11606 or 11677 28 2.8 Elmarit ASPH?

[madNbad]

I recently acquired a 11606 28 2.8 Elmarit ASPH in a pretty good deal from KEH. I'm curious about the latest version, is there any major difference beside Leica adopting the Voigtlander style threaded lens hood? I can live with a plastic hood for the price.

 

[jonmanjiro]

I've wondered about this too and finally asked about it at Leica in Ginza, Tokyo yesterday. The guy I spoke with said that the optical formulas of the old and new versions of the Elmarit-M 28mm ASPH and Summicron-M 35mm ASPH are identical. The only differences are that the new Elmarit-M 28mm ASPH and new Summicron-M 35mm ASPH have the new screw-in hood design and the new Summicron-M 35mm ASPH now has 11 aperture blades compared to 8 aperture blades in the previous model.

 

[mcfingon]

Reid reviews (subscription service) said the newer design has a change in lens element positioning designed to improve performance on the Leica SL, particularly in the corners of the frame. He concludes this leads to a slight reduction in corner performance on the Leica M240.

 

[Gregm61]

I recently acquired a 11606 28 2.8 Elmarit ASPH in a pretty good deal from KEH. I'm curious about the latest version, is there any major difference beside Leica adopting the Voigtlander style threaded lens hood? I can live with a plastic hood for the price.

Outstanding optic. The only thing I would warn against is, in the way you mount and dismount the lens.

It's so small its hard to get a grip on the thing to take it off and mount, one is tempted to grip the mounted lens hood to assist. After a while of doing that, the front ring will work itself loose and it will get loose enough you eventually have to send the lens in to get it repaired.

 

[madNbad]

Thanks for the information. I have found by holding the lens close to the flange when mounting or removing, it keeps me from grabbing the hood. Also, being so small, if it slips from my grasp it will land in my hand.

 

[michaelwj]

Since I couldn't find a thread with images from these lenses, I thought I'd start to post them here.

1st version Elmarit ASPH, M4, HP5+ EI320, R09 1+50