Re: Working Kit

[henningw@portal.ca (Henning J. Wulff)]

Hi, all!

I've been mostly lurking here for a while, because while I know a fair bit
about Leicas, there are obviously a lot of people here who know more and
can answer peoples' questions.

I'm a user, and don't hang on to stuff once I realize I'm not carrying it
anymore.

I inherited some Leica stuff in the early 60's from my father, and so
retired the 120 Agfa folder and the Yashica 44LM I had and used the Leicas
(though I wish I had kept the Yashica). The stuff I inherited included a
IIIg, Ig, 35 Summaron 3.5, 50/3.5 Elmar, 50/2 Summicron, 90 Elmar, 135
Hektor, and 200 Telyt with Visoflex and a full bellows kit in a very
elegant case, plus a ton of accessories. In the early 70's I went to M4's,
M5, M4-2's, and in the last years M6's (plus one of the last M4's). Lenses
have included older stuff such as the 28/5.6 Summaron, 400/5 Telyt and
almost everything that has been produced from the early sixties on, to all
lenses and most versions up to the present with the exception of the 75,
which I wouldn't use if I can find my 90.

My present equipment includes 2 M6's and the M4, and for lenses the 15/8
Hologon, 21/3.4 Super Angulon, 21/2.8 Elmarit, 35/1.4asph (latest), 50/1,
90/2 (recent), and 135/2.8. When my 400/6.8 started developing severe field
curvature in the late 70's I got ride of the Viso and all Viso lenses and
items.

I am an architect and as a second business, I do architectural, development
industry and construction photography; with 4x5 when possible, a lot of
120, especially for aerial work and for my Noblex, and 35 for slides or
special situations, which include Leica use. Nikons and Nikon lenses from
15 through 400 get used a lot, but some things can only be done with the
Leicas. First, the 21/3.4 is essentially distortion free. The 21/2.8 is
good, and is more convenient with the M6, but not in the same league
regarding distortion (or sharpness). This is obviously of great importance
to me. The other thing is that the Leica with 21/3.4 and especially with
the Hologon is very slim. I can set the camera down in a street
intersection in an 1/16 inch to the foot model and shoot down a cross
street, and have the lens axis acceptably low and not crush any model
features. Imagine if I tried this with my F4 and 15/3.5 Nikkor! The
perspective achieved with the Hologon or the 21/3.4 SA is very convincing
when projected. I almost always use the 'Verlauffilter' with the Hologon,
and place Gel filters cut to size behind the filter when needed. I still
have the original finder, but due to my experiences with 21mm finders over
the years (I am now on my 6th one), I always kept the 15mm finder tethered
to the camera. Recently I bought a 16mm finder for the G Contax to be my
'use' finder, as the loss of the original would probably reduce the value
of the lens set by $3000 or more. The 16mm finder shows _considerably_ less
than the 15mm finder, but I can live with it, and know how far it is off.

For walkabout photography I usually carry the 21/2.8, 34/1.4 and 90/2 with
2 M6's. The 135 gets the least use, and the 50/1 gets specialized use and
comes along when its special characteristics can be utilized. Only about 5%
of the 50mm shots are taken at smaller apertures than f2.

Re: the 85 Nikkor debate - I didn't like the first one that much, and used
the 105/2.5 instead, but was very happy with the 85/2. The AIS 85/1.4 was
wonderful, but at times got left behind because of size; the flare thing
wasn't that serious a problem for me, but when I got the AF 85/1.8, I sold
the 1.4 as I realized that I would probably never use the 1.4 again. The AF
1.4 is too big, heavy, and not as good as the AIS 1.4, and definitely not
as good as the AF 1.8. All this, of course, based on my limited sampling
and personal biases.

I love landscape photography, and usually try to use my 4x5 kit, which is
complete at 8 lbs. with tripod and 4 lenses, but am considering the Mamiya
6 which I would supplement with my Hasselblad SWC for reasons of
convenience and speed. I'm not really sure what my wife does while my head
is under a dark cloth behind my 4x5, but I'm positive it includes
fidgeting.

So now you've heard _much_ more about my camera usage than you ever hoped
for (or dreaded)  :-).


   *
  /|\     Henning J. Wulff
 /###\      Architecture
 |[ ]|   henningw@portal.ca