Late morning following a torrential downpour seemed like a good time to shoehorn the 180mm APO-Elmarit and APO-Extender 2X onto the M10-R and head out for a walk, before heat shimmer could return. For some reason, the rain didn’t do much to clear pollution from the air.
Last time I gave the setup every chance to succeed, shooting at eff. f/8 instead of wide open, using second-level magnification, and doing so in excellent light, all while coming back with a card full of miserable shots. Today it was f/5.6, first-level, and dim overcast the whole way. Results were far from perfect, but much better. Best of all, I learned from it.
The slightly lower contrast wide open meant slightly less overbearing peaking cues, which resulted in more accuracy. And I learned that I need a shutter speed of at least 2 X relative reach. Still, the difference in acuity between the bare lens and the lens plus extender is stark, almost alarming.
The combination, at its best, holds up at 100%, needing a bit of sharpening in most cases. The need for sharpening is not something to which I’m accustomed when using Leica glass. Going forward, the better options will be upsampling the bare lens if it’s necessary, and leaving the APO-Extender at home. This is my third copy of the teleconverter, and my critical eye appears to have outgrown it.
Mr. Karbe, I think I finally get it now . . .
