Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2015/04/24

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Subject: [Leica] Lens Choices
From: mark at rabinergroup.com (Mark Rabiner)
Date: Fri, 24 Apr 2015 20:59:12 -0400

Other companies had other nomenclatures but none could beat
"Super-Multi-Coated Takumar" from Pentax. It was a darned same they turned
it into an acronym "SMC" in the 90's.


On 4/24/15 8:41 PM, "Mark Rabiner" <mark at rabinergroup.com> wrote:

> " Super-Multi-Coated Takumar" may have been a mouthful but it was on the 
> lips
> of all the photo people I knew who hung out at the school darkroom and all 
> sat
> at the same table over French fries at the student lounge which was called 
> the
> Red Carpet.
> This was the lens and camera, a Spotmatic that I used often as I'd check it
> out from the school on the weekend. It was so much lighter with far better
> ergonomics than my new Nikon f2 with 45mm GN lens which only focused to 3
> feet.
> We all loved this lens and this camera at my school, Webster College in St.
> Louis in the early 70's it was the first to get checked out. A Canon FTb 
> was
> the last as it always pulled the film out of the cassette on the last 
> frame.
> It also came out in 1971 I see now.
> The Pentax Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 50/1.4 was the first lens anybody 
> could
> get their hands on which had this advanced coating which everyone was very
> hyped on and was developed by Pentax in conjunction with Zeiss said to 
> have as
> many has 6 micro thin coatings the same lens service the idea blew 
> everybody
> away.  Its all they talked about in any of the photo magazines.. Was said 
> to
> ad noticeable contrast to your final image and it turned out to not be 
> hype.
> And contrast by the way is a good thing. The Hasselblad lenses the next 
> year
> had T* on them which indicated the same thing though Hasselblad claimed 
> they'd
> been doing that previously a bit anyway for a year previously. Soon any 
> lens
> which was not super multi coated or T starred was not worth a hill of 
> beans in
> this crazy world. Other companies had other nomenclatures.
> 
> On 4/23/15 6:13 PM, "Jim Nichols" <jhnichols at lighttube.net> wrote:
> 
>> George,
>> 
>> I realize I am going against the grain here.  I am resisting the
>> conventional "wisdom" that, if it is not made by Leica or Zeiss, etc,
>> then it has to be junk.  The same holds for earlier models.  I feel a
>> lens should be evaluated on what it can do for ME, not what the
>> "experts" claim.
>> 
>> This is to show, especially to me, that my lens of choice, which happens
>> to be a Pentax Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 50/1.4 (7-element lens) from
>> around 1971, can do a reasonable job for me without having to spend a
>> small fortune for the latest and greatest lens, that is admittedly
>> somewhat better, but at what cost?
>> 
>> Since I'm getting few comments, I suspect no one else cares.
>> 
>> Thanks for commenting.
>> 
>> Here is my favorite image made with this lens, several Christmases ago:
>> http://www.gallery.leica-users.org/v/OldNick/Katie+Grace+_amp_+Kristin.jpg.ht
>> m> l
>> 
>> Jim Nichols
>> Tullahoma, TN USA
>> 
>> On 4/23/2015 4:30 PM, George Lottermoser wrote:
>>> On Apr 23, 2015, at 4:00 PM, Jim Nichols wrote:
>>> 
>>>> This third image, shot from my neighbor's yard across the street, shows
>>>> that 
>>>> things are greening up at my house, and the bushes are in real need of
>>>> trimming.  As a general purpose lens, this lens provides plenty of 
>>>> detail
>>>> without enhancement.  This raw image was converted with no special
>>>> adjustment, and the image was resized.
>>>> 
>>>> http://www.gallery.leica-users.org/v/OldNick/House.jpg.html
>>>> 
>>>> Comments and critiques welcomed.
>>> As you're presenting "lens tests" with the subject line "Lens Choices"
>>> It would be a bit more interesting if you mentioned what lens we're 
>>> looking
>>> at a sample from.
>>> 
>>> Not in the text and not in the EXIF - so what "Choices" are you making?
>>> 
>>> Regards,
>>> George Lottermoser
>>> 
>>> http://www.imagist.com
>>> http://www.imagist.com/blog
>>> http://www.linkedin.com/in/imagist
>>> 
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> 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
> 
> 
> 




-- 
Mark William Rabiner
Photographer
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/lugalrabs/




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