Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/08/31

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Subject: Re: [Leica] RE: I've seen teh Bokeh!!!
From: Eric Welch <ewelch@ponyexpress.net>
Date: Tue, 31 Aug 1999 14:31:34 -0500

At 11:07 AM 8/31/99 -0400, you wrote:
>I suspect that Leica's approach is an expensive one. Without the high
>resolution lower contrast images would look awful.

Actually, Leica's lenses are not that outstanding in the resolution 
area.  Some are, some aren't. They're all great, but not much more than the 
competition. They tend to have high contrast. You are mistaking subject 
contrast for lens contrast. That is, the ability to discriminate the edge 
of a line, not the differences in the highlights and shadows and the "local 
contrast" as Ansel Adams and other refer to it, or tonal modulation from 
one brightness level to another. That's contrast controlled via film and 
processing. Contrast in a lens is controlled in the designer's computer. A 
decent lens in terms of low resolution, but great in terms of high 
contrast, will tend to make pictures that look sharper than the other way 
around.

Any lens test that says Leica lenses are, as a class, low contrast, needs 
to be fixed.

Eric Welch
St. Joseph, MO

http://www.ponyexpress.net/~ewelch

Okay, who put a  stop payment  on my reality check?