21 2.8 Elmarit PRE ASPH ?

[proenca]

Hi there,
Anyone that uses this lens on the M8 ? The pre/non ASPH ?
How it behaves ? Samples ? I would really like to upgrade to a "permanent" wide angle on my M8 - I love my CV15mm and I know that this would be less wide, but it would focus !
Love ? Hate ? How is the bokeh of the thing ? No bokeh since its too wide ?

 

[35mmdelux]

google Ken Rockwell -- he does a pretty comprehensive write up. In short, its a great lens.

 

[HKHoward]

I use this lens on my M8. I have it coded and put a IR cut filter on it. Works great and is (by Leica standards) a low cost alternative for the 21 Elmarit Asph. You utilize the middle sweet spot of the lens.

 

[whiteley]

i use mine regularly on my M8, probably more than i did on my film Ms. have never used the ASPH version, but this seems good and sharp. not much bokeh to speak of, but i usually shoot it at 5.6 or 8 as a street photo grabber in an I Dream Of Winogrand kind of way.

 

[DwF]

nice lens!

nice lens!

I like mine on the M8 but have yet to get it coded, so it does produce cyan drift with the IR cut filter. It handles nicely and offers a really useful FOV for street use with the M8.

http://www.pbase.com/bitonal/image/105283416.jpg

david

 

[Ben Z]

I have the pre-ASPH Elmarit. I bought it when I still had the ASPH version, just to try them together, as I had 2 weeks to keep the lens or send it back. I sold the ASPH and pocketed the substantial difference. The ASPH might have been better in someone's test shots of charts taped to the wall, but in everyday photography nothing stood out. In fact, the pre-ASPH has a bit less light falloff at the wider apertures. F5.6 is the sweet spot of both the pre-ASPH and ASPH and at that aperture nobody I know could tell which lens made the shot. I have an IR filter for mine, and I milled-in the black codes (had to paint one screw head white too) and it pulls up the cyan-reducing software perfectly.

I will note however, that both this lens and the ASPH are not small by any means. Quite often when I travel I opt to bring the Voitlander 21 Skopar instead. It's a stop slower but much smaller and lighter, and performs incredibly well.