jonoslack Posted December 17, 2009 Share #1 Posted December 17, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi There Phew - finally I got one! For the uninitiated, the MATE is the MidAngleTriElmar (28 / 35 / 50) I've been looking for one ever since June when I got the test M9. I bought one when I got the M8, but the combination of the blah focal lengths (37 / 48 / 66 equivalent) and the fact that it doesn't focus closer than a meter . . . persuaded me to get rid of it. I felt that it would be a whole different thing on an M9 . . . I managed to find 2 version 1 lenses, but both of them suffered from a serious lack of contrast at 50mm (they were fine at 28 and 35). It turns out that leica do know about this and can fix it, but I didn't know that then, and they went back. Finally I managed to get a version 2 lens on ebay this week (expensive, but not as expensive as some I've seen), it was described as 'very good condition', but to me it looks like it's never been used! At any rate, I took 15 minutes off today to put it through it's paces. It was not coded - but I've managed to do the coding with a sharpie for the time being, and it is picking up the lens information correctly every time, and at all focal lengths (something the old coded one never managed on the M8!) The conventional wisdom seems to be that they're fine at 35 and 50, but not so good at 28. This test was a simple, hand held unscientific effort, but I thought it would give at least a feel for how the lens mike work on the M9. All shots were at f5.6 (I actually took some at f4 as well, and they don't really look different). 100% crops are from the top right in each case. no processing at all (i.e. straight into Aperture, and straight out again as jpg) 28mm 50mm 35mm in the next post. All the best Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted December 17, 2009 Posted December 17, 2009 Hi jonoslack, Take a look here The MATE on the M9. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
jonoslack Posted December 17, 2009 Author Share #2 Posted December 17, 2009 The corner fall off is pretty small at 28 and 50, and almost non existent at 35mm, and it isn't going to be noticeable, even in quite large prints. Edge sharpness and centre sharpness don't seem to represent any compromise at all. all the best Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_tribble Posted December 17, 2009 Share #3 Posted December 17, 2009 Thanks for sharing - MATE and WATE make a pretty good travel combination if you can live with the slower speeds... What fun! But really - you have to stop giving us reasons for buying more glass. I now have my 2 M9s and single lens from 18 through to 135. Enough! Happy Christmas! C: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lars_bergquist Posted December 17, 2009 Share #4 Posted December 17, 2009 I know that the WATE is one of your favourites (the Old Man knows all, you know) so obviously, over 3 percent linear distortion at the wide end does not disturb you. How we react to distortion is very much a personal question, of course. I am pretty allergic ... another reason why I hated zooms, and why I have come to love Leica optics. With a couple of exceptions ... But the definition of both lenses is first class, so if you can take the requisite amount of cold distortion steel, the slow lens speed is the only drawback. With the WATE, it is not even that, as slow as very wide lenses normally are. Even so, I do infinitely prefer prime lenses. Knowing beforehand what I want the picture to look like, and then just raising the camera and making it so, is my way, not to stand with a camera -- or even worse, a Frankenfinder -- to my eye, fiddling with focal lengths trying to find a picture somewhere. I have two superwides, 18 and 25mm, and I do never carry both! But everyone has his own way. Including Frankie Boy. The old man from the Age of 10.5cm Lenses (on a roll film folder) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonoslack Posted December 17, 2009 Author Share #5 Posted December 17, 2009 Thanks for sharing - MATE and WATE make a pretty good travel combination if you can live with the slower speeds... What fun! But really - you have to stop giving us reasons for buying more glass. I now have my 2 M9s and single lens from 18 through to 135. Enough! Happy Christmas! C: HI Chris I thought so - for long walks, a MATE on one body and the WATE on the other, with a 90 elmarit and a 50 'lux tucked away for those close or dark moments. Seems to me that all you need to make it complete is a mate and a wate (small beer) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
michali Posted December 17, 2009 Share #6 Posted December 17, 2009 Nice to hear from another WATE & MATE fan. I use both a great deal especially when traveling in Africa in dusty conditions. It helps not to have to change lenses constantly. I travel with the WATE on the M8 & the MATE on the M9. Speed's not really an issue on this bright and sunny continent. I have a vers. 1 MATE no issues and hand coded it myself using an engraving tool, works fine. Enjoy! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonoslack Posted December 17, 2009 Author Share #7 Posted December 17, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) HI There Lars I know that the WATE is one of your favourites (the Old Man knows all, you know) so obviously, over 3 percent linear distortion at the wide end does not disturb you. How we react to distortion is very much a personal question, of course. I am pretty allergic ... another reason why I hated zooms, and why I have come to love Leica optics. With a couple of exceptions ... But the definition of both lenses is first class, so if you can take the requisite amount of cold distortion steel, the slow lens speed is the only drawback. With the WATE, it is not even that, as slow as very wide lenses normally are. Well, mostly I'm shooting nature, and the amount of distortion isn't often an issue (as in these shots I think). If it IS an issue, then I can go into photoshop and deal with it quite simply (at least it isn't nasty moustache distortion). Even so, I do infinitely prefer prime lenses. Knowing beforehand what I want the picture to look like, and then just raising the camera and making it so, is my way, not to stand with a camera -- or even worse, a Frankenfinder -- to my eye, fiddling with focal lengths trying to find a picture somewhere. I have two superwides, 18 and 25mm, and I do never carry both! But everyone has his own way. Including Frankie Boy. Well, as for the frankenfinder, it's not a fiddle when you're used to it, and like you, I generally prefer primes. Still, If I'm going for a long walk with other people present, then stopping to change lenses may not be acceptable behaviour, and then, the MATE does come into it's own. Also, catching the image is important to me, and there are lots of situations where a 28mm image is not the same as a 50, and you might want one (or the other), and changing lenses is not convenient or not possible. So, for me, these lenses are not instead of primes, but as well as. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theodor Heinrichsohn Posted December 17, 2009 Share #8 Posted December 17, 2009 On a 12 day trip to Tokyo and Kyoto, mainly the latter, I had along the MATE 2nd version, the WATE and the 35/1.4 Aspherical + the "Frankenfinder" + the 135/3.4. The performance of the MATE on the M9 was excellent at medium f stops. I will certainly stick to this combination when traveling light in future. I was not bothered with the low distortion with the subjects I had in mind - Zen Gardens -. Teddy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scjohn Posted December 17, 2009 Share #9 Posted December 17, 2009 I gave my dad a new MATE three years ago along with an Epson RD-1 I I had before the M8 came out. His ability to enjoy the use of a rangefinder has fallen off with his age. He just listed it for sale on ebay. If I was not tapped out after buying the M9 I would have bought the lens myself. It is a really handy and "contrasty" lens. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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