Godfrey
somewhat colored
I was so delighted with the Summicron-M 28 ASPH the other day, it piqued my curiosity to do some test shooting with the most maligned Leica lens, the ancient Hektor 135mm f/4.5.
I had an older version of this lens, once upon a time, that was part of my father's dental work recording kit. The one I found a few years ago, for the princely sum of $180 in near mint condition (the correct lens hood and cap were actually more expensive than the lens!) is a 1960 example.
So I fitted it to the camera with an orange filter and hood, added the Visoflex 020, set it to f/8 with auto exposure and AutoISO, and went for a walk.
Bicycles For Sale - Santa Clara 2023
Leica M10 Monochrom + Hektor 135mm f/4.5
ISO 2500 @ f/8 @ 1/750
Orange filter
I made 40-some exposures and at least 25 of them are very satisfying! I certainly wouldn't call the old Hektor "bitingly sharp" like a modern lens, but on the other hand it certainly is not a bad performer, and it's light and even hand-held usable.
Probably the most difficult part of getting a critically focused image with this lens is the fact that the focusing helicoid is very fine threaded and you have to concentrate carefully on the RF image alignment to get it right on the money. Live View with the M10-M provides another focusing option that provides an easier critical focus capability...
Note: this photo was focused with the rangefinder.
Enjoy! G
I had an older version of this lens, once upon a time, that was part of my father's dental work recording kit. The one I found a few years ago, for the princely sum of $180 in near mint condition (the correct lens hood and cap were actually more expensive than the lens!) is a 1960 example.
So I fitted it to the camera with an orange filter and hood, added the Visoflex 020, set it to f/8 with auto exposure and AutoISO, and went for a walk.
Bicycles For Sale - Santa Clara 2023
Leica M10 Monochrom + Hektor 135mm f/4.5
ISO 2500 @ f/8 @ 1/750
Orange filter
I made 40-some exposures and at least 25 of them are very satisfying! I certainly wouldn't call the old Hektor "bitingly sharp" like a modern lens, but on the other hand it certainly is not a bad performer, and it's light and even hand-held usable.
Probably the most difficult part of getting a critically focused image with this lens is the fact that the focusing helicoid is very fine threaded and you have to concentrate carefully on the RF image alignment to get it right on the money. Live View with the M10-M provides another focusing option that provides an easier critical focus capability...
Note: this photo was focused with the rangefinder.
Enjoy! G
p.giannakis
Pan Giannakis
The first think I noticed is the ISO2500 and how good it looks. Obviously I have been living under a stone for the last decade or so. And the lens performs well, I wonder how it will look like on film.
Godfrey
somewhat colored
The M10-M's sensitivity and dynamic range are just astounding. I've made exposures at ISO 50,000 that barely show any noise at all. I haven't pushed it to ISO 100,000 yet...
For this shooting session with the Hektor 135, I set AutoISO to go from base to ISO 8000 and the max exposure time to be 1/(2f) for hand holding the 135mm lens at f/8. With the M10-M, I just don't have to worry about noise. And if I want to induce some noise/grain for aesthetic purposes, I set to ISO800 or above and underexpose by 4 to 5 stops. Then I get some nice grain-looking noise.
An amazing camera...
G