So Wednesday I broke down and entered the world of Leica reflex photography - just for this one lens! Along the lines of "to a kid with a new hammer, everything looks like a nail" I shot with nothing else for a day, getting the feel for the equipment.

Here are the results. Tell me what you think.

The fabled Telyt curvature of field is evident in the sheep and goose pictures. Focus is dead on in the center, but the foregrounds at bottom are also fairly sharp (the rocks, or the back feathers of the brown geese).

Got the lens and a black SL body for less than a used Nikkor 400. A nice (not exactly little) package for the things the M won't reach.

Comments appreciated.

(OT: by the way, have you seen the French-language Leica ad? Headline: "Je t'M!".)

-- Andy Piper (apidens@denver.infi.net), December 30, 2001

Answers

Hello Andy,

this selection of your photos is quite impressive, nice shots, spot on exposures.

Congratulation to your investment. But beware: this LEICAFLEX is too good to be carried around with only one lens. You will soon have a look at all these wonderful inexpensive MANDLER designs which come very handy with yout SL. Please keep us informed and post pictures from time to time.

Best wishes

-- K. G. Wolf (k.g.wolf@web.de), December 30, 2001.

Congratulations, Andy! It's a very fun lens to use. Were these photos on a tripod? If not, did you have much trouble learning to hold it steady?

I bought my first Leica reflex (a black Leicaflex SL) over 20 years ago just so I could use the 400 f/6.8. I was hooked with the first roll of film.

-- Douglas Herr (telyt@earthlink.net), December 30, 2001.

I occasionally use this lens, mine is a Visoflex (M) mount and I have the 14167 adaptor for the R bodies. It's an outstanding lens for relatively small subjects (like birds) centered in the frame. BTW although there is a serie VII filter slot in the rear of the lens, mine also accepts a standard 72mm filter in front which makes using things like a polarizer, enhancing filter and Cokin holder (for ND grads) possible.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), December 30, 2001.

Nice, Andy. Every time I visit Denver, the civic center area moves me to photograph. What a great spot! One of my favorites. Thanks.

-- Bob Fleischman (RFXMAIL@prodigy.net), December 30, 2001.

How widespread is the possibility that these lenses suffer from lens seperation?

-- Bud (budcook@attglobal.net), December 30, 2001.

Since the lens has only 2 elements in 1 group, there's only one place it could separate and it should be both easy to see as well as economical (assuming the price paid was adjusted for the fault) for someone like Jon VanStelten to recoat and recement. However of all the samples (dozens) I've seen in the last couple years, none of them has had separation. The *rumored* problem with these lenses is not separation, it's some kind of mysterious changes in the glass itself over time that causes severe field curvature. I've also never seen that proven. These lenses suffer from significant field curvature, period. I haven't seen any evidence that it gets worse. At full aperture down to about f/11, focused on a flat target at almost any distance, only about a 1.5cm diameter area in the center of the image is tack sharp. If it got any worse, the lens would be unusable.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), December 30, 2001.

Andy- The "TO-R" ocular attachment (14 234) would give you a 32x telescope. BH Photo-- approximately $300. There is also an extension tube of 60mm (14 182) that will add much more, if you can locate one. Your photos are a good demonstration of what that lens does. How do you like the "follow focus" feature? Would something like that work in a normal focal length lens (ie., 50mm)?

-- Frank Horn (owlhoot45@hotmail.com), December 30, 2001.

No tripod. Exposures a consistent 1/250 @ f/6.8 (Sunny f/16 on Velvia confirmed by SL meter). By the time I shot the sheep at the end of the 24 hours I'd dug out my monopod - mostly so that my left hand could deal with focusing without having to support the lens weight as well. And as a way to rest and relax my shoulders between exposures! Also I've always found it easier to carry a camera/lens combo this big "axe- style" on my shoulder when hiking between frames, using the monpod as the axe-shaft. 8^)

Oddly the sheep pictures show slightly more motion blur than the straight hand-held pictures - I probably got overconfident using the monopod.

The lens included the shoulder stock, but in these times I don't particularly want to be seen pointing something that looks like an RPG launcher at the State Capitol! And the shoulder stock really requires a motor and/or cable release - or three hands.

-- Andy Piper (apidens@denver.infi.net), December 30, 2001.

I have the Bogen 3245 Automatic Monopod. I have had it modified with a brass spigot where the crutch tip used to be. It is threaded for a 1/4" tripod socket and the little Bogen tabletop tripod screws in at the botton to act like toes, that stabilize the monopod without adding much weight. Sent a picture of it to Bogen a few yrs ago, but never heard from them. Perhaps they fear that people would put expensive cameras on it and walk away and have the wind blow it over!

-- Frank Horn (owlhoot45@hotmail.com), December 30, 2001.

Frank Horn wrote:
>>>How do you like the "follow focus" feature? Would something like that work in a normal focal length lens (ie., 50mm)? <<<

Frank, I love the follow-focus feature. I've been using the lens for over 20 years now and after the first couple weeks the follow-focus was 2nd-nature. Got lots of photos of birds in flight, see 'em at http://www.wildlightphoto.com.

The field curvature has never been a problem for me possibly because I hardly ever make photos of flat objects parallel to the film plane.

In my experience the shoulder stock and a monopod control differnt types of camera motion, and to do any better than either alone, you'd have to either use a tripod or combine the shoulder stock with a monopod.

-- Douglas Herr (telyt@earthlink.net), December 30, 2001.

>>>How do you like the "follow focus" feature? Would something like that work in a normal focal length lens (ie., 50mm)? <<<

Oh yeah, would it work for a normal focal length? Not without a reduction gearing mechanism. The range of motion required to change focus of a 400mm lens is long enough that it's easy to fine-tune with the fingertips, but fine-tuning the focus of a shorter lens involves moving the lens forward or back by tiny fractions of millimeters and I know my fingers are not up to the task.

-- Douglas Herr (telyt@earthlink.net), December 30, 2001.

andy:

congratulations on you 400/f6.8. i am currently waiting on the delivery of a 400/f6.8 and i can't wait to try it out. i have a r6.2 and recently picked up a mechanically perfect but severely used black chrome sl to go with the 400. i have found that my 300mm in another mount is just not long enough, and i do not like to sit around with a big peice of glass on a tripod waiting for something to walk by. half of the fun of nature photography is to hike and try to not spook the animals or birds. as soon as i replenish my bank account i will probably be looking for the 560 head at a reasonable price. i also am picking up the 60mm extension tube with it. does anyone know how close it will focus with the extension tube and if it will still focus to infinity?

greg

-- greg mason (gmason1661@aol.com), December 30, 2001.

>>>i also am picking up the 60mm extension tube with it. does anyone know how close it will focus with the extension tube and if it will still focus to infinity?<<<

greg,
The 60mm extension tube allows the 400 to focus as close as 2 meters or so, but when using it your focus range will be limited to about 2- 4 meters. It's handy for butterflies or the more cooperative hummingbirds, and if you use 2 of these extension tubes, bees and such are fair game.

-- Douglas Herr (telyt@earthlink.net), December 31, 2001.

I'm getting my extension tubes and extenders mixed up again. The Televid scopes can be used on the R cameras, with expensive adapter. If the 400mm Telyt requires the SL to use, perhaps the TO-R ocular will not work on this lens. Its a tossup whether my next toy will be the 75 Lux or an Apo-Televid w/32x. I've always wondered about the Telyt, if the TO-R would make a good scope out of it. If it would, it might be more versatile than the Televid. I wonder if the Leica marketing dept finds buyers of its Trinovids & Televids are also buyers of its cameras, and vice-versa. I don't know which I'd miss more, my M4-P or my 7x42Bs. Happy New Year!

-- Frank Horn (owlhoot45@hotmail.com), January 01, 2002.

>>>If the 400mm Telyt requires the SL to use, perhaps the TO-R ocular will not work on this lens.<<<

The 400mm f/6.8 Telyt can be used on any Leica reflex body.

>>>I wonder if the Leica marketing dept finds buyers of its Trinovids & Televids are also buyers of its cameras, and vice-versa. I don't know which I'd miss more, my M4-P or my 7x42Bs.<<<

I bought my 10x40 Trinovids 2 years before buying my 400 & first SL. The optical quality of the Trinovids helped push me toward the Telyt.

-- Douglas Herr (telyt@earthlink.net), January 02, 2002.

Frank,

Like Douglas, my first Leica experience was with their binoculars. The view through my 10x42, 8x32, and 10x32 glasses was one of the reasons I moved from Nikon F3HP's to a Leica R8. Despite the somewhat shaky reputation of R8's, I have not (yet) had to obtain a backup for the R8. Hoping my luck will hold! This migration can work in the opposite direction also. If you Leica photographers want a great binocular, you should definitely check out the Leica glasses.

A friend of mine has the 400/6.8 lens and has used it for some great birding/wildlife pictures. I hope to conduct a test at the first opportunity between his 400 and my 280/4.0 APO with 1.4X APO extender. Good shooting with your lens! LB

-- Luther Berry (lberrytx@aol.com), January 02, 2002.