Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1996/06/01

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To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us, leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: Re: ASPH vs Aspheric
From: "Roger L. Beamon" <beamon@primenet.com>
Date: Sat, 1 Jun 1996 12:35:09 -0700 (MST)

>The Aspherical is almost mythical in its reputed capabilities.  My question
>is, how does the current ASPH compare?  I don't think I want to spring for
>an Asperical, even if one were available at the moment, but the ASPH is on
>the border of affordability.

Can't tell you how they compare, Michael, since I'm struggling along on my
2/35 Summicron.  :-)  Was playing with the ASPH just the other night at an
open house given by our local dealer aided by the area dealer rep for Leica.
The rep made the statement that Solms recognizes the two sharpest lenses in
their lines to be the 2.8/100 Macro APO R,  AND the 1.4/35 ASPH M!  No other
criteria other than sharpness mentioned.

He corroborated Rogliatti's commentary in Rogliatti's recent book, "Leica,
The First 70 Years", which I now quote.  "This aspherical 35mm was replaced
by a new aspherical design in 1994 with only one aspherical surface instead
of two. This lens represents a completely new, and less expensive,
technology for producing aspherical surfaces which involves ultra high
precision press forming rather than grinding."  The aspherical 35mm he
refers to in the beginning of that sentence he describes as the 35mm
SUMMILUX-M Aspherical (1990).
       --
       Roger Beamon,  Natural History Interpreter & Photographer
                                 Docent: Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
                                 INTERNET: beamon@primenet.com