Flare -- Part II (fwd)

[Thomas Pastorello <tmp@mailbox.syr.edu>]

- ---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 5 Nov 1997 14:30:48 -0500 (EST)
From: Thomas  Pastorello <tmp@mailbox.syr.edu>
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: Flare -- Part II

Dear Leica Users,
   I'm a recent addition to your list.  Last week I asked about flare in
the 24mm-M ASPH.  I thank those of you who responded.  I'll report back
and say that I'm growing convinced that the 24-mm-M ASPH will not join the
ranks of the truly flare-free Leica-M lenses.  Given something I read
recently about the 21mm-M ASPH, I don't think it will be totally flare
free either.  This is an important issue for me.  I do feel the need, from
time to time, to include the sun in my pictures and use it as an important
compositional element.  In my experience, only five Leica-M lenses fully
demonstrate complete freedom from flare:  the 28mm f2.8 (most recent), the
35mm-M f1.4 Aspherical (not the ASPH), the 50mm f1.4, the 75mm f1.4 and
the 135mm f4.0.   I am very grateful for these superb lenses in this range
of focal lenghts, but I do wonder, given Leica's standards, technology
level and expense, why they can't make every lens flare-free.  Perhaps the
engineers can inform me.  Do you agree on my choice of these five as the
only flare-free M-lenses?  I may get into the R-system and would want to
buy only flare-free R-lenses.  Does such a creature exist?  If so, which
are the flare-free R-lenses?  Thank you for the time and attention given
my questions.  I enjoy this listserve and will soon submit my roll-call
entry.
                 Tom Pastorello, Ph.D.
                 Syracuse University, NY, USA