Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/03/18

[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]

Subject: [Leica] Re: To the defense of the 100 Apo Macro
From: Nathan Wajsman <wajsman@webshuttle.ch>
Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 08:06:44 +0100
References: <B6DACF48.1A49%douglas@dysmedia.com>

Douglas,

I will not engage in a fruitless discussion of M3 vs. M6 (and yes, I have both),
but the statements below really caught my eye. Until I read this I had never
heard anyone complain of the bokeh of this lens. I consider the 100 Apo Macro
the best lens I have held in my hands, period. I use mine for macro shots and
for general landscape and portraits (young pretty faces only!), and the
sharpness and color rendition of this lens are simply breathtaking. This lens
alone is reason enough to buy into the Leica R system.

Nathan

Douglas Cooper wrote, in part:

> >From that site, you might be inclined to buy the 100 macro, for instance,
> and end up with a lens -- though fantastically sharp -- is pretty much
> useless for all but the most circumscribed applications.  For flat-field
> macro work -- say, the documentation of art, or a coin collection -- it is
> no doubt superlative.  But most of us in the real world use a macro lens to
> photograph three-dimensional objects, which involves a substantial portion
> of the image out of focus.  So the problem of bokeh here is genuine, and
> perhaps paramount.
>
> The fact is that the out of focus characteristics of the APO-Macro-Elmarit
> 2.8/100 are generally thought dire:  they "put one's teeth on edge".  You
> don't find even a hint of this on Erwin's site.  And Leica has no doubt sold
> a great number of these lenses based on his enthusiasm.

- --
Nathan Wajsman
Herrliberg (ZH), Switzerland

e-mail: wajsman@webshuttle.ch

General photo site: http://belgiangator.tripod.com/
Belgium photo site: http://members.xoom.com/wajsman/
Motorcycle site: http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Downs/1704/