[Leica] SLR with Bokeh

["Martin V. Howard" <marho@ida.liu.se>]

I realize that this is a Leica list, but I trust your experience more
than any other list.  So, here goes a (somewhat) off-topic question:

I'm considering Leica R (for obvious reasons), but I'm not too fond of
the (IMO) rather underspecified bodies.  Canon FD offers a nice balance
with the F1N and T90 between traditional and high-tech, but I'm not
sure of the bokeh of the FD lenses.  Contax lenses appear very good,
with brilliant bokeh, the bodies are well specified, but they are hard
to find on the SH market.

Bokeh is extremely important to me, along with sharpness, but
(unfortunately) price is also a consideration.  I will primarily be
buying second-hand stuff.

I have an M-system (slowly in the making ;) which I intend to use for
wide-angle stuff mainly.  I wish to build an SLR system too, for use
with focal lengths of 135mm and longer.  I'm looking towards a 135,
180, 300 and possibly 400mm lenses.  I'll probably get a 50mm and 100mm
macro too, at some stage.  I will need (reasonably) sophisticated flash
capabilities.

So, could those of you who have *experience* of Leica R, Canon FD and/or
Contax please comment on the optical and mechanical properties of these
systems.  Since this is off-topic and likely to induce a marque-
territorial religious flame war, personal email replies may be the 
better way to go ;-)


M.

- -- 
Martin V. Howard, Application Systems Laboratory,     | 
Dept. of Comp. & Info. Sci., Linkoping University,    | Just "DOHH" it!
SE-581 83 Linkoping, Sweden.  Tel +46 13 282 421,     +----------------+
Fax +46 13 142 231; marho@ida.liu.se; www.ida.liu.se/~marho