[Leica] IMG: Dog portrait, with the succulent middle of a 50mm Summilux.

[mark at rabinergroup.com (Mark Rabiner)]

> Sorry Mark,
> I am not trying to question your, or others expertise, nor to question the
> fact that most photographs are taken stopped down.
> Probably everybody here knows that, including me, a poor amateur of 40 
> years.
> The point I was making was that, if one -almost never- shoots wide open, a
> Leica lens is an unnecessary and expensive luxury for which one is getting
> only rare benefit.
> That was all.
> cheers,
> Frank


Well I read that Erwin book.
And I've used Leica M glass for a decade and blew them up 16x20 in the
darkroom. So I know they have more going for them than their ability to be
real good wide open. They also have the ability to be real good and better
than the others stopped down a couple.
The old LUG urban legend buzzword quote is "f 8 is the great equalizer" but
I think the test reports show that Leica M glass is a head up from Nikon
Canon at F8 as well. And that quote came before Erwin's book.

I think if someone had the feeling that it was real bad to shoot wide open
and avoided doing that like a plague it could be explained to them that
their Leica M glass was made so this is much more viable than the nikon
canon glass of the 60's I'm assuming such a person would be an old timer.

[Rabs]
Mark William Rabiner