Re: [Leica] Leica] Why I like the Leica-Users and Other Stories

[Dennis Painter <dennis@hale-pohaku.com>]

The real story is here:
http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/v04/msg01265.html

Mark Pope wrote:

> Sounds a bit dodgy to me - what you seem to be saying is that the lens would
> be a sort of black hole.  The only thing in the universe that can do this
> sort of thing.
> This thread is geting scary! :-)  Wonder what Stephen Hawking would make of
> it?
>
> Mark
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "SonC (Sonny Carter)" <SonC@sonc.com>
> To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
> Sent: 19 July 2001 19:18
> Subject: Re: [Leica] Leica] Why I like the Leica-Users and Other Stories
>
> >
> > > > on 7/18/01 4:32 AM, Peter Klein at pklein@2alpha.net
> > wrote:
> > > > > Because if they did, you'd fall in.
> > >
> > > >Gilbert Plantinga <gilplant@earthlink.net>> wrote:
> > > >Not exactly. You see, when you walk into a small room
> > with the Noctilux it
> > > > tends to suck all of the available light out of the room
> > as soon as you take
> > > > off the lens cap. With the wide field of view of a 28
> > you could do some
> > > > serious environmental damage outdoors! Serious photon
> > shortage!
> > >
> > > Quite right, Gilbert.  But it's a safety issue, too. The
> > stream of
> > > hyperaccellerated photons running at the edge of the lens'
> > angle of view
> > > creates a partial electromagnetic vacuum just outside and
> > behind the
> > > perimeter of the front element.  The wider the lens, the
> > farther around
> > > and behind the lens this vacuum goes.  At 28mm and wider,
> > the
> > > photographer is in serious danger with an f/1.0 lens. And
> > with wide
> > > lenses, you tend to get closer to your subjects,
> > endangering them as
> > > well.
> > >
> > > All this was discovered in Wetzlar in the 1950s.  Young
> > genius lens
> > > designer Heinz Blitzengartner created what he thought to
> > be a
> > > breakthrough 28mm f/1.0 lens prototype, only to be sucked
> > into the lens
> > > and implanted onto a roll of Agfachrome the first time he
> > tried it.
> > > Fortunately, Heinz' colleagues realized what had happened.
> > They quickly
> > > capped and removed the lens, and Heinz popped out of the
> > camera.  He was
> > > not seriously injured, but was so embarrased by the
> > unexpected turn of
> > > events that he quit optical design and became a quantum
> > physicist.
> > >
> > > --Peter
> >
> > Er,  Peter,  that would be early 1958 when I moved to
> > Wetzlar (Beethoven Strasse).  I visited the Leitz factory,
> > and like any typically curious American Kid, asked the
> > question, "What's this button for?" (push)  I heard a
> > whooshing noise, and the place darkened several f stops, and
> > well, you know the rest.  They made me stay on the East side
> > of the Lahn River from then on.
> >
> > Regards,
> > SonC
> >
> >
> >