The Good, The Bad and the Expensive

[Fred]

Just got back from a day at Lieca school in the UK following the purchase of my M several months ago. 😛

The Good: 😀
A real good bunch turned up, from all walks of life and not a snob in town. Real people that like taking real photo's, not a serious anti digital comment either. The tutor was excellent, clear and to the point without being patronising an all round good chap. We had just under an hour to shoot twenty frames of slide film using any M lens that Leica makes and most R lenses for the SLR club...Which leads me on to...

The Bad:
It had been raining heavy for most of the day, grey overcast flat light, we all know it. But wait! I'd 'borrowed' the 90 f4 macro, with specs. I also had a few shots using the 90 Summicron ASPH APO that another chap 'borrowed'. The results were very good given the conditions. A well exposed transparency using Leica glass still makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck. Will post some examples when I dust off the scanner......which leads to..

The Expensive
The 90 f4 Macro with specs is a wonderful lens, very light and small when collapsed (about the same as a Summicron50) and I'm sure with decent light and subject matter does the job just about as good as any other Leica at f4 and slower. I'd not get the lens on its own without the specs which is a lot of money. The 90 ASPH APO feels better made and gives two whole stops more light and for normal use gives it the edge.
Other 'students' who tried the 75 Summicron and the Summilux produced cracking images from virtually anything. A focal length I'd not considered that much before today.

Given I was saving up for a used pre-asph 90 Summicron, I may well save longer and go for a new asph APO version.......or the macro with specs. A few months to ponder. In the meantime I've got the use of a very good CV APO Lanthar that has done a stirling job.

It really was a good day. The bottom line is that, yes new Leica glass is expensive. Why? well try it out and all will become clear. It really is that obvious when shooting wide open. See the leit? :angel:

I'm curous of others views who've been on the owners Leica Days.

 

[StuartR]

"Other 'students' who tried the 75 Summicron and the Summilux produced cracking images from virtually anything. A focal length I'd not considered that much before today."

Keep in mind that they both focus to .7m as well compared to the 90's 1m (not counting the macro of course). From what I have seen of the 75 cron, it is sharp, smooth and cool as a cucumber. It handles very nicely as well. I have the 75 summilux and adore it. It is one of my all time favorite lenses. It doesn't know how to make a bad shot...any bad shot it makes will be the user's fault, not the lens -- the sharpness is fantastic, it is smooth and flattering to its subjects, the bokeh is beautiful, it doesn't flare, and the perspective is wonderful for portraits.

 

[Fred]

Thanks Stuart,

I've been using a 50 Summicron for a while with a few other CV lenses to get an idea of the ones that I'd use the most. Generally the 90 get its fair share of daylight as does the wide 15 f4.5 (gotta be the best value lens for a long time , complete with a rather distorting VF but at least shows what you get in the frame). I do tend towards the tele end most of the time though.

Maybe I should consider ther 75 instead of the 90, it's certainly easier to focus and I could always crop if shooting B&W neg (usual M food). The price is more but I've already resigned myself to save up some more. I read Geoffry Crawlys' review of the new 75 and can still imagine him writing the review with a wry smile.

I'll have to investigate the 75s' as well as the 90s'. If you get a chance to try the maco it's worth it, even for the experience.

 

[StuartR]

Hi Fred -- I did handle it at a Leica demo, and you are right, it is very cool. I really liked the small size, and the added macro ability is pretty cool in a pinch or if you are trying to limit it to one kit. I have an R9 and a 100mm APO macro though...let's just say it is hard (impossible?) to beat for macro performance up to 1:2. If I had unlimited resources, I probably would get the 90 macro for travel and fun, but at this point it does not make too much sense for me.

By the way, here is a photo.net thread on the 75 cron with some great sample shots. Andy Piper gave a great review of it and some fabulous shots: http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00CCDV

In any case, I love the 75 lux, so here are a few of my favorite shots with it:

 

[Fred]

Thanks for posting the shots Stuart.
Love the shot of the Girl in the pink evening dress, cracking juxtaposition against the utilitarian aspects of building.

I'm dusting off my scanner.

 

[StuartR]

Thanks Fred...I just missed that shot too. She was smoking and talking on the cell phone, which I thought clashed enormously with her evening dress, but I missed the moment and I did not want to sit around waiting for her to notice me. It came out ok, but I think it would have been more interesting if I had made the shot when she had a cig dangling from her hands. Actually, if you look closely, you can see the marlboro lights on the bench next to her.

 

[Fred]

OK, I did say it was a dull day. Here's a couple of low res scans of the only bit of colour I could find using the 90 f4 macro with specs attached. The flowers are very small and apart from the 'shake' show how forgiving this lens could be. Can't help thinking what could be achieved with better subject matter.

The shopping list is moving towards the 75 f2 and away from the 90 f2, it's got to to be less fussy to focus wide open and the creamy bokhe (or SOFA) of the 75 may just clinch it. More savings needed.

 

[StuartR]

It does have a nice rendering to it, doesn't it? I do find the lens intriguing, but I would have really preferred an f/2.8 version. Why couldn't they just have bumped it up a stop and discontinued the elmarit? Personally, I would rather have the 75/2 than the 90/2 APO ASPH because it seems like the 75 doesn't have the same tendency to go harsh...it is extremely sharp, but somehow it manages to reign in some of the bite of the 90. I would choose it, especially if I planned to use it for a lot of portraits.