I seen to remember that the different philosophies of Leitz and Zeiss lens design, from the times prior to lens coating or multicoating, was that Leitz aimed for the most corrected therefore sharpest image, even if that meant more lens elements so more flare, while Zeiss sought the point of balance between retaining good contrast and correction by using the fewest elements that still gave acceptable, rather than utmost sharpness. Since the introduction of coatings the flare penalty of more elements has lessened considerably, but it could still be true that Leitz prioritises high resolution above flare control. That said, Rob Studdert has related amazing tales of Noctilux flare control against the light, IIRC.
Pentax reputably follows the Zeiss philosophy, preferring to strike a balance between all image attributes rather than chasing extreme sharpness at the expense of less quantifiable (and advertisable) attributes like the quality of bokeh. regards, Anthony Farr ----- Original Message ----- From: "Shel Belinkoff" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > <LOL> > > I dare not post this to the Leica list for fear of being burnt alive: > recently I was comparing a couple of Leica 90mm lenses and observed a lot > of flare in certain situations. Curious, I tried the same scene using a > Pentax 85mm and a Pentax 105mm lens, and the flare was no longer an issue. > Using a much deeper lens hood on the Leica 90mm glass instead of a standard > or slightly larger hood helped somewhat, but the hood was huge and > cumbersome. >
