[Leica] Is the TE a zoom?

[henningw at archiphoto.com (Henning Wulff)]

At 8:39 AM -0800 2/3/08, Frank Filippone wrote:
>The TE and WATE are probably really zooms, except that they are corrected
>only at the 3 FL.  And the cams etc that move the elements may not be linear
>( or whatever) for In between FL.  As well, there probably are not the
>relative coordination of the different elements.
>
>But why worry, take a R lens and give it a M bayonet and you are off to the
>races.......
>
>This stuff is not brain surgery... ( with apologies to the brain surgeons
>that may be on this list...)
>
>While I do own a TE, the use of the lens in between FL stops is out of my
>curiosity space......
>
>I think a Zooming M would be a market winner, but I think it is not
>something I would have any interest in.  I prefer to concentrate on my shots
>rather than spin another ring....The M ( since 1953) has done that
>brilliantly.
>
>Frank Filippone
>red735i@earthlink.net
>
>
>
>       Is the Tri-Elmar anything other than a 28-50mm zoom lens with
>detents
>at 28, 35, and 50? The lens diagram seems to indicate that only a
>single element moves during the focal-length change, so unless there's
>something about the design that screws up the focus at intermediate
>positions, it seems to me that it should have a continuous range of
>FLs. Has anyone tried taking photos with the FL ring in intermediate
>positions? What was the result?
>


The WATE is a zoom; the TE isn't.

-- 
    *            Henning J. Wulff
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