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Rate R telephoto lenses from best downward excluding module from your own experiences

algrove

By algrove
in Leica R System

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naturephoto1

naturephoto1

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IMHO it's not the best choice for landscapes.

 

snip

 

 

Though not the 400mm f6.8 Telyt lens, below is a waterfall image that I took with my rebalanced 560mm f6.8 Telyt lens:

 

"Waterfall, Grand Tetons" Spring photo of a Waterfall "extracted" off the side of Grand Teton in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming in May or June of 1991. The break in the flow of the water is probably due to a fault on the mountainside. Image taken with Leica R4SP on Kodak Ektachrome Plus 100 Professional film.

 

It is not as sharp as the 280mm Apo lenses but not bad.

 

Rich

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naturephoto1

naturephoto1

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@RickLeica-

Do you mean it so cumbersome you need a suitcase for it? If I got one I was hoping to just put it in my Think Tank whatever and off I go. Guess that idea will have to be rethought out.

 

Originally the 280mm f2.8 Apo lens came/comes in a large aluminum case, but it fits quite nicely in this case from Lowe Pro even with a RRS or equivalent Arca Swiss Typr QR plate:

 

Lowepro Lens Case 13 x 32cm (Black) LP36307-PAM B&H Photo Video

 

Rich

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robsteve

robsteve

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Originally the 280mm f2.8 Apo lens came/comes in a large aluminum case, but it fits quite nicely in this case from Lowe Pro even with a RRS or equivalent Arca Swiss Typr QR plate:

 

Lowepro Lens Case 13 x 32cm (Black) LP36307-PAM B&H Photo Video

 

Rich

 

You can't sit on that case when shooting though:)

 

I keep and travel with my 400mm f2.8 in the trunk case. I think it provides better protection, especially from environmental conditions.

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naturephoto1

naturephoto1

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You can't sit on that case when shooting though:)

 

I keep and travel with my 400mm f2.8 in the trunk case. I think it provides better protection, especially from environmental conditions.

 

Rob,

 

I won't argue with you on that, :) But, I wouldn't want to carry the trunk case too far away from the car. :eek:

 

Rich

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robsteve

robsteve

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Rob,

 

I won't argue with you on that, :) But, I wouldn't want to carry the trunk case too far away from the car. :eek:

 

Rich

 

My big lens is used mostly for sports, so when I get to the venue, I attach the lens to the end of my monopod and leave the trunk in the back of the truck. I have carried it on in the trunk case when flying and even checked it a few times. They are pretty durable cases.

 

In the case of carrying it anywhere for Nature, I have one of the large LowePro backpacks that would fit it without the case.

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algrove

algrove

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Though not the 400mm f6.8 Telyt lens, below is a waterfall image that I took with my rebalanced 560mm f6.8 Telyt lens:

 

"Waterfall, Grand Tetons" Spring photo of a Waterfall "extracted" off the side of Grand Teton in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming in May or June of 1991. The break in the flow of the water is probably due to a fault on the mountainside. Image taken with Leica R4SP on Kodak Ektachrome Plus 100 Professional film.

 

It is not as sharp as the 280mm Apo lenses but not bad.

 

Rich

 

Lovely image. Could I imagine that the 280/2.8 with 2x teleconverter would give at least as good an image as yours? Or even better maybe?

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naturephoto1

naturephoto1

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Lovely image. Could I imagine that the 280/2.8 with 2x teleconverter would give at least as good an image as yours? Or even better maybe?

 

Thank you. I have not made a complete comparison with the 280mm f2.8 Apo lens with the 2X Apo extender. It would not surprise me if it would outperform the 560mm f6.8 Telyt. I would definitely expect less issue with the 280mm f2.8 with the 2X Apo extender with less curvature toward the edges.

 

The lens performs quite well with the 1.4X Apo extender that was actually originally designed for the lens. There is a little loss with this configuration, but it is quite good. I may post something taken with this combination with my Lumix G1 that was taken in Olympic National Park in October. But, it is going to take me sometime to get to it as I am posting 1 new image a day to my FB photo page and I believe that it will be possibly a couple of weeks till I get to the images.

 

Rich

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Rick

Rick

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Rick what can I say-- the right place at the right time. Bravo to you!

 

Algrove, many days and long hours of tracking the goats through high mountain trails and rocky mountains was required to finally get close enough to the mother goat and her kids. Then, you only have a few minutes to unpack your lens and set up the tripod and hope for a good opportunity to photograph these elusive animals. :rolleyes:

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sfage

sfage

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IMHO it's not the best choice for landscapes.

 

 

 

 

Perhaps the one I used had a problem. I found the f/4 to be sharper especially outside the central region of the picture, produces better bokeh, is easier to focus quickly and accurately, and has a closer minimum focus and a better tripod mount.

 

Yes, the one I bought is in impeccable condition. It was barely used. I do not find it to be sharp. In fact, my old nikon 80-200 f4.5 AI will absolutely destroy it.

 

And yes, I have seen Doug Herr's images taken with it. I still stay the nikon 80-200 will obliterate it. The 400mm is just not that good of a lens.

 

Not everything ever made by Leica was sent from the heavens by God.

 

I am not at home right now, but when I get back, I'm going to dump that lens. It has the shoulder stock, the whole shebang. If someone wants to pay for the privaledge to be "seen" walking around with it, then they can pay me a bunch of money for it.

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sfage

sfage

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Though not the 400mm f6.8 Telyt lens, below is a waterfall image that I took with my rebalanced 560mm f6.8 Telyt lens:

 

"Waterfall, Grand Tetons" Spring photo of a Waterfall "extracted" off the side of Grand Teton in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming in May or June of 1991. The break in the flow of the water is probably due to a fault on the mountainside. Image taken with Leica R4SP on Kodak Ektachrome Plus 100 Professional film.

 

It is not as sharp as the 280mm Apo lenses but not bad.

 

Rich

 

Yeah, this is basically, exactly, the performance I am getting out of the 400 6.8. The colours are really "blobby". For me -and I am not trying to be rude- is absolutely "not" a sellable image. I wouldn't even spend the money to print this.

 

Again, I am not trying to be rude. Quite simply, I could not sell this print to somebody.

 

Other people's opinions may differ from mine, and that's fine. But, if I am going to spend thousands of dollars on cameras -on top of the thousands I pay to GET TO the places to shoot the images... I wanna get paid. Period.

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fernando_b

fernando_b

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Though not the 400mm f6.8 Telyt lens, below is a waterfall image that I took with my rebalanced 560mm f6.8 Telyt lens:

 

"Waterfall, Grand Tetons" Spring photo of a Waterfall "extracted" off the side of Grand Teton in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming in May or June of 1991. The break in the flow of the water is probably due to a fault on the mountainside. Image taken with Leica R4SP on Kodak Ektachrome Plus 100 Professional film.

 

It is not as sharp as the 280mm Apo lenses but not bad.

 

Rich

 

The 560/6.8 is not an APO lens... but it is great!

Fernando.

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sfage

sfage

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The 560/6.8 is not an APO lens... but it is great!

Fernando.

 

Well, then, we are not seeing the same things. This image was taken from 1.5 km away upon a used 1980s $50 Nikon 80-200 4.5 AI. You can count every branch upon those trees, in the print.

 

There is absolutely no way the 400 (at least) will even remotely keep up with the sharpness of that Nikon. It's absolutely no contest.

 

Conversation over, before it started.

 

500px / Untitled photo by Shane Fage

 

Here's another one. The top of that mountain is at least 1.5km from me.

 

http://500px.com/photo/4749959

 

 

I am not try to be a jerk... but go back up this thread and look at the Teton 400mm 6.8 image, then go to my 500px links and tell me that those two lenses compare, even remotely. Tell me they are in the same ball park. If you tell me the 400mm is better, I will shut up.

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naturephoto1

naturephoto1

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Yes, the one I bought is in impeccable condition. It was barely used. I do not find it to be sharp. In fact, my old nikon 80-200 f4.5 AI will absolutely destroy it.

 

And yes, I have seen Doug Herr's images taken with it. I still stay the nikon 80-200 will obliterate it. The 400mm is just not that good of a lens.

 

Not everything ever made by Leica was sent from the heavens by God.

 

I am not at home right now, but when I get back, I'm going to dump that lens. It has the shoulder stock, the whole shebang. If someone wants to pay for the privaledge to be "seen" walking around with it, then they can pay me a bunch of money for it.

 

Yeah, this is basically, exactly, the performance I am getting out of the 400 6.8. The colours are really "blobby". For me -and I am not trying to be rude- is absolutely "not" a sellable image. I wouldn't even spend the money to print this.

 

Again, I am not trying to be rude. Quite simply, I could not sell this print to somebody.

 

Other people's opinions may differ from mine, and that's fine. But, if I am going to spend thousands of dollars on cameras -on top of the thousands I pay to GET TO the places to shoot the images... I wanna get paid. Period.

 

You need to be accurately focused with the f6.8 400mm and 560mm Telyt lenses which can be challenging. For my image above the flowers and plants were not that large from the distance (a quarter mile? and taken with the f6.8 560mm Telyt lens). In addition, I could have had the lens locked down somewhat better. At least until recently, lenses in the 80 to 200mm lens range would outperform lenses that were 400mm and 560mm in focal length; that is to be expected.

 

Below is a photo of a White Bengal Tiger from a small scan (not the big one). Again with the f6.8 560mm Telyt lens. Yes the lens could be sharper and the lens could have been locked down better. But this was sharp enough to be used by Microsoft for the Encarta Encyclopedia as long as it was in print. The image has been sold as a 24" print and I could sell it as a 30" print; it would lose a little going up to the 30" size but not much. I can not see blobby colors.

 

"White Bengal Tiger" Photo of a White Bengal Tiger taken at the National Zoo in Washington, DC in 1989 on Kodachrome 64 film. The black spots on the tigers coat are actually flies. In larger prints the wings of some of the flies can be seen open.

 

Rich

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jaapv

jaapv

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At least until recently, lenses in the 80 to 200mm lens range would outperform lenses that were 400mm and 560mm in focal length; that is to be expected.

 

Which, on a 24 Mp camera, makes cropping over longer focal length a viable idea.

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sfage

sfage

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I agree that it is not an easy lens to focus. It takes time. I completely accept that. The purpose of my purchase (of the 400mm 6.8) was to improve upon the distance of the 200. Of course, that goes without saying. But, I would only be using this lens at infinity focus. So, it's not a question of focus error. I need it to focus upon mountain peaks from the highway or deep within the forest. Naturally, I would tripod those shots and would always be mindful of keeping the exposure time to at least double the lens' length. So in this case, 1/800 or faster.

 

I'm still not getting it.

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