Lenses and Slide Film

[JPSuisse]

Hi there,

so after switching from older Nikon FM stuff to newer Leica M stuff after about 2 - 3 years ago, I've been looking over my slides.

I come to the conclusion (maybe falsely?!) that the Elmar-M 50 is too high contrast for the slide films. The Color-Heliar 75 f2.5 is better.

What's the general wisdom here regarding the era of lenses that perform best with slide film? I find the high contrast lenses are good for making BW negatives for scanning. But, for slide film I think this is not the case!

Inputs are welcome!

Cheers,

JP

 

[pagpow]

Elmar 50 3.5 screw-mount?
Various assessments on the web (sorry, can't remember references) agree with your experience -- that it let shadows go black. Not sure that was restricted to slide film, but high contrast slide medium likely to exacerbate lens characteristic.

 

[jpberger]

This is definitely true in my experience-- certain films and certain films go together and other's don't. It's hard to make recommendations because it's completely subjective.

 

[SteveM]

There are lots of factors. I don't shoot slide film in 35mm, but using 120 slide film, lighting and film type also have a significant effect on contrast. For example, I like Velvia in more subdued lighting even with modern lenses, but in harsh lighting shadow detail is lost. Astia is supposed to solve some of that at the expense of saturation, but I have no personal experience. The same lenses with B&W film in bright light capture a wider tonal range.

Steve

 

[JPSuisse]

Hi Steve,

well, thanks for the feedback. Funny you would say Velvia. That's just the film that is way too contrasty. The Ektachrome seems better with the Elmar-M...

Let me think some more about all this...

Cheers,

JP

 

[bwcolor]

I've been doing Flickr searches and came up with Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 and Velvia as a combo that I liked. Flickr is lots of fun when looking for a combination that appeals to you. Obviously, I'm a contrast freak. I really like all of my Zeiss glass with regards to color... Ektar and Zeiss make a good combo, especially the 35mm f/2.8 Biogon C.

 

[ferider]

Try the Leica lenses of the 70s. They were made for Velvia, IMO.

35/2 v3 on Velvia 50:

Or earlier lenses which will have less contrast. On the CV side, CV 28/1.9, 50/1.5, 35/1.7 all have similar rendering to your 75/2.5, wrt color, that is. This is the 28/1.9 on Velvia.

Roland.

 

[ibcrewin]

This thread just makes me think I need to go to more interesting places.

 

[dogberryjr]

I don't shoot enough slides to really know, but I had some E100 come out really nice—then I couldn't figure if it was good light, expired film, the 90mm lens I don't use that often or some combination of all three. It's always a mystery what comes back to me. Not to get too off topic, either, but I had some digital shots using a coated Summar that came out very vintage Kodachrome looking. [shrug]

 

[SteveM]

When I use slide film in 120 format it is generally for use with my Bronica RF645, for which I have all 3 lenses. This is a limited range compared to what many people have available for their Leica systems, so choice of lenses for different lighting is not a feasible solution. Therefore, it comes down to choice of film for sllides.
Using the same system for B&W there is more choice as the film can be developed and printed (or scanned) at home – both allowing more control over final contrast. Lens choice is only part of the recipe forming the final image, and part of our toolkit that we have to use in conjunction with the other ingredients. Having said that - I'm still learning too.
Steve