prince_alfie Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 It's interesting to see what people here believe which Leica lensdesigns after 1970's were "duds." (I decided to limit it topost-1970's because that is my main interest.) Personally, from what I gather, I heard that the 28-70 f3.5-4.5 zoomR-lens was considered a "failure" from an optical standpoint. Somepeople complain about the Sigma design despite the Leica endorsement.I don't know whether the most recent version of this lens is good butI would suspect it to be a better performer than any of the AF Sigmalenses of today. To be controversial, I think that the rare 35-70 f2.8 zoom R-lens wasa complete "failure" for Leica in my honest opinion. It was one of thebest optical performers of either M or R series but Leica wasn't ableto do a high production series for this lens because of the highpercentage of rejects. Thus, for me, a failure since this lens isrelegated to collector's status (geewhiz why over 8 grand?). Andironically this is a standard zoom lens in Canon and Nikon mountswhich makes me wonder whether Leica was too stringent in their demandsfor this lens design. Again, it would be fascinating to see which Leica lenses people heredon't care for. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronald_moravec1 Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 28/70 has too much distortion. Other wise ok. 21 3.4 vignetts to unacceptable degree. True wide angle design limitation. 21 pre asph is much better. 24 R does not behave properly off axis within debth of field. Typical problem with early floating elements. Sold the last two and still use the zoom where it won`t show. Not too bad considering all are someone else`s design with Leica`s name on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary_pinkerton1 Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 Hi Alfie Series 7 Summicron-R 35s - had 2 or 3 of'em. They had loads of flare. Finally got the later, smaller version; been happy with it. GaryP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kens Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 "To be controversial, I think that the rare 35-70 f2.8 zoom R-lens was a complete "failure" for Leica in my honest opinion. It was one of the best optical performers of either M or R series but Leica wasn't able to do a high production series for this lens because of the high percentage of rejects. Thus, for me, a failure since this lens is relegated to collector's status..." For a minute there I thought you were talking about the 35mm Summilux-M Aspherical (1st version with 2 asph surfaces). With this criteria it too must have been a failure despite its outstanding performance. Maybe instead of "failure" these abbreviated runs could be characterized as "works in progress". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now