Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/01/15

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Subject: Re: [Leica] 28 mm alternatives
From: pcb@iac.co.jp (Paul C. Brodek)
Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 23:55:14 +0900

On Wed, 14 Jan 1998 10:25:07 +0100, "Hans Pahlen"
<hans@komvux.skola.mark.se> wrote:

>showed me a common problem with the 28/2,8 M-Rokkors: Holding the lens
>against a light, you could see lots of small black dots inside the lens
>glass. The dealer said that fungus(?!) was a problem with 60-70% of the
>M-Rokkors.

Hans,

You might want to check out Stephen Gandy's site---he has a lot of
good info regarding the Minolta CLE and the M-Rokkor lenses.

The two 28mm/2.8 M-Rokkor problems most commonly cited are:
1. Element separation in the first cemented pair
2. Formation of "spots2 or "bubbles" at the outer edge of the front
element

I've never heard of a chronic fungus problem with these lenses.  You
didn't mention where the spots were---could they be the edge spots?

I bought one last spring exhibiting both problems, thinking they
wouldn't affect on-film results much.  The compact size and relatively
low price made it very attractive.  My prints looked fine, sharp and
contrasty, though I'm not a very critical user/evaluator.  However, I
started thinking that the separation and bubbles would not get better,
and would likely worsen.  The more I thought about it the more it
bothered me, so I ended up trading it in for a new 35mm/2.0
Summicron-M (non-apsh). =20

I'm still thinking about getting a 28mm lens, trying to decide between
a current 28mm/2.8 Elmarit-M (best available, but pricey and big) and
the 28mm/2.8 Ricoh GR-1 (decent performance, compact and almost half
the price of the Elmarit).

Good luck on your search!

PB


Paul C. Brodek
Kobe, Japan
pcb@iac.co.jp