Re: [Leica] lenses and saturation

[Jeffcoat Photography <jeffcoatphoto@sumter.net>]

But of course, you really knew this would happen. I have a new 20-35 n***** "D"
zoom and my 20yr + 90 f2 Summicron will stomp it into the ground. But I'm
repeating myself, must be the age.
Cheers Wilber

Zeissleica@aol.com wrote:

> In a message dated 7/8/99 5:38:48 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
> jplaurel@microsoft.com writes:
>
> >  Have any of you had a similar experience?  Is it just that the AE system in
> >  my head is smarter than the Canon's or have you noted that the Leica M
> >  lenses seem to produce richer, more saturated colors?
> >
> >  Best Regards,
> >  --Jim Laurel
>
> Jim...
>
> It depends.
>
> I recently purchased a Sigma 28-105mm f/2.8-4.0 Aspherical for my wife as an
> anniversary gift for her to use with her manual Pentax Super Program and we
> did some comparison shots over the past weekend in the wilds of West
> Virginia.  She used the metering from her camera and her new Sigma, while I
> used my Sekonic L-508, 35/3.5 Summaron, 50/2.0 collapsible Summicron and
> 135/4.5 Hektor on my M3.
>
> I was expecting the worst, as the lenses I used date from the mid-1950's (the
> exception being the newer Noct, of course, but I didn't use it during this
> shoot) and are lacking many of the modern improvements, such as
> multi-coatings and special elements.
>
> I was amazed when we got the E100VS slides back and the Leica images had such
> a strong showing.  In the exact same light, shooting position and subject,
> there were very similar amounts of lens flare.  However, my metering and
> focusing were more accurate, some (not all) of my shots were more saturated,
> and almost all had better contrast than the shots she took with the Sigma.
> She was able to focus much closer then I could, for nice closeups.
>
> Additionally, I have been showing my recent work to other photo friends
> (low-end Nikon and Minolta SLR users) and they have been shocked at the
> results I have been getting with 45 year old glass, marveling at the shadow
> details and edge-to-edge tonaliy performance.
>
> I haven't been able to do any high-end comparisons with others yet, so my
> results have to be taken with a grain of salt.
>
> /Mitch