An announcement during yet another Covid wrecked year best forgotten was released by the folks at Wetzlar. Just when all hope was lost did the light at the end of the tunnel relume. I mean, every camera manufacturer can already do that. What we really need is a lens that can take photos closer than that utterly shameful 2.3’. Nor do we need another lens with more precision excised of any optical aberration.
We do not need another next generation fast lens. Stop giving us what you have already given us in incremental iterative improvements. Introduce a function that we all can use. If only the folks at Wetzlar would heed my call to make a lens that can focus closer than that pitiful span of 2.3’. Given that, why has there been no iterative continuation of close focusing lenses since the heyday of the Apollo Space Program? And, the Leica 21mm f/4 Super Angulon-M can focus as close as 1.25’ (or 0.4m). The Dual Range Leica 50mm f/2 Summicron-M version II can focus as close as 1.5’ (or 0.48m). That said, one wonders why the folks at Wetzlar will not make a closer focusing lens. Capa was not referring to Instagrammable Michelin star cuisine or iconic local fares when talking about shooting close enough. I mean, how is one to take foodie photos with a wide or normal M-mount lens from 2.3’? It is impossible, unless you resort to cropping a third of the entire frame - which is the surrounding table clutter. With an utterly inadequate minimum focusing distance from 2.3’ (or 0.7m) to 3.3’ (or 1.0m) - depending on the lens - the prospect of taking any close up photos is dismal. That said, one can never truly get close enough with an M-mount rangefinder. “If your pictures aren't good enough, you aren't close enough.” Definitely, good advice from Robert Capa.
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