new website about lens lens information - give your ideas as well !

[proenca]

Hi there,

I'm creating a website about Leica M lens ( Leica and Leica M mount, so Voigts and such ) information.

The idea is to create a website that features all Leica M lens ( I'm gathering info ) , and people will be able to compare them ( stats, etc ) but also to upload pictures of them, so we can appreciate bokeh, sharpeness, etc.

When lusting a new lens, I end up serching google and flickr for information about that lens, opening countless flikr photos that were taken with that lens to appreciate the bokeh, the way it will handle flare, how it "draws" etc.

So thats its when I came up with this idea for this website : not a forum, just a collection of all the stats for all the M mount available lens , along with pictures of it and if it was taken with a digital or film camera - ofc you can specifiy in a search something like :

- ONLY 50mm Summilux pre-ASPH photos
- ONLY Leica MP
- ONLY WIDEOPEN photos

and so on.

what you guys think ? what other funtionalities could I add to the website ? Please mind that I'm not creating a forum, for that this one does the job very well .)

[Ian Grant]

Isn't there one already ?

Ian

[proenca]

Isn't there one already ?

Ian

not that I know of... can you point me the website ?

[Dali]

Isn't it a bit difficult to assess and appreciate the alleged qualities of a lens from a computer screen?

[Mustafa Umut Sarac]

I have a friend , who drawed every Leica patented lenses on computer and than analysis after ray tracing.

But it is not possible to reach to a understanding if you are not expert.

And there is lensview , lens drawings of thousands of lenses software.

May be you can find the 700 lenses catalog free version and load to lens design software , analysis and than tell the story with picture examples.

Only M lenses do not explain the story , you might add screw Leitz lenses also.

Someone is selling Lens view software commercial one and it does not very expensive , if you aim to understand.

But Leica have a tradition and lens correction knowledge goes back 100 years ago.

Zeiss have a different view on lens design and it is subjected to a war between two companies.

May be you can buy same era zeiss and leica lenses and deeply analysis with photographs than sell and buy a new couple.

For example tessar to elmar or Hasselblad to Leica.

German photograph magazines do these tests frequently

Best ,

Mustafa Umut Sarac

Istanbul

[luvcameras]

There is this Flikr page http://www.flickr.com/groups/m-mount/discuss/72157600006119333/

and this site http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-wiki.en/index.php/M_Lenses_x_Ordinal
Dan

[phaedrus]

You're trying to out-Puts Erwin Puts (http://www.imx.nl/photo/). Tough job!
And I'd have to side with Dali. One has to get one's own impression of a lens, especially on film. What one would see on web pictures would also (and for the larger part, I'd venture) be influenced by the film scanner and the inevitable post-processing.