Re: [Leica] Re: Not Leica quality

["Ted Grant" <tedgrant@home.com>]

Steve Huntley wrote:

>>>    Yes, underexposure. Please excuse my poor editing. You say it was not
a lens to put on a Leica; was severe vignetting the problem for you as well?
<<<<

Hi Steve,
The underexposing  is probably more of your handling problem, simply because
with a lens as wide as the 15 the light makes some sharp turns on the way to
the film and if you've underexposed, then the vignetting is quite
pronounced. Which can lead one to believe they have a crappy lens, which
isn't the case for the Cosina/Voigtlander lens.  It's more a case of
learning how to use it.

Underexposing is a user thing that occurs with some folks at the beginning
when shooting with this particular lens or any other as wide as this,
certainly if they haven't worked with super wides before. Certainly on an M
type camera.

Actually when your exposures are right on the mark the "vignetting" as you
call it, can be extremely enhancing when shooting travel photography as it
pulls the sky blues down to wonderful shades against the Pacific warm waters
of Hawaii or else where.

Even the Leica 15 does a nice bit of vignetting which I always make use of
on tourism type shooting or scenics. The darkening of the corners goes with
the wide angle lens.

And as far as the M6 metering is concerned it will more than likely give you
"under exposures" every shot unless you are holding the camera correctly and
even then when pointing it down, I've found one doesn't always point it down
far enough. I've taken to using an incident meter while working with the 15
on the M as it eliminates any "pointy down" guestimation.

But the R 15 on the R8 is strictly in camera metering.

ted
Ted Grant Photography Limited
www.islandnet.com/~tedgrant