35mmdelux
Veni, vidi, vici
Anybody have any strong feeling about the quality of the imagery this lens produces? Everybody talks about the Zeiss 21mms as well as the Super-Angulons. How about the Leica pre-asph?
Thanks --
Thanks --
21mm Leica pre-asph -- Your Opinion Please
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qruyk12
Established
the SA is better
whiteley
Member
having not used any of the other 21s in question my comparison knowledge is non-existent, but my pre-asph 21 has never seemed anything but great to me. the size of the SA is certainly more appealing and the asph lenses in general seem to be "better" but i definitely back the pre-asph 21. since i started using an M8 the 21 is probably my second most used lens- really like it as a 28.
DennisPT
Well-known
The pre-Asph allows you to use your camera built-in meter whereas the SA doesn't. I'll probably go for the early model which allows you to focus down to 0.3m. I've never tried the Zeiss so can't help in that area.
HenningW
Well-known
I've used most 21's that have been on the market in the last 50 years, and all of Leica's. I have 5 currently. The poorest of the Leica's was the pre-asph Elmarit, followed by the first SA.
The Zeiss 21 is a lot better, and the 21 CV Skopar is as well.
The first Elmarit was produced to allow metering. I had it for a while for the convenience, but generally used the f/3.4 SA for its performance superiority. The only area in which the Elmarit bettered the SA was with respect to vignetting. The moment the ASPH became available, I got that and was astounded by the superiority of its performance.
Henning
The Zeiss 21 is a lot better, and the 21 CV Skopar is as well.
The first Elmarit was produced to allow metering. I had it for a while for the convenience, but generally used the f/3.4 SA for its performance superiority. The only area in which the Elmarit bettered the SA was with respect to vignetting. The moment the ASPH became available, I got that and was astounded by the superiority of its performance.
Henning
Tom A
RFF Sponsor
I agree wit Henning on the pre-asph Elmarit 21. I went through a couple of them and found it OK, but not stellar performance. The Asph Leica 21 is much better and so is the Zeiss ZM Biogon 21f2.8 as is the 21f4.5 ZM Biogon.
b.espahbod
Optophile
I call that lens a NO GO. go get 21 f2.8 asph. or SA 21 f4 or SA 21 f3.4
Palaeoboy
Joel Matherson
I once had the pre-ASPH and then happened to get a Voigtlander 21mm in Nikon Rangefinder mount. I was so surprised with its better performance in relation to the Elmarit it was sold off and replaced by another Voigtlander to fit Leica. There are other 21's which may be slightly better optically but the size of the Voigtlander is still worth the trade off for me. If size doesnt matter so much then I probably choose from one of the Zeiss options.
