Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2011/04/25

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Subject: [Leica] 560MM leica lens
From: wildlightphoto at earthlink.net (Doug Herr)
Date: Mon, 25 Apr 2011 19:01:51 -0700 (GMT-07:00)

Alastair Firkin wrote:

>Thanks, these older lighter designs do have a role, now to balance weight
>cost and quality ;-) I'm interested in the accuracy of the focus.

Practice, practice, practice.  The majority of the 560mm f/6.8's weight is 
all the way up front so if the focussing sliders are short of lubrication 
the sliding tubes tend to bind unless you balance the weight of the lens 
properly.  The technique that works best for me is to support the lens at 
the focussing grip with the palm of my left hand with the index finger 
extended to lift up on the forward part of the lens head, and pulling 
downward somewhat with the pinkie and third fingers using the grip surface 
on the right side of the lens head's tube.  It takes some practice but once 
you figure out the balance point it's a non-issue.

The older 560mm f/5.6 Televit lens is easier to focus critically than the 
f/6.8 when on a tripod, IMHO.

Doug Herr
Birdman of Sacramento
http://www.wildlightphoto.com