Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/12/18
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Greg Bicket wrote: >>> I have begun preparations for my annual January trek to Florida's Captiva Island, and the Ding Darling Wildlife Sanctuary. My f4 280 APO will see lots of use on the R8, but I am wondering if there are any solutions other LUGgers have discovered to Leica's high cost of long glass. I tried the squeeze focusing Novoflex 400/560, and could not come to like the focusing mechanism. Anybody successfully figured out how to accomplish Leica quality long telephoto without spending enough to buy a ranch and the cattle to go with it? Or is it as simple as pay huge or do without? <<< Greg, I soon tired of the Novoflex squeeze focus, too. IMHO it's very suitable for constantly changing focus but for holding focus it's the pits. If you want to work from a tripod try to find a 560mm f/5.6 Telyt with Televit-R. Handheld, one of the f/6.8 Telyts (either 400mm or 560mm) with the Leica (not Novoflex) mount is my choice. The f/6.8 Telyts are much less difficult to find second-hand and are much more suitable for use from a small boat. I've used the 400mm f/6.8 from a skiff, a canoe, a kayak and from larger boats. You'll still need fast shutter speeds but it works far better in a small boat than trying to find a stable place to put a tripod. On shore, the f/6.8 Telyts *WITH THE SHOULDER STOCK* are stable enough to use at remarkably slow shutter speeds. Call Tamarkin and see if they'll rent you one for the trip, or expect to pay about $1000 for a used lens with shoulder stock. A few (?) years ago I spent a winter in the Everglades when the only Leica equipment I had was a then-new SL and equally new 400 f/6.8, and a 90mm Summicron-R. The 400 was inadequate for many situations, but perfect for others. Doug Herr Sacramento http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/telyt