NavList:

   

Reply

Perceived image sharpness is made up of resolution and contrast. The
European tradition of fine lens making, from firms like Leica and Rodenstock
and Schneider, has emphasized resolving power over contrast. There is a good
reason for this; a low contrast image retains more information (tonal range)
which is lost as the contrast is increased. Increasing the contrast is
usually possible later on, eg, when reproducing the image on paper or in
print, although transparency film is an exception here (a compensating
factor is the higher contrast of transparency film over negative stock).

The Japanese trend has been to go for higher contrast optics. This offers an
increase in perceived sharpness. I don't want to imply that they are lacking
in resolution as generally their overall quality is excellent.

I too have been very impressed with some of the images offered by modern
binoculars - not just Leica. Some do seem particularly crisp and bright. As
always, if you're in the market shop around. The biggest problem with using
binoculars seems to be holding the things steady, especially at sea, and so
I've been intrigued by models with image stabilizers built-in, although they
do seem to be expensive - and possibly more prone to damage from shock and
salt air.

> From: Dan Allen
>I owned both a Leica R3 SLR and a Leica M2 rangefinder camera for several
>years.  Both are works of art but optically they were actually not as good
>as my Canon or Nikon optics, at least in my opinion

   

Reply