How much is too much for you?

charjohncarter said:
Was it worth digging out of the dumpster? I'm not trying to be 'flip,' I just wonder if you every used it.
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It was never used for photography, it came from an optical computer built in the early 1980s. The computer performed pattern recognition by projecting two images onto each other accurately enough for optical interference to occur when the match was found. The light traveled through the lens "in phase", the wavefront that entered the objective lens was maintained as it went through the lens. It's a paperweight and shelf piece, but I plan on hacking a camera onto it. It is big, and makes a 500/4 Nikkor feel light.

I sent the second lens to a collector in Germany and he sent me a beer Stein. So yes, well worth it!
 
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I find myself continuing to increase the amount Im willing to spend (go-figure, I spend too much time on RFF) ..... my latest catch is a 35mm Summilux early V2 for $1250. Despite this being a great catch for this lens, which will more than hold its value, it was still hard to fork over the money, but this is all in the grand scheme of good intentions: reducing the # of lenses with a more select "kit".
(and whole-heartedly agree with kosya that the Biogon 21/2.8 is the best catch in the 21mm class)
 
Of course, no-one is inflation-adjusting here. My first new Leica lens (in 1984 or so) was the 35/1.4 Summilux I'm still using, and at the time it was easily the most expensive lens I'd ever bought. I've forgotten the price but I think it was £300-odd. By the same token, live another 20 years and you may think that $10,000 is a reasonable sort of price for a lens. Unless the gloomier predictions for the dollar hold true, in which case it might be $25,000.

Cheers,

R.
 
How much is too much? When you are compelled, for whatever reason, to spend more than you can afford.

There is a Leica difference. When I had my own wet lab and used to develop and print film from my Nikon, and Leica cameras, I could plainly see the difference. People may scoff, but Leica images definitely have a unique look, which is transcendental, to use an expression from my generation, and one which I prefer for most applications.
 
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