Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/10/20

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Serial numbers...who's collecting?
From: Nathan Wajsman <nathan.wajsman@euronet.be>
Date: Wed, 21 Oct 1998 06:52:15 +0200

Isaac,

Congratulations on your soon-to-be collectors' item. Trust me, whatever your
wallet says, you WILL be in the market for additional lenses soon. I speak from
bittersweet experience here. I started with an M6 with 35mm Summicron in late
April, thinking that this would be my only lens. Now it is October, and I have
added an M3, plus 24mm, 50mm, 75mm, 90mm and 135mm lenses to my outfit.
Yesterday I traded in my old 35mm Summicron for a brand new 35mm Summicron ASPH.
I am hooked! Now, as for testing (this is what actually convinced me to upgrade
my 35mm). When I was comparing 35mm lenses, I used a human-sized statue at close
range as my test subject. The camera was on a heavy tripod. I then took a series
of identical pictures with both lenses, going through the entire aperture range
f2-f16. The advantage of statues is that they do not move, so if you use a good
tripod, you eliminate any variations due to camera shake or subject movement. In
addition, if you pick the right statue, it will have lots of details allowing
you to evaluate the resolving power of the lens. Finally, you need the right
film: the best choice is a slow slide film (I used Fuji Velvia). Even if you do
not normally shoot slides, for testing purposes it is the best choice since you
will then be looking at a first-generation image on the light-table. And use a
good loupe to look at the slides.

Happy testing!

Nathan

Isaac H Crawford wrote:

> I picked up my M6HM yesterday...wasn't somebody collecting serial numbers? I
> got word from Leica USA that they didn't have any more HM models left. I
> also got the 75mm summilux. The good thing is that I got a good price on it,
> the bad thing is that I can't afford any more lenses and I worry that 75mm
> may not be the ideal length to use all the time (unlike a 50mm...). Still,
> everyone says this is a fine lens, I'll find out tomorrow when I go
> shooting. BTW, are there any things in particular I should shoot when using
> a brand new camera test-wise?
>
> Happy Shooting!
> Isaac



- --
Nathan Wajsman
Overijse, Belgium

Photography page:  http://members.tripod.com/~belgiangator/index.html
Motorcycle page:  http://www.geocities.com/motorcity/downs/1704/index.html