Winsor,
I think it is human nature to find some subliminal "something" to
justify the extra expense. My completely unscientific opinion is that
Leica lenses (LTM and M) were "better" because they did not have as many
compromises. My 90 mm Elmar and 135 mm Hektor are not telephotos, they
are long-focus lenses. A rangefinder doesn't have the swinging mirror,
to deal with, so a retrofocus design isn't needed for the wide-anlge
lenses. It's probably still easier to design a rangefinder lens,
compared to the SLR design.
BTW, there were some Leica lenses produced after W.W.II that WERE
radioactive. The early Summitar* and Summicron lenses used Kodak High
Refractive thorium oxide glass. This stuff was radioactive enough that
it could not be used for the rear element of the lens, to prevent film
fogging. Leica later used their own lanthanum oxide glass, which they
proudly advertised as thorium free.
Dick Gilcreast has an article on this in Volume 34, No. 1. 2001 issue of
the Viewfinder. It is available as a PDF file on-line at:
http://www.lhsa.org/
Scroll down to the "viewfinder" link, and pick the article from the
list.
Bill Stanke
Actually I am a Leica fan. I was not being critical of the cameras.
I owned a couple of M3s and a number of lenses and accessories long
ago before they were stolen and could not afford to replace them at 5
times the price I paid originally. They are fine cameras and have a
great mystique. I am amused sometimes at the excesses of enthusiasm
of fans. Interestingly Nikon made its reputation by producing lenses
for Leica rangefinders that reporters snapped up because they were
better than Leica's. I have thought that if something awful happened
and my beloved OMs disappeared it would be a hard decision whether to
replace it with another OM or maybe a Leica R and fewer lenses. At
this point I think the OM would win because I really am not too
interested in learning a new camera unless I get dramatic
improvements which probably lets out digital too.
--
Winsor Crosby
Long Beach, California
< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
|