Anastigmat, an Ilford Witness and an extremely early Nikon 1 (in wonderfully “used” condition, the chrome was worn through to brass on the top-plate).
 For those of us who are bi-polar (use Leica AND Nikon Rangefinder cameras) Tokyo is a “horn of plenty” when it comes to used (and collectible) stuff. The Mint and New In Box pieces are horrendously expensive, but user stuff is only moderately obscene in pricing – but it is all there! I behaved myself and only bought a black 50/2 Nikkor in RF mount (with the original hood) as I thought $180 for that was a good price. We are also limited to what we carry as we only travel with carry-on bags. Excellent way to cut down on heavy purchases! Of course I did pick up some “mooks” (Japanese short-hand for “magazine-book”, soft cover magazine sized, but glossy and 100-150 pages). Of course all of these were camera related. I can’t read them, but I can always look at the pictures of strange and collectible cameras/lenses. These are beautifully printed but oh so heavy!
 I did pick up some interesting accessories, MAP camera is producing a small rubber “bumper” for the older style M’s. It screws in to the eye-piece of the M1/M2/M3/M4/M4-P and early M6 and “voila” no more scratched eye-glasses. If I remember right, it cost in the neighborhood of $14-15. I also was given some hoods by friends, including a replica hood for the Elmar 50/3,5, a hood for a Reid 50mm lens and a hood for a Zunow 50mm f1,1( all right, I don’t have the lens, but I never turn down freebie hoods).
  You do see a lot of people with cameras out and about, Contax Nx with huge lenses, plenty of Leica M’s and Voigtlander Bessa’s in  various configurations, but most photos are taken with “Picture-phones”. These are the cell-phones with built in cameras (a new 1 megapixel version was released while we were there). At public events you can watch these strange little devices being held above the crowds (remember the old “hail Mary” position) and the user trying to frame the shot. It is not that you see a handful of them, just about everybody has one and it looks like some kind of reverse “cargo-cult” when 100’s or 1000’s of these phones wave in the air. It seems that the low resolution digital cameras (up to 3,2 mp) are now being superceded by cell-phones! 
 Most of the trip was taken up with seeing friends, eating exceedingly well and some sightseeing. Kyoto has 2500 temples, 2498 left to see  for future trips.
 I did not realize how much I have missed Tokyo (last trip in November of 2000) until I got there. Well, we are going back in February 2004 for the Nikon Historical Society’s bi-annual meeting. 
Sayonara,
Tom A 
Tom Abrahamsson
Vancouver, BC
Canada
www.rapidwinder.com

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