james_cooke

<p>I know its a bit of a sacred cow to criticise anything Leica in the world but at (equiv) 50mm the speed is f5.1 sorry but no amount of patriotism to the brand can find that in any way acceptable for a standard lens equivalent focal length especially with no IS. Most small non zoom primes from Leica cost more than this so to say that its cutting edge image quality is a stretch. The test photos I have seen show corner smearing and excessive CA. Im sure it takes great photos, there are very few these days of the major brands that take poor ones but for the money this camera is not exceptional. Im confident an Fuji X-E1 with its 35 f1.4 or even its kit zoom at the same apertures will be the at least the equal of this. Its a beautiful camera body though, had it been a Leica equivalent of the X-E1 with built in EVF and accepted M lenses I would gladly have paid a double premium for it.</p>

<p><em>"There are bargains and then there are "bargains." A perusal of e-bay shows that the cheapest Canon RF 50/1.8--the lens that is usually recommended --is $250, for a lens with a scratch; the average is around $300. If you are patient and go to other sites you might get an excellent example for $300--for a 30 year old"</em></p>

<p>I have a heavy chrome type 4 Canon 50mm f1.8 without any cleaning marks or anything, so you think if I put it up for $200 on the classifieds that would be a fair deal?<br>

<em><br /></em></p>

<blockquote>

<p><em>"There never was a Cosina-Voigtlander 50/2 in screw mount."</em><br>

<em>This is what I wrote. I stand by it. An Ultron 35/1.7 is <strong>not</strong> a 50/2. Or am I wrong there too? Why don't you people <strong>read</strong> before you let it out? Where is Michael A. Shapiro anyway?</em></p>

 

</blockquote>

<blockquote>You are wrong there is a 50mm f2.0 in screw mount and it is still currently available.</blockquote>

<blockquote>http://www.cameraquest.com/voigt_502n.htm</blockquote>

<p>Yes your are right Henry did come through. As I mentioned before BH were the first I contacted and got an email saying they couldnt help me. So its wonderful to have a forum member check again and find that they can get the filter for me after all. Excellent!</p>

<p><em>"Your comment, "other then ... BH photo" concerns me. Have we irked you in some way? You can reach me at <a rel="nofollow" href="mailto:henryp@bhphoto.com">henryp@bhphoto.com</a>.</em><br>

<em>Henry Posner</em><br /><em><strong>B&H Photo-Video'</strong></em></p>

<p>Its not a question of being irked, in fact B&H was the first one I contacted however the filter I require is not in stock and has to be special ordered and I was told by B&H they were unable to do so.<strong> </strong>Hence the other than to save people suggesting only them. Any other ideas greatly appreciated.<em><strong><br /></strong></em></p>

<p>Australia has no distributor of Heliopan filters so must go overseas. Are there any Heliopan dealers that do mail order that you can recommend other then Robert White or BH photo. Thanks</p>

<p>I saw another thread not to long ago asking pretty much the same thing. They blamed the rise of digital but that wasnt the reason at all. I remember when there was something like 30 new threads a day here it was amazing. But simply the forum was allowed a free hand when it came from Greenspun but over time they slowly cuts its head off to make it assimilate to Photonet. They took away equipment for sale ads which would often promote a discussion about certain things and then they did the same to the words/no words. It became a target for much trolling from other photonet camera forums perceiving an elitism from Leica users, I remember Brian the head of photonet often stirring the pot here. People left, most went to the Rangefinder forum and other Leica Dedicated forums. The rangefinder forum just grows and grows, you cant blame the rise in digital and economic down turn when they seem to be growing.</p>

<p>For the 10th Anniversary of the Cosina Voigtlander range a new M Mount 50mm 1.1 Nokton is about to be realeased. Pricepoint at around $1100 USD. Thought it may be worth starting a thread here on Photonet.<br>

Some pics from the lens at http://www.flickr.com/photos/rapidwinder/sets/72157618400098667/</p>

<p>Bob Asher at Aperture Camera Repair Specialists in Ryde have always fixed my Leica's, Minolta CLE's and even replaced curtains in my Nikon Rangefinders. Worth a quick call to them to see what they can do for you.</p>

<p>Whats steampunk?</p>

<p>I noticed that no one has started a new thread here for the new M mount 15mm and 15 to 35 zoom finder that has just been announced by Voigtlander so I thought I would start a thread to discuss it here on photonet.</p>

<p>http://www.voigtlander.com/cms/voigtlaender/voigtlaender_cms.nsf/id/pa_fdih7pykbx.html</p>

<p>http://www.voigtlander.com/cms/voigtlaender/voigtlaender_cms.nsf/id/pa_fdih7pykbx.html/$file/15mmsuperwideheliarneu.jpg</p>

<p>New to the 15mm lens is rangefinder coupling and now takes 52mm filters. Improved body construction as well by the looks of it.</p>

<p><em>"Yes, people can prefer to not search, not read reviews, etc. But is there something morally wrong to advocate self-help?"</em><br>

So this is now the Leica Last Resort forum. Dont use us as your first port of call and research everywhere else first, and if you cannot find the answer then and only then trouble us with a post? Morally wrong no but pretty silly telling people not to discuss things on a discussion forum but read reviews for their answers instead. With that logic no forums like this would exist!</p>

<p>"I have 4 Pentax limited's 21, 31, 43, 77, and I have several Leica M lenses, including the 50/1.4 Asph and 75/2 Asph."</p>

<p>I have never heard of a Limted Pentax 21 in leica mount? Can you provide some more details?</p>

I think it may be a good idea for Leica to make one. As you say its a declining market now with few choices. Minolta is now gone. But given Leica still is heavily invested in film cameras more than any other it seems logical to me that they fill the gap where others no longer make film scanners. Not to mention I suspect alot of Leica users would dump their other brands in favour of a Leica one. Film scanners are a niche market and so are rangefiners and so is film now, Leica loves a niche market.

"I have two pairs of Leica binos and a pair of Zeiss 10x25s. They both have similar quality glass but the Leica are better built,"

 

Hmmmm better built? Yes and no. I switched from the Zeiss 10X25 Clasic to Leicas Trinovids because what I believed to be better metal construction but the focus of the Leicas are no where near as smooth and precise as the Zeiss. In fact I find the Leicas rough, and uneven in comparison. You can hear them focus if there is not much ambient noise which I dont think is acceptable for this pricepoint. Even Nikons that are a tenth the cost are smooth and silent. I was so concerned by this they went back to Germany under warranty but they are the same. The optics are great but the focusing really spoils the use of them. Hopefully they improved with the Ultravid line.

I have a 40mm Focotar with my V35 that has a bit of haze in it. Given the low prices for Darkroom items these

days is it worth getting cleaned or simply get another lens off the bay? Rodenstock make a decent APO 40mm lens

too I believe?

Any idea how much the new finders that he mentions will be?

"$$$"

 

Australian, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore or those American ones that are all the same size and colour?

Puts himself admits in one of his other articles that the 28mm Biogon G is superior to all Elmarits. Also a member here showed a comparison between the G 21 and the Leica 21mm ASPH and the G lenses was superior to the Leica. Zeiss may make lenses at a lower price but some of them are definitely superior to Leicas.

Where are you located? It may help to know what country your in to find a dealer or one for sale.

The very lens evolved into the famous standard lens for the Nikonos which could still hold its own many decades after.

"Ever heard of Google? Or Cameraquest??"

 

By that ridiculous logic no one would ever post a question here if they have to check everywhere else first! LOL

I recently borrowed an RF 40mm f2.8 Sonnar and the shots taken at 80cm showed a

shift of focus of about 6 inches behind the set focus while Summicron/Rokkors

didn't show this. Just wondering if others notice this? Is it a trait of the

lens or this particular example faulty?

Strangely he doesn't compare the Summarit 75mm f2.5 with the Heliar 75mm f2.5? I would suggest the gap in performance wouldn't be as great and still being a fifth to a quarter of the cost. Compare more like lenses rather than stacking at test to pursue a point and then evaluate whether the price difference is worth the optical difference.

"I would absolutely not recommend the 21 or 25 CV lenses, these represent too large a compromise"

 

A compromise in what respect?