Fred Miranda Offline Admin Upload & Sell: On
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highdesertmesa wrote:
Former Leica Forum member Steven owned every version and multiple copies of some. His favorite is the v2. I don't have the coin to try the original Steel Rim, but I agree it's most likely copy variance more than anything with lenses this old. Very few check their lenses for mild haze by using a strong LED light in a pitch dark room (being careful not to look right into the light!) and most of these have never had a CLA.
The characteristic I find most appealing about the pre-ASPH versions is that at f/1.4, while there is a glow, the point of focus is still very sharp. It's not "soft" at f/1.4 in the same way as most lenses we consider soft are wide open at close distances. If someone's not seeing the sharpness in conjunction with the glow, it's likely the lens needs a CLA....Show more →
Aside from the original M3 Steel Rim with Goggles, I think that any minor rendering difference reported between the serial numbers are probably due to copy variation. If one comes across a 'pre-asph' that is well centered and the glass is clear, that's the best 'pre-asph'.
Of course, if one pays the exorbitant price for a rare steel rim copy, it's understandable to think the rendering is more magical than other versions! -- having said that I do acknowledge there could be a small difference in color/contrast due to glass material changes.
That's likely the reason we don't see side-by-side comparisons from the production batches. It would very difficult to spot any difference in real images, especially when comparing good copies of different versions.
The re-issued version (v3) will probably have slightly higher contrast compared to older versions due to the use of different glass/coating but this is still unknown and I'm curious to see such comparisons.
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