[Leica] Stealth with the Color-Heliar 75mm (long)

[Doug Cooper <visigoth@echonyc.com>]

I have now spent a couple of days prowling the streets of Soho with my new
M4-P.  (Yes, finally figured out that this is indeed what it is; Sherry
K. worked on it, and tells me it's one of the first ever made.) As I don't
own any Leica optics, currently (and am kicking myself for selling that
pristine Summitar), I can only report on the lenses I do have.  I shot one
roll with the Canon 50/1.4 LTM -- a roll of Fuji NPH, because my beloved
Reala is only intermittently available in New York -- and a roll of T400CN
with the new Cosina/Voigtlander 75/2.5.

The 50/1.4 I am familiar with; it was simply a question of adjusting to
the M4-P after working with my old Canon 7.  (While I love those Canon
bodies, and can get good results with them, there really is nothing like
the rangefinder patch on the M.  The Canon gives you this amorphous
floating bright spot, whose edges resemble flare, whereas the Leica really
does offer an edge so sharp that you can use it as a split image.  But
then, you know all this.) I'll simply recap my impressions of that Canon
50:  if the Summicron is the King of Bokeh, then this is the Heir
Apparent.  I *adore* the OOF characteristcs of this lens.  Which leads me
to the Voigtlander...

I was nervous about this new lens.  While I am more than happy with the
25mm Skopar, it exhibits a slightly wiry bokeh:  less of an issue with a
wide than with a telephoto.  In 75mm, bokeh *truly matters*.  And my work
these days emphasizes blur:  some of my photos have only a token object in
focus.  Also nervous-making was the possibility of focusing problems,
despite the smaller aperture -- I've heard enough complaints about the
Leica 75.

Okay, enough buildup:  this Voigtlander is nothing short of
astonishing.  Gorgeous.  Figures sharply-focused stand out in that
preternatural way that I associate with Zeiss, and the background blur is
exquisite.  Easily another Pretender to the Throne (if I can extend this
dead metaphor until its bones crack).

Also praisworthy are the ergonomics.  I am working on my stealth
photography (a difficult business with my other "miniatures" -- Contax
SLRs) and I've had some nice results.  And have come close, I suspect,
to having my head kicked in.   The 75mm is a trickier beast in the field
than a 50 or a 30:  you can stand further away, but focusing is more
critical.  I find it takes me an extra split second to ascertain that my
unwitting victim is in focus.  By which point the quarry is often
witting.  (I have a great shot of a woman staring at me with contempt, as
I photograph her and her friend shopping for hats.) The short throw on the
75mm, combined with just the right damping, makes for surprisingly quick
work.

I'm doing a series in which I capture people's reactions as they browse
through photography books in bookstores, and I got some nice shots with
the Voigtlander of "readers" carefully analyzing Taschen art/porn.  
Nobody even slightly aware of my presence.  And the lens manages to do a
decent job rendering even the images on the page that they're reading --
not bad for a short tele, hand-held at 1/30th.

I figure that all of this practice with longer lenses will make me a
stealth virtuoso by the time I can afford that 35mm Summicron.

(Pardon the long post.  I get excited.)


Douglas Cooper