Hi--

>On the topic of bokeh and Leicas. I took some photos with a Leica, and they
>do seem to soften the background more. Sadly, this camera is not mine (yet...)
>so I cannot continue to experiment. However, if you are interested, I can
>set up a quick web page and scan in some of the photos. Note that comparisons
>with other gear will have to wait as I am in the process of either trying
>to get the Leica or go with some Nikon gear.

Um, I would go with Nikon....;-), ;-) (Actually, I was not very impressed
with Leica optics in general, though there are some nice individual lenses,
I guess - I prefer the hard-edged look... [and I like to be able to use fast
lenses wide-open...]). Thanks, but it would be hard to see differences, I
think, on a web page - unless (maybe...) the same thing was shot with both
cameras on the same film at nearly the same time, and printed identically,
and scanned very large (with maybe only a portion used) - but even then
it may be hard to tell much unless the subject material and lighting are
very carefully chosen to show the effect. (If you look at the Shutterbug
"report" on the 135mm f2 Nikkor "variable-bokeh" lens, it is impossible
to see much meaningful difference in the images, even in fairly large
magazine reproductions.) I used to shoot things/lighting that favored
showing the contrasty out-of-focus Nikkor imaging - without thinking
about it much (I just liked it...;-).

>Very good photos by the way. Lots of people post some pretty bad stuff. It's
>a refreshing change to see some photos that aren't just ordinary.
>Skal!
>Curtis clmarr@maniac.UVic.CA (Curtis Marr)

Thanks for the comments. I moved long ago from the "aht" world to
the commercial - though it is still fun...;-)