Re: Japanese "M" mount

[Thomas Kachadurian <kach@freeway.net>]

Doc:

I owned one for two weeks. I used the exact logic you have applied. It's
less than 1/3 of the Leica glass. I learned why I have a Leica in the first
place.

Just to set some benchmarks. I'm not euroglass snob. I think highly of at
least 3 on my Canon EF lenses, 24mm, 35mm and 300mmL. I had a Nikon 28Ti
for a bit over a year and found the glass to be outstanding. I see only
subtle differences between my 28mm Rokkor-M for the CL and my sainted 35mm
and 50mm Summicrons.

That said, the aftermarket 21mm lens was simply not usable. I shot 8 or 10
different situations and probably 100 frames of film, all on a tripod with
Velvia. There was no edge shaprness at all, and in the sample I had, the
upper left corner of the frame had a sort-of wavy distortion. There was no
shadow detail at all, and even at f8, the sharpest portion of the image in
the center of the frame looked soft. I shot all of the same photographs
with my Canon EF 24mm just as a back up, but there was one image that the
Art Director liked better with the 21mm because of it's extra sky. I warned
him, but he had the image scanned anyway. The matchprint at 900% (full
bleed magazine page)was so fuzzy that he agreed the photograph was
unpublishable. We used one of the Canon images instead and it made a great
crisp color sep.

I sent the lens back, glad to have made the full refund deadline. I also
hated the  auxiliary finder, but I'd probably hate the Leica finder too.

For now I have only up to 28mm on my Leica M system. When I need something
wide I go to my Canon EOS stuff. You can buy an A2 body and a 24mm EF for
the price of that 3rd party Leica M wide angle.

Tom

 At 09:46 PM 9/5/97 -0400, you wrote:
>Interesting that this subject has come up.  Just a couple weeks ago I posed a
>question on the AOL Leica board about the Adorama lenses...got a few replies
>but none from anyone who actually owns one.  The very lowest price I've seen
>anywhere on a used Super-Angulon f/4 was just under $1000, without a finder.
> I so rarely use this focal length that I'm seroiusly prepared to suffer the
>mockings of Leicaphiles everywhere, in the interest of obtaining the 21mm
>f/2.8 that POP Photo (if you can believe them considering the huge multi-page
>ad that Adorama buys every month) gave a fairly decent review to...at $799
inc
>luding a finder and a lenshood.  If anyone here has actually owned and/or
>shot with this lens, I'd appreciate hearing from you...even if you want to
>e-mail me rather than risk exposure (oh, what an awful pun) as an heretic.
> The POP test of the Adorama lenses URL is
>aol://4344:190.ppc60451.2172618.514914992  (but I don't know if you have to
>be an AOL subscriber to access it).
>
>Doc
>
>