Leica Minilux lens quality

[nilanjan_sen]

I was reading some old issues of Popular Photographic, and noticed

that they found the lens of the Minilux to be OK but not of stellar

quality. They had no hesitation branding the Contax T3 lens as the

finest they had tested in a point & shoot. Is their experience an

aberration or is the lens really a notch below the T3?

[les_lammers]

Have a look here:

 

http://www.imx.nl/photosite/leica/magazine/minilux.html

[el_fang]

Yes, look to none other than the illustrious Erwin Puts for fair, unbiased photographic information... <cough, cough, cough>

[brien_m]

I have both and I would definitely not say the minilux is a notch below the T3, though I don't subject them to detailed tests. Both are very good, but for no particular reason I prefer the minilux. However, it would go before the contax because the T3 is smaller and more versatile (faster top shutter, filter and external flash compatibility).

[andrew_hall1]

Lots of information in the archives. Also use "summarit" with "minilux" as search terms.

[bill_marshall1]

Is it possible that the article was talking about the Minilux Zoom? Can you provide the Pop Photo reference?

[nilanjan_sen]

The Minilux was featured in the November 1995 issue of Pop Photo on page 32. The paragraph on the lens began as follows: "The 40mm f/2.4 lens is a six-element, four-group symmetrical design, called (shades of Leica's ancient 50mm f/1.5) a Summarit! In our field tests on slow slide film, overall sharpness ranked high for a point-and-shoot but was not up to the levels we've seen with posh-category compacts."

 

It continued to be listed as one of the Top Cameras in the December issues until the Minilux zoom was introduced, but with a tepid 3-1/2 star rating.

 

The Contax T3 was featured in the July 2001 issue. The lens test concluded with glowing praise on page 86: "The current lens is a stunning improvement over the Contax T2's already-pretty-darn-good 38 mm f/2.8, and would comfortably outrank the other two cameras tested in our "Posh Point & Shootout" in September, '94. Given its exceptional performance in flare, light falloff, and distortion tests, we are comfortable calling it the best point-and-shoot lens we have so far tested."

 

The reason for my starting this thread is that Minilux prices have dropped considerably and I was wondering whether to get one while they are still around.

[watts]

I've just sold my T3 because it never really found a place in my

equipment arsenal but I have to agree that the lens is absolutely

stunning. Massively contrasty (perhaps too much so for the

transparency film I prefer to use) and bitingly sharp (apart from in

the very closest range around 30-50cms or so were it seems a

tad softer).

[kent_demas1]

I actually have both cameras and both have terrific lenses. I must confess that the T3 gets more use based on the fact that I can use filters and because of it's superb, and small, packaging.

 

Both are terrific... you can't go wrong!

[peter_irmai]

I own a contax t3 and can approve that its lens quality is absolute superb.

that means, there is almost no vignetting (only with open apertures), no distortion

and it is really really sharp.

 

I had the opportunity to take pictures with the minilux and must admit that its

lens-quality is quite ok as well, but not as good as the T3. especially concerning

vignetting, that's obviously more visible.

besides the T3 has a lot of real intelligent individual features like prefocusing and

turning off the flash generally (not like the minilux where you have to turn off the flash

each time again after you've turned on the camera) and so on.

 

T3 is much smaller, minilux is too big for a point and shoot.

just my opion, maybe it helps

bye

pete

[jsbc]

I have both cameras, and I find the T3 lens to be extremely contrasty - too much so really.

 

However, I still like the minilux lens more because of its resolution, the color fidelity etc.