[Leica] 75mm 1.4 - Any pics?

[mattmorgan1 at mac.com (Matt Morgan)]

Aquiles,

I bought the 75 because it's a big chunk of beautiful glass and very 
fast, so it was always going to be about low-light situations. But. as 
you illustrate, the focus in these situations is so critical and 
difficult, its easy to waste a lot of opportunities and have regrets on 
missed shots.

Now obviously, its all about practice and developing the skills and 
honing the craft etc., but to some of us who just don't have that sort 
of time, its going to take a lot longer. I think the initial reason 
this lens stayed in my bag unused was that I had been disappointed with 
the shots I got back from the first test roll because of poor focusing. 
That meant that my confidence with the lens was undermined, so when I 
got the M6 out to specifically shoot things I actually wanted to get a 
picture of - not just shoot anything to test or for the sake of using 
the camera - I went for the 50 because I wanted to ensure I got the 
shot in focus.

This also leads into B.D's point, that the focal length is also a big 
issue with this lens. I agree with him, the focal length is too close 
to the 50 for me (I have a 50 1.4 as well). I had originally wanted a 
portrait lens, had got all excited with the stories I had heard about 
the 75 so bought that instead of the 90. For me, it just falls 
inbetween what I need, so this also eliminates it from getting used 
much.

However, none of this takes anything away from the beauty and quality 
of this great lens. The fact that I am not a master craftsman with this 
precision tool is my problem, not the problem of the lens of course.

The key factor for me now is 'horses-for-courses'. I will find a use 
for this lens that makes the most of its critical focusing and focal 
length. It will probably be mostly indoors, nice shots of the family 
etc., and the occasional outing. As I never carry a bag these days, 
when I do take the Leica out for a wander if we're going somewhere 
family wise, I'm pretty sure it will be with only a 50 or 35. These 
days, less is more to me and I'm over the Leica lust of wanting lots of 
gear. I just want a simple quality set-up of a great camera and one or 
two nice lenses.

Thanks, Matt.




On 07/10/2004, at 23:47, Aquiles Almansi wrote:

> I had the same experience at first, with people
> telling me that my pictures were out of focus. I even
> considered eye surgery!
>
> But, when one looks at a deph of field table, the
> truth becomes obvious: wide open, at a short distance,
> the DOF of any 75mm lens is extremely shallow (less
> than 2cm, for example). If one adds that one is
> shooting handheld, a moving subject, under very poor
> light, an extremly fast/grainy film...don't expect
> sharpeness! This lens is great to capture the
> atmosphere of low light situations, but if one if
> after sharp images...one needs to stay away from those
> situations!
>
> Example of extremely shallow deph of field:
> http://www.leica-gallery.net/aalmansi/image-55783.html
>
> and other examples:
>
> http://www.leica-gallery.net/aalmansi/image-47261.html
> http://www.leica-gallery.net/aalmansi/folder-7019.html
>
> best regards,
>
>
>


Matt Morgan