Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/08/31

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Guess the Lens
From: Peter Klein <pklein@2alpha.net>
Date: Sat, 31 Aug 2002 11:10:27 -0700

No apology needed, Steve.  And that's one beautiful gir... er, 
picture.  However, I'm not sure your shot illustrates the Summilux' 
superiority over the Nokton.  Your picture is a finished Web jpeg.  What I 
posted were unaltered Vuescan scans with no curves or sharpening 
adjustments. Your picture had plenty of curves without adjustment.  :-)

Your subject also had a lot higher natural contrast than mine--dark hair, 
dark eyes and dark red lipstick, vs. greying blonde hair, blue eyes and no 
lipstick.   We also don't know your shutter speed, what film, how close you 
were or how much cropping you did.   I was about 4 feet away.  Marianne was 
taken at 1/60, and Susan at 1/30.  Are you sure yours was a wide open shot? 
There looks to be too much depth of field if your picture is indeed full frame.

Anyway, yours is a much more striking picture.  But there's too many 
variables for us to know what is attributable to your lens vs. mine.

I posted the unaltered Vuescans so we would be comparing apples to 
apples.  If I had a Summilux, I would love to do a similar same-subject 
shootout to see how they really compare.

I've worked up the sharper Nokton shot of Susan, with curves adjustment and 
some unsharp mask, so Susan's head  Here 
'tis:  http://www.2alpha.com/~pklein/temp/susan2.jpg

Anyway, a used Nokton came my way at a decent price.  Since the Nokton is a 
modern design and much less expensive than the 1960s-design Summilux, I 
decided I owed it to myself to to try the Nokton first.  This test is just 
a first impression--I'm not going to know whether I really like it until 
I've got a number of rolls of film through it.

One thing I'm sure of--I'm keeping my 50 Summicron.  The fast lens is for 
when I need "low gear."

- --Peter

B.D. said:
> > Well, ain't that a hoot! Summilux! Summicron! Summaron! Leica! Leica! 
> Leica!
> > And both shots were taken with Japanese glass - one a 50-year-old design,
> > the other a modern lens which sells for $489 NEW at B&H.

Steve said:

>PULEEZZ, I really hate to see you keep making a fool out of yourself with
>your constant anti-Leica stance. This Summilux 50/1.4 shot at f1.4 blows
>away Peter's Nikkor and Cosina lenses by any measure you can think of:
>
>http://www.streetphoto.net/images/im120.jpg
>
>With apologies to Peter, who takes very good pictures.
>
>sl


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