[Leica] Re: Leica Users digest V16 #56

[LRZeitlin@aol.com]

There has been recent postings on the quality of some older Canon lenses. 
Some Leicaholics find it hard to admit that Canon RF lenses function superbly 
on screw mount and M series Leicas and are available at about half the price 
of comparable used Leica lenses. All Canon RF lenses, except the 50mm F.95, 
were equipped with 39 mm screw mounts and rangefinder cams which coupled with 
Leica rangefinders. When fitted with screw to bayonet adapters, they all work 
on the M series cameras. The lenses were manufactured to the highest 
specifications and most were extremely sharp, even by today's standards. 
During my newspaper days, I bought a couple of these lenses and inherited a 
few more when my compatriots switched to SLRs.

Here are my personal Canon lens favorites:
25mm F3.5 - This is a unique Gauss-type lens similar to the Zeiss Hologon and 
uses a special optical glass plate to minimize falloff and distortion. It 
delivers crisp and sharp results to the edges of the negative. Use any 
adapter since you will have to get an accessory finder. One came with my lens 
but any superwide finder will do. It is hard to find but worth the search.

35mm F2.8 - This older lens is similar to the Summaron and produces results 
identical to the Leitz optic. I use it on both screw mount Leicas and the CL. 
The full frame of the CL finder matches the lens picture area pretty well. 
Use a 35mm adapter. Canon also made a 35mm F2 and a 35mm F1.5 which I never 
tried. I have heard that they are both quite good though.

50mm F1.4 - I bought this lens when I couldn't afford a Summilux. I've never 
compared side by side enlargements with the Leica lens but I have matched it 
with a seven element F2 Summicron, allegedly the highest resolution 50mm 
Leica lens ever offered. From F2 to F16 the results are almost identical with 
the Leica lens having the edge only on enlargements greater than 11x14. For 
half the price and the extra stop, this lens is a great buy for the Leica 
user.

50mm F1.2 - I was given this saucer sized piece of glass by a colleague who 
had his Canon 7 body stolen. Most users (me included) have a love/hate 
relationship with the Canon 50mm 1.2. This mammoth sized optic has a screw 
mount but the lens is so wide that it is visible in the view finder of the 
camera. It is soft at full aperture, but sharpens up nicely at f4. It is not 
quite as good as the F2 Summicron but better than the 50mm Elmar. At F1.2 it 
gives a mysterious quality to the image, a sharp core with a soft halo. It 
takes very flattering low light portraits and makes an excellent natural 
light wedding lens since everyone looks beautiful. Available light photos, 
for which this lens was intended tend to be very contrasty and the full 
opening softness is suitable. It is a BIG hunk of glass to hang on your 
camera and it is impressive as hell mounted on an M3. The M2, M4, and .72 
viewfinder M6 don't have enough RF equivalent baseline to critically focus 
this lens at short distances (under 2 meters). The screwmount Leicas do, 
however.

100mm F3.5 - This is my favorite short telephoto, bar none! It is razor sharp 
and beats every similar focal length Leitz optic I have tried. If you need a 
short telephoto, beg, buy, or steal this lens. I use it with both M series 
and the CL. Its picture area is fractionally smaller than the M finder field 
but matches that of the CL perfectly. It and the Leica 40mm make a great 
travel package for the CL. Use a 90mm adapter.

135mm F3.5 - This is a solidly built telephoto that weighs almost a pound. It 
works fine with my M3s but is a bit too much focal length to focus accurately 
with later models. It is sharp to the edges and has little flare. Use a 35mm 
adapter on the M3.

LarryZ