Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/01/25
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Tom - High resolution & high contrast from a 50 mm lens in a 35 mm camera is desired in a very limited number or type of pictues only. Desired - maybe in news photography. Although I doubt that any picture of the greats or old masters would be "better", if taken with the current Summicron - neither i.e. the dieing Spanish soldier, nor the poisened Japanese children. And, aunt Annie under the cherry tree wouldn't be "better" either :) Usually you can handle low contrast b/w negatives without problems. It's even part of the joy in the darkroom. On the other side, it's more complicated to reduce high contrasts. And, it grows to a severe problem if you try to change i.e. irregular high background contrasts taken with a high contrast lens. Further, if you want an extremely sharp picture, you take an MF or LF camera. Compared to the current R8 or that incredible Contax brick, they are even not so bulky anymore. All in all, in my mind, Leica Solms succeeded to take the charm, character and personality out of the 50 mm M Summicron. Alf - --------------------------------------------------------------- At 22:16 24.01.1998 EST, you wrote: >In a message dated 98-01-24 20:41:57 EST, you write: > ><< I don't want or wanted to say that the current Summicron is a "bad" > lens, but - as we say in Germany - "she" has her limitations. She's a > fine approach if you want to imitate MF lenses, but she's a - somehow - > unhappy solution, if you want something different than a current > Japanese high-end lens. >> > >Alf, do I understand that you do not like high resolution, high contrast >lenses? I can certainly understand that for some situations, such as >portraits, a soft contrast lens produces nice results. But are there not many >situations, where a high contrast, high resolution lens is desirable? > >In general, isn't sharper better? > >Tom Shea >