[Leica] CooltoneRC test--?

[Mike Johnston <michaeljohnston@ameritech.net>]

>>>
As coincidence would have it, last week I air-mailed you a packet of ten

prints made on the new Ilford CooltoneRC and they are about to land on
your
doormat. Don't turn them over to see any lens identification, etc
pencilled
on the reverse... and tell me which lenses were used for each image. Get
'em
nearly right (I don't know *precisely* which lenses were used) and I'll
do a
nice fibre or two of any you like for your collection.

And count me to identify yours if you at least want to be sure of not
losing
your challenge  ;-0
<<<

Ed,
Tempting as it is to play the omniscient savant, I must confess (you
have obviously forgotten!) that you scribbled the identity of the camera
and lens on the back of each print, along with the printing data. <s>

I don't think I could do it blind anyway. It takes me a while to lock on
to the identifiers of lenses, so it's only possible, really, to guess
lenses that I am already familiar with. Besides, there is not enough
_bokeh_ in your pictures...that's the "fingerprint" of the lens most
often, at least in prints. If the test were limited to lenses I know, I
think I could do pretty well...but I think it'd be a fool's errand to
pretend to be able to guess what lens made any particular picture, if
the picture could have been taken with anything.

And even some lenses that I try, I never really get a handle on. Either
I lose interest too early or I just never sort out how it's behaving.

Obviously, I don't think anybody will pass my "Gauntlet" test. I have
three volunteers already, though! I need six more. C'mon, y'all, step up
to the plate!

- --Mike