Leica Third-Party Lens Review

[bmattock]

Well, folks, I done got busy today. I've been collecting a couple lenses for my Bessa R, and it has gotten to the point where I'm not even sure which ones are the 'keepers' if you know what I mean! So I did a little comparison today - I've done this before, but now I have more lenses to compare. I did a little webpage to show my results. Hope you enjoy!

http://www.growlery.com/photography/bessa_r_lens_comparison/

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[back alley]

nice work bill!

lots of time & energy went into that.
joe

 

[rick oleson]

very persuasive... but i can't help it, i STILL like the pictures i get from the industar! the aberrations give it character or something compared to the soulless sharpness and contrast of the Canons...

🙂=

 

[bmattock]

Thanks, Joe. Frankly, it could use some more work, but I'm about tuckered out. I just hope it is useful to someone - I notice that everybody's buying LTM lenses lately, and I just want to help if I can.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[bmattock]

very persuasive... but i can't help it, i STILL like the pictures i get from the industar! the aberrations give it character or something compared to the soulless sharpness and contrast of the Canons...

🙂=

Hey, it works for me! Tell you what, I'll stretch some Saran Wrap over my Canons and call them Industars...just kidding! I think I got a bum Industar - I'm sure they're all not like that!

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[back alley]

bill,
keep me mind if you ever think about selling the canon 35/2.8.

and if you do ever want to sell it - could you make the offer around a payday😉?

joe

 

[bmattock]

bill,
keep me mind if you ever think about selling the canon 35/2.8.

and if you do ever want to sell it - could you make the offer around a payday😉?

joe

Joe,

Will do - but do you really like the 35/2.8? I think I like the A. Schacht better - although the Canon is a bit faster and a lot smaller in size.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[back alley]

not based on site photos, emotion only - addicted to canon.

joe

 

[bmattock]

And that I totally understand! I like Spiratone - but don't tell anyone...hehehehe

Best Regards,

Bill "Canonman" Mattocks

 

[StuartR]

That A. Schacht 35mm seems to be the best of the bunch. At least in terms of contrast. Fancy that, I have never even heard of them! Where are they from? When were they made?

 

[denishr]

Nice review, Bill.
I appreciate the effort, particularly since previously I have not been able to find the shots done with some of the lens you reviewed. All in all, very useful!

Regards,

Denis

 

[Kris]

The different colour cast between lenses, very bluish from Industar, are they really caused by the lens or it's just scanning induced colour Bill?

I'm booking that Canon 50/1.4 if you ever want to sell it. Like Joe, I've got a soft spot for Canon and I also like fast 50mm.

 

[Doug]

Wasn't Albrecht Schacht located in Munich? Germany, anyway.

 

[rover]

Simple at home test, very nicely done. I have to admit that I have no idea of how to read an MTF chart, and don't want to know. I learn all I want to know by reading users' comments and looking at images posted here and in other galleries. Things just pop out to me, like, I like the 21mm focal length or those 50 Summicrons really make some nice images, and I make do with that.

 

[bmattock]

That A. Schacht 35mm seems to be the best of the bunch. At least in terms of contrast. Fancy that, I have never even heard of them! Where are they from? When were they made?

A. Schacht was located in Ulm, Germany. I believe the production of my lenses was somewhere around the late 1950's, but I could be wrong. They were not particularly well-regarded at the time.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[bmattock]

The different colour cast between lenses, very bluish from Industar, are they really caused by the lens or it's just scanning induced colour Bill?

I'm booking that Canon 50/1.4 if you ever want to sell it. Like Joe, I've got a soft spot for Canon and I also like fast 50mm.

I suspect that some of the color-cast you see was due to the coming and going of the light - but some of it is actually the lens. If you went out and shot a roll of film with a particular lens, you might never notice - but when you change lenses back and forth, it stands out a bit more.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[bmattock]

Wasn't Albrecht Schacht located in Munich? Germany, anyway.

The lenses say "Ulm" on them, but yes, Germany.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Is it my imagination, or is the 50mm F1.8 Canon SHARPER than the F1.4?

Now everyone will be adding SCHACHT to the search list!


Better get it FAST before everyone reads Bill's Review!!

 

[bmattock]

Is it my imagination, or is the 50mm F1.8 Canon SHARPER than the F1.4?

Now everyone will be adding SCHACHT to the search list!


Better get it FAST before everyone reads Bill's Review!!

Some people say that the 1.8 is indeed sharper than the 1.4. I dunno, my eyes are tired after last night's marathon scanning session! You can download the original TIFF files by clicking on the images and then change the .jpg extension to .tif - beware, they are 22 megs or more each! But then you have the raw data to compare.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[FrankS]

Thanks for this, Bill! Over the Christmas holidays I plan to do something similar with some 50mm LTM lenses.