Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/11/29

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Subject: [Leica] Favorite screwmount cameras and lenses
From: Mark Langer <mlanger@ccs.carleton.ca>
Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2000 7:37:50 EST

I have several screwmount Leicas and my favourites are different from
those mentioned here.  I'm very fond of the Leica II, as it is lighter
than my other screwmounts and lacks strap lugs and slow speeds.  As a
result, it is extraordinarily sleek, fitting more comfortably into both
hand and shirt pocket.  I almost always use the camera with the 50mm f3.5
Elmar.

Although I also like using the IIIc and IIIf, my other favourite screw
mount Leica isn't a Leica at all!  It is a Yashica/Nicca YF.  In my
opinion, this is a better choice than the IIIg.  It features a very smooth
film advance lever and has a combined range/viewfinder with
parallax-corrected brightlines for 50mm and 100mm.  The rangefinder patch
itself is pretty much 135mm and the entire finder is a non-parallax
corrected 35mm field of view.  More importantly, it has a flip-up back
that allows easy loading of untrimmed 35mm film leader.  My limited
experience with some of the screwmount Canons also indicates that they
are serious contenders in any consideration of the best "Leica" screwmounts.

As long as we've strayed off a bit, some of my favourite screwmount Leica
lenses are not made by Leica.  I find the Canon lenses are great buys. 
The 35mm f2 Canon is a superb fast wide angle at a price half that of a
Summicron.  The 85mm f2 is a nicely built Sonnar clone, and the 100mm f4
renders an image indistinguishable from the 90mm f4 Elmar, but with a bit
more reach.  And, I should sing the praises of the Jupiter 3 50mm f1.5. 
If you have a good one, it is probably the best LTM bargain around.  The
50mm Summar is great for portraiture wide open, and is an underrated
performer when stopped down -- just be sure that you use a lens hood on
this one.  The Summitar is probably the best value for the money Leica
lens, and is reasonably compact when collapsed.  I like the "barn door"
hood as it functions as a lenscap when it is folded up, although I have
to admit that I am distinctly in the minority on this accessory. But my most
used Leica lens is a late 50mm f3.5 Elmar -- incredibly compact and a good all
round performer.

By the way, Rich maintains a newsgroup for screwmount Leica enthusiasts
called SMUG (screw mount users group).  Although there hasn't been much
activity on it lately, sometimes there are lively discussions there by LTM
enthusiasts.

Mark


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Mark Langer

Email address: mlanger@ccs.carleton.ca
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