Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2009/02/01

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Subject: [Leica] Erwin reviews new Summilux
From: mark at rabinergroup.com (Mark Rabiner)
Date: Sun Feb 1 08:06:20 2009

I have LTM stuff. A IIIF and three lenses; some finders.
The image circle its designed to work around is 43.3 just like the M system
but for some reason it just seems all to be a smaller scale.
If my LTM stuff is H0 scale then the M stuff seems to be a S train set.
http://www.internethobbies.com/inmodtrain.html

Its like someone took a bicycle pump to the stuff.
Now with this new line of super wide Noctilux its gone to 0 scale train set
size. Whose got a basement big enough?
Not very Leica like. The stuff weights a ton.
And considering what nine tens of its job description is all about there's
not excuse for it. Lots of money and weight and time and materials goes into
making sure a Leica lens unlike other companies don't stuff off at all at
the edges. Any Pentax or Minolta company cam make a lens which is sharp in
the center and cost a hundred bucks. Leica glass cost thousands and are
sharp out to the edges much more so.
What a waste!
I do have an Olympus Pen Ft set (N trainset scale) and I know what that
looks like and feels like to pick up in my hands.
I also know what Nikon DX glass looks like next to most of its full frame
counterparts. And its relative price advantage.
Its a waste having monster full frame glass doing half frame photography.
The smaller and image scale a lens is designed to work with the sharper its
Circle of confusion is going to be and the cheaper its going to be to make.
With the exception of Z scale gear which requires micro brain salad surgery
to put the battery in.

The Summarits' are not that small. They still go with my S Scale train set.

The new  24/3.2 is my kind of lens.

Smaller, slower and therefore cheaper.
The slow lane was always offered in the Leica catalog.
I predict that for every 1.4 they sell they sell 5 3.2 24's.
They'll realize the value of compactness.
And not bicycle pump ness.
And consider making the next lens for the image circle which its going to be
used for.
People will order two. One for each car.


Mark William Rabiner



> From: <grduprey@mchsi.com>
> Reply-To: Leica Users Group <lug@leica-users.org>
> Date: Sun, 01 Feb 2009 15:32:40 +0000
> To: Leica Users Group <lug@leica-users.org>
> Subject: Re: [Leica] Erwin reviews new Summilux
> 
> 
>  
> Mark,
> 
> 
> They are already sharper than any other digital camera can record, how 
> sharp
> to you want? ? My 28 Elmarit Asph is dam small and light already, in fact 
> my
> complaint is that the grip ring is to narrow to get a good grip to mount 
> the
> lens and remove it. ?Any smaller and I could not use it. ?If it was any
> sharper, I could not tell anyway. ?There is also the 35 Summilux pre-asph, 
> the
> 50 Summicron, how much smaller do you want. ?All the Summarits are small 
> and
> light weight. ?I have not handled the new 24/3.2, but I suspect it is much
> smaller than the Elmarit and the new Summilux for sure. ?Looks to me like 
> they
> are already giving you what you want.
> 
> 
> Gene -------------- Original message from Mark Rabiner
> <mark@rabinergroup.com>: --------------
> 
> 
>> A lens optimized to the format it's working in has advantages.
>> They would not just be cheaper they'd be sharper.
>> And smaller.
>> And lighter.
>> All very Leica M or Leica  LTM valued characteristics.
>> 
>> But only if it seemed they for real are not going to be going full frame.
>> Meaning not anytime in the foreseeable future.
>> 
>> ... Which is what it looks like to me.
>> 
>> 
>> It's not that they'd be "cheaper".
>> They'd cost what they should cost.
>> 
>> IN the 90's or before we'd not pay for a 4 thousand dollar Hasselblad lens
>> to adapt to a 35mm camera when we are shooting 35mm. Shoot the format your
>> glass is.
>> 
>> 
>> Mark William Rabiner
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> From: 
>>> Reply-To: Leica Users Group
>>> Date: Sun, 01 Feb 2009 07:58:18 +0000
>>> To: Leica Users Group
>>> Subject: Re: [Leica] Erwin reviews new Summilux
>>> 
>>> 
>>>  
>>> They have said all along that they would produce a full frame camera 
>>> when it
>>> became practible. ?So why make a reduced coverage set of Digital lenses?
>>> ?The
>>> Summarits and 28 Elmarit Asph, and the new 24/3.4 are all priced at a 
>>> lower
>>> more reasonable price range similar to the Zeiss lenses. ?No need to make
>>> cheaper Digital lenses.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Gene? -------------- Original message from Ric Carter :
>>> --------------
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> Surely a cheaper, smaller Leica lens could be produced for the M8
>>>> since the circle of coverage would be smaller. It would have at least
>>>> those two advantages.
>>>> 
>>>> Still, we see and hear only of compatible (read full 35mm  frame)
>>>> lenses.
>>>> 
>>>> So, maybe this indicates that Leica sees a full 35mm frame sensor in
>>>> its future?
>>>> 
>>>> Ric Carter
>>>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/ricc/
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> On Jan 31, 2009, at 4:29 PM, Geoff Hopkinson wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>> No, no, no, no Mark.
>>>>> No because they already make a new range of extremely compact modest
>>>>> aperture lenses, the Summarits.
>>>>> Those are tiny, relatively cheaper and have nearly all of the
>>>>> performance of
>>>>> the other modern designs but still covering your full 35mm crop
>>>>> circle.
>>>>> No because the M8 sensor capturea a stunning amount of information
>>>>> from
>>>>> their best glass already.
>>>>> No because the resolution of the M8 sensor is already appropriate if
>>>>> you
>>>>> want to go mathematical and calculate crop circles of confusion.
>>>>> No because any 'DX' lens would be useless on the film Ms that Leica
>>>>> still
>>>>> makes.
>>>>> No because any 'DX' lens would  be useless on any future 35mm sensor M
>>>>> camera.
>>>>> 
>>>>> The extra capability mentioned with the Elmar 24 for example is the
>>>>> performance in the outer field which is not recorded by the M8 'crop
>>>>> circle'
>>>>> Performance in the extrem corners is pretty academic.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Did I mention no? ;-)
>>>>> 
>>>>> 2009/1/31 Mark Rabiner
>>>>> 
>>>>>> These super lenes by Leica to be used at a fraction of a fraction
>>>>>> of its
>>>>>> capabilities on an M8 with a 1.33 crop factor its enough but not
>>>>>> quite
>>>>>> enough to get someone to shoot film.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Leica could make some killer DX lenes for the M8.
>>>>>> Incredibly sharp compact glass designed for the 1.33 crop circle
>>>>>> factor.
>>>>>> Film shooters are getting to be the tip of the iceberg of a niche.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> A niche niche.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Mark William Rabiner
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>> Leica Users Group.
>>>>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> -- 
>>>>> Cheers
>>>>> Geoff
>>>>> Weather is here, wish you were beautiful
>>>>> 
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Leica Users Group.
>>>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Leica Users Group.
>>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Leica Users Group.
>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> Leica Users Group.
>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information




Replies: Reply from imagist3 at mac.com (George Lottermoser) ([Leica] Erwin reviews new Summilux)
Reply from sethrosner at nycap.rr.com (Seth Rosner) ([Leica] Erwin reviews new Summilux)
In reply to: Message from grduprey at mchsi.com (grduprey@mchsi.com) ([Leica] Erwin reviews new Summilux)