johnbuckley Posted July 12, 2007 Share #1 Posted July 12, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) On a vacation with my family to Italy, I tried as best I could to shoot only with the Tri-Elmar and the WATE, so as to minimize the amount of time my wife and son had to wait while I fiddled with lenses. I would pronounce the experiment mostly a success. (See photos at the Zenfolio site linked below.) Few were the moments when I was scrambling in my bag for the perfect lens. Having said that, you do miss rather a lot shooting primarily with theTri-Elmar. It is not simply that it's slow. It's that, to my eye, it is missing some of the essential sharpness that we characterize as uniquely Leica-esque. The M8 perfromed flawlessly. The WATE was a delight to have, and while others may not like the barrel distortion you get shooting with it to get the enormous range of a medieval tower and the piazza next to it, I think it is kind of fun. But if, for example, you go to the gallery with the sunflowers, you will note just how much sharper the photos are, because there I was using the 50 Summilux, not the Tri-Elmar. All in, traveling with the Tri-Elmar is useful, convenient, and stops your loved ones from groaning as you reach for the bag and say, "Need my 35..." That said, you really give up a lot not using the primes, don't you? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted July 12, 2007 Posted July 12, 2007 Hi johnbuckley, Take a look here Traveling With the WATE and Tri-Elmar. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
boilerdoc Posted July 12, 2007 Share #2 Posted July 12, 2007 I just returned from Europe and used the WATE and the TE extensively along with other primes. I loved the WATE. The finder, altho clunky, was dead on as far as giving accurate framelines and the lens was superb in sharpness. I set the focus using the DOF scales a lot and i have to say that 11X17 prints look flawless. No distrortion at the edges with mine. I am in love with this lens! I don't have a filter for it yet but no IR contamination noted. I'll post some images after I get through the 40 GB of files!!!! Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnbuckley Posted July 12, 2007 Author Share #3 Posted July 12, 2007 Steve - I love the WATE. It is superb, and yes, while the Frankefinder is a drag, it really is an excellent piece of engineering. Cheers, JB Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
moikle Posted July 12, 2007 Share #4 Posted July 12, 2007 John, I can only agree with you comments re sharpness of the Tri Elmar. I always felt it was definately below par compared to the equivalent primes. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
d_brown Posted July 12, 2007 Share #5 Posted July 12, 2007 Having said that, you do miss rather a lot shooting primarily with theTri-Elmar. It is not simply that it's slow. It's that, to my eye, it is missing some of the essential sharpness that we characterize as uniquely Leica-esque. . . . you will note just how much sharper the photos are, because there I was using the 50 Summilux, not the Tri-Elmar. Hello John, Sorry to hear of your disappointment with the Tri-Elmar. It sounds like yet another case of significant variations between copies of a given lens. My TE is my most used lens, and holds its own with *any* equivalent fixed focal length lens except the 35 and 50 Luxes (both of which were initially unsatisfactory and required careful adjustment for optimum focus). I like the TE so much, that, after hearing about its discontinuation, I bought another for a back-up. It is very sharp at all focal lengths, aperatures and distances. I would not hesitate to use a good TE for anything, at any time, as long as the aperature and focal length choices are adequate. If I were you, I would make every attempt to get your lens adjusted so that you can realize its full potential. I hope you have good luck! Dale Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnbuckley Posted July 13, 2007 Author Share #6 Posted July 13, 2007 Dale - I am, as I said, mostly happy with the Tri-Elmar. And you can see from the photos themselves that they still have that Leica something extra. But between my 35 Summilux and the 35 on the Tri there is the difference between a barber's razor and a sharp steak knife. The latter is very sharp, but the former's something amazing. And I admit, I miss the extra sharpness. Cheers., JB Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
4X5B&W Posted July 13, 2007 Share #7 Posted July 13, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) I recently grabbed a used Ver 2 Tri-Elmar, after I heard about them discontinuing the lens. I see it as a almost perfect travel lens with my backordered M8. In the meantime I just got back some Kodachrome 64 shot on my M6 with the TE, and the results look very good at all focal lengths. I would expect that K64 has higher resolution than the M8 sensor, so to me the M8 and TE combo looks like it is going to do the job as an everyday lens....a nice complement to my 24, 35, 50 and 90 ASPH's. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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