New Pony in the Stable
If you know me, you know I love Leicas and I love a good bargain. So when a good deal on anything Leica comes up, I have absolutely no natural defenses. Did I need this lens? Of course not. The reality is I don't need any more gear - I can photograph everything I want from extremely small objects close up (though not microscopic, yet), all the way through to far off distant subjects. I am simply always trying to take better images at this point, and this lens pushes that line just a bit further than what I've been using. Furthermore, I justify it because when cared for, the lenses can sell for at least as much as I pay for them - often more.
This time around, the lens in question is the renowned Apo-Telyt-R 180mm F:3.4. My copy is from 1978 - only 53 units before they made the switch to a front filter size of 60mm (luckily, mine was converted at some point to the more convenient threads). This lens was initially made for the US Navy doing arial imaging, then later sold to the public. It was the first in Leica's line up of apochromatic lenses, and almost 50 years later, still holds its own. Only a handful of modern lenses can even compete and fewer can be debated to outperform this lens optically. None of those even come close in terms of build quality (unless you are comparing it to another Leica). Of course, that quality comes with the hefty price of weight, and its age excludes it from conveniences like autofocus, electronic aperture, and image stabilization. When considering all things combined; size, weight, build, optics, speed, use, and cost, this old boy is pretty attractive.
My main interest is to use it for deep sky imaging of celestial objects. Combined with the Apo-Extender-R 2x, I have two little telescopes in one, while remaining a usable daytime camera lens as well. I have read of people using this lens for astrophotography, but I haven't seen much of it. And I certainly haven't seen much of anything coming from an M camera. Who would be stupid and crazy enough to do that!? Me, of course.
Two things make me think this lens could be killer for nighttime. First is that this lens was optimized to shoot at infinity, which is where all those far off nebulas reside. Second is that the special glass used corrects for lightwaves outside of the range of visible light, into Infrared. That also happens to be the end of the spectrum where Hydrogen Alpha emissions lie. Incidentally, this is also where the M filter stack blocks more weakly compared to other manufacturers - so if its going to come through, it may as well come through in focus.
More will come from all that, as it just arrived a few days ago. Rain, a full moon and a busy schedule have kept me from running it through the paces, but I have taken it on a little walkabout just to see what kind of performance I can expect. So far, I'm impressed.
These were all taken handheld on the Leica M11 so I could really scrutinize the details at 60mp as well as the usability as a walkaround lens. Nothing amazing here, and certainly not posted to exemplify what this lens is capable of, just what I did with it in the brief time we've been together. Simply pretty photos of fleeting moments, as usual.
