FINDING THE PERFECT CAMERA KIT

At this point I have given up trying to consolidate to one system. There are times when I prefer Leica M’s compactness, and there are other times when I prefer the 1Ds Mark III’s flexibility. The challenging part has been the balancing of the two systems, such as minimizing lens overlap, keeping within budget and deciding which kit is the “main” system.

ZEISS ZE FOR CANON EF

During the past year I have owned almost every Zeiss ZE lens. Optically, the Zeiss ZE’s are solid performers with improved performance over the Contax lenses, such as subtle gains in resolution and edge sharpness. Some highlights of the new ZE’s include:

1. •The 100mm F2 Makro-Planar ZE was my favorite lens, but I feel Zeiss “broke” the lens by adding the macro functionality. Compared to the Contax 100mm Planar, the ZE macro is fatter, longer, heavier and has a notably longer focus throw. Adding the macro functionality made sense from a sales and marketing perspective, but at the consequence of the lens’ ergonomics.
   

2. •The Zeiss 50mm F2 Makro-Planar ZE has great optical performance (review here), but like the 100mm Makro-Planar ZE the macro function adds weight, size, and slows focusing. Most important (to me), the 50mm F2 Makro-Planar ZE lacks f1.4 which is important for lowlight shooting. If Zeiss were to combine the F1.4 and F2 ZE Planars into a single lens and remove the macro functionality, it would be my perfect 50mm for the Canon system.
   

3. •The Zeiss 28mm F2 Distagon ZE was very impressive. This lens surprised me the most because the Contax version could have sketchy performance at F2 (considerable halation). Wide open performance with the ZE is excellent, stopped down performance for landscapes is equally good. The 28mm ZE struck me as being the most “upgraded” Contax lens (review here).
   

Despite these bright spots, the Zeiss ZE lenses were sold. The deal breaker was the size and weight. Also, the Zeiss ZE’s lost some of their retro-charm.

THE LEICA M LENSES

During past couple years I have owned almost every Leica M lens currently in production from 28mm to 90mm. I have come to appreciate Leica’s optics and how they render a scene. Like the Zeiss ZE’s, I have some some favorites:

1. •The Leica 50mm F1.4 Summilux M ASPH epitomizes what I like best about the M system - size and performance. The Summilux is easily the best 50mm lens I have ever used. There is no point going on and on about the lens, the 50mm Lux ASPH sets the benchmark for 50mm lenses.
   

2. •The Leica 75mm F2 Summicron M APO has a wonderful rendering to its images, pretty similar to the Contax 100mm F2 Planar. The build quality is sublime and the handling with the Leica M9 is perfect. My only niggle with the lens is the limited telephoto reach; 90mm feels more useful as a landscape lens.
   

3. •The Leica 28mm F2 Summicron M ASPH is another lens I am trying to like. Mine is currently having its focus adjusted and I have not had much opportunity to use it (yet). The Zeiss 28mm F2 Distagon ZE is a much smarter purchase, but I am a sucker Leica’s build quality.
   

The “retro charm” that the Zeiss ZE’s lack, the M system has in spades. That is not the best logic for justifying an M system, but I find the simplicity, manual controls and build quality a nice change from high tech dSLRs.

THE TWO KITS COMBINED

I have repeatedly considered selling the Canon 1Ds Mark III, but the simple truth is - I love having the 1Ds3 and M9 side by side. There are number of reasons to keep the 1Ds Mark III:

1. •Easier focus and off axis (off-center) composing / framing
   

2. •Telephoto lenses, auto focus, IS (Image Stabilization)
   

3. •Great high ISO, Live View, good colors, better flash support
   

4. •Weather sealed, awesome battery life, good 3” LCD rear display
   

But, where I get so frustrated with the 1Ds Mark III is its size. A complete Canon kit is a large Domke bag weighing in around 15 pounds. A complete Leica M kit is around 7 pounds in a fairly compact satchel type bag. For the most part, my only legitimate gripe with the 1Ds Mark III is the camera body size.

Setting aside the weight issue, there is a nice yang & yang effect when using the Canon and Leica in tandem. The M system is great for candids and those “in the moment” shots. Where I am not so happy with the Leica M9 is its color rendition (at times). In contrast, the 1Ds Mark III has great color. When you using the two camera together, I like using telephotos on the Canon.

Back to the issue - which lenses? I have been trying to answer that question for three months... The are two knowns - the Leica 50mm Summilux-M ASPH and the Contax 100mm F2 Planar. Pretty much everything else is just noise. Today’s pictures were taken with the Leica 50mm Summilux-M ASPH, Contax 100mm F2 Planar and Canon 200mm F2.8 L Mark II (more here). I wish I had the 28mm Summicron ASPH today; for a city setting something wider than 50mm comes in handy. The colors and such were edited to look somewhat retro. I’ve been in a retro mood lately - must be getting old!