[Leica] follow on to 24mm R thread

["gbicket" <gbicket@email.msn.com>]

Morning!

What John Gong had to say about his experience with Jim Brick's earlier
owned 24mm R rang true to me as all too rare on the LUG, its substance
turning on pilot error.  The results different users get with a particular
lens, if it is manufactured within given tolerances turn a lot more on how
the lens is used than the lens itself.

There may be wider than normal variance in examples of the 24mm R.  In fact,
it probably is a combination of various things, but John's comment made me
wonder if the shortcomings attributed to the 24mm R may in truth be more
driven by a precise "sweet spot" of ultimate sharpness being disguised to
some users eyes by the inherently deeper-seeming DOF of wide angle lenses.
I think John's candor in acknowledging that pilot error may be more to blame
than the lens itself is enlightened and enlightening.

It's a damned poor carpenter who blames his tools, and when the tools are
Leica tools, poorer carpenters, indeed!

Now as long as we're considering the remote possibility of photographer
error, let me jump to confess that after lots of trying with the 80mm R, I
could never consistently put the focus plane where I wanted it.  Some rolls
would come back with hilariously misplaced planes of focus.  One by one
revealing that while there was indeed a razor sharp focus plane, and
beaucoup bokeh, often nowhere near I intended it.  I got it right between a
third and half the time!  There were even shots that turned out interesting,
but fully unintentional in terms of what I had attempted to do.
Compliments about the unintended focus plane in a particular photograph made
it worse!

Now, I continued to struggle with it, because I loved the idea of a lens of
that length and speed.  I didn't trade it in until the front lens element
unit came off the rest of the lens while using it.  My dealer's re-threading
it and turning his back to me while he strained to snug it up didn't do much
confidence inspiring, either.  But in fact, I gave up on the lens because
its plane of sharp focus was beyond my capacity to control with predictable
results as recorded on film.

"This is your pilot speaking; We may be encountering areas of rough focus, I
ask that you now put on your focusbelts and leave them until the focusbelt
light goes out."

Enjoy the light.

Greg