Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/12/18

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Subject: Re: [Leica] [Leica} Tri-Elmar and zoom
From: Nathan Wajsman <nathan.wajsman@euronet.be>
Date: Sat, 18 Dec 1999 18:51:36 +0100

Erwin,

> Some comments on the maximum aperture. We now speak with some disdain
> about an f/4 aperture. Do we remember that from 1925 till 1960 the
> workhorse lens was the Elmar 3.5/50? And that with film sensibility
> around 10 to 50 ASA. Many HCB pictures are made with apertures around
> 5.6.

This is true, of course, and it makes me admire the masters of the "old
days" even more. But do you have any doubt that HCB would have used the
modern Leica lenses if they had been available to him 50 years ago?

One of the main attractions of today's Leica lenses is precisely the fact
that they deliver outstanding image quality even at maximum aperture. You
are the one who has educated me and the rest of the LUG on this very
point! It allows me to use slow films like Fuji Velvia or Provia 100 or
KM25/64 and get sharpness, gradation and colour rendition undreamed of
just 20 years ago. So, the bar has been raised higher and our standards
are higher today than in the 40s or 50s. I am of course not saying that
our artistic standards are correspondingly higher, but Leica has spoiled
us and gotten us used to the idea that you can achieve incredible image
quality at f1.4 or f2.

> In my view the demand for f/2 lenses and wider, even in the
> classical M picture environment is a bit exaggerated. Of course there
> are situations where a 1.4 and a filmspeed of 1600 will save the day.
> But in many situations an f/4 will do very fine. Optically the
> Tri-Elmar is equal to the current 28, 35 and 50 lenses at relevant
> apertures. A few years ago Canon did a very extensive study on the
> use of apertures and examined thousands of pictures. Result?
> Apertures wider than 2.8 are very scarce in practical use. There is
> hardly any professional zoomlens with an aperture wider than 2.8.
> That fills the need of many users.

I have no disdain for slower lenses. The fastest lens I own for my R
system is the 2.8/60mm Macro Elmarit. I just bought the 4/35-70mm Vario
Elmar to go with my R8. But when I shoot with my Ms, it is a different
story. I paid a lot of money for my 90mm Apo Summicron and the 135mm Apo
Telyt (and of course my Noctilux), with the express purpose of using the
wide apertures.

Of course, the easy solution is to buy the Tri-Elmar *in addition* to the
other lenses, but before I do that, my Baan stock would have to
appreciate a lot more ;-)

Kind regards,

Nathan

- --
Nathan Wajsman
Overijse, Belgium

General photo site: http://belgiangator.tripod.com/
Belgium photo site: http://members.xoom.com/wajsman/
Motorcycle site: http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Downs/1704/