28mm Leica alternative?

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peewee

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I have my heart set on the 28mm Summicron, it's the perfect 28 for me, BUT, i will have to save for quite a while. I wonder which non Leica 28 comes closest to the Summacron in iq and character? Faster the better but overall picture quality is more important.
Thanks:rolleyes:
 
Later lenses tend to be MUCH better than earlier (more contrast, less distortion), though this will attract hate mail from devotees of lenses from the 80s, 70s, 60s and even before. The 28/3.5 badged as Kobalux or Pasinon is excellent (1990s) and so are the Voigtländers or of course the Zeiss. I'd not bother with pre-1990s lenses myself.

Cheers,

R.
 
Elmarit-M 28 2.8 Pre-Asph has the same design concept as 28 Summicron, i have both and they r equal in quality but if 1stop really counts go pay big bucks for 28cron. 28 2.8 asph is another nice and well-priced lens by knowing its distortion-free and its corner performance.

if had to keep one lens it would be 28cron.
 
I have three 28mm lenses that I recommend.
1. Canon 28mm 3.5: old design,vintage, sharp, tiny, low contrast
2. Minolta Rokkor 28mm 2.8:similar to vintage Leica
3. Kobalux 28mm 3.5: sharp and wonderful.

It depends which look you prefer.
 
I have the 4th-version Elmarit, which is my most-used lens on the M8. It came with a tiny scratch in the front coating (previous owner probably believed Leica coatings are unscratchable and that UV filters "degrade" the image too much for someone of his talent :D) and so cost me $600. Best Leica lens purchase I ever made. Right behind it, the Voitlander Ultron f/1.9, which I got for $199 (because the previous owner thought that blacking out the writing in front would confuse subjects on the street into not noticing it was a lens pointed at them :D) I actually got that one first and really wasn't looking for anything else, but then the Elmarit appeared and was too much to resist.

Optically, in practical actual shooting photography, nobody I know can tell which lens was used. At f/1.9-2 the Ultron is said to have less performance than the Summicron, and I don't doubt it. In fact I would hope so for the sake of anyone who paid 10X more for the Leica lens. My personal preference in fast lenses is to have a little more character wide open. I don't tend to shoot architectural subjects or test charts @ maximum aperture. I do tend to shoot wide-open in low-light situations where a little "mood" is wanted by me. So the Ultron, the pre-ASPH 50 Summilux, and pre-ASPH 90 Summicron are my own choices as opposed to the newer variants. At one time I owned 21 Elmarit ASPH, 35 Cron and Summilux ASPHS, and the 90 APO-ASPH and 135 APO-Telyt and one by one sold them all in preference of their predecessors. My big regret is having done it back before the prices shot through the roof, or I would have an M9 already funded :bang:
 
IMO, no real substitute for 28 cron asph, which I love. But, the new Elmarit is much less costly and somewhat smaller, although it has more macro contrast, which you may or may not prefer. But, it's a relatively inexpensive solution if you want to stick with the M family until you can afford the cron.

Sean Reid's reviews (small annual subscription)...reidreviews.com are very helpful for this and other comparisons, in addition to a lot of other great commentary on art and photography. From a working photographer's perspective, he carefully details issues related to a half dozen or so 28s on the M8.

Jeff
 
I have the Zeiss 28/2.8 and it is a very fine lens, but I imagine it to be more punchy than a 'cron, which is something you may not want.
How about the 28mm M-Hexanon? They seem have a certain creamy quality to me and are very well made.
 
M-Hexanon 28

M-Hexanon 28

I've only owned one Zeiss 28 (new), and one M-Hexanon 28 (used), but my M-Hexanon has less CA than the Zeiss did, and better build quality.

The M-Hexanon 28, optically, is a clone of the V4 Elmarit.


Bobfrance said:
I have the Zeiss 28/2.8 and it is a very fine lens, but I imagine it to be more punchy than a 'cron, which is something you may not want.
How about the 28mm M-Hexanon? They seem have a certain creamy quality to me and are very well made.
Click to expand...
 
When I got the 28/2.8 Konica M-Hexanon 2 or 3 years ago I sold the Leica 28s I'd been trying. The Hex is a terrific lens.
 
I agree with the recommendation for the 28mm hexanon. However my favourite is the minolta g-Rokkor 28/3.5 -- small, ligtweight, no CA, and lots of cool factor. If you don't want cool, get the voigtlander 28/3.5 color skopar-- I've got all three and sold the elmarit asph because I liked the voigtlander better.
 
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i like the idea of the Hex

i like the idea of the Hex

I've heard praise for this lens a few times and this evening i've been looking for photos taken with it. Not many around but the ones i've seen look nice.
I bought the m8 because of the pictures i saw taken with Leica lenses and i'm finding it difficult to produce anything the same (Think i was looking at Lux and Noctilux work!) with the lenses i can afford.
Thankyou all for the help.
 
I have the hex on the M8 too. Reid Reviews reported focussing issues with his test sample, but I have no issues. Recommended if you can find one!
 
Ben Z said:
I have the 4th-version Elmarit, which is my most-used lens on the M8. It came with a tiny scratch in the front coating (previous owner probably believed Leica coatings are unscratchable and that UV filters "degrade" the image too much for someone of his talent :D) and so cost me $600. Best Leica lens purchase I ever made.
Click to expand...

That's a bit naive to say. While a filter provides a protective purpose, technically, it changes the optical formula of the lens. Leica, like most manufacturers doesn't design their lenses to accompany a filter. The filter is an addition to the optical design that can change the outcome of the image in various ways depending on the shooting conditions.

Flare, internal reflections and colour variences are just a few of the potential issue that can come with using a filter. Personally, I use high quality filters on my lenses, but then there are times, especially with UV-IR when they 'need' to come off to avoid potential issues.

I could be wrong, but the above info is based on my own experience.
 
hi pee wee

hi pee wee

If you'd like examples of a 28 m-hex with M8 or RD1, let me know. I can slap one on and have 200 cat photos for you in no time...

peewee said:
I've heard praise for this lens a few times and this evening i've been looking for photos taken with it. Not many around but the ones i've seen look nice.
I bought the m8 because of the pictures i saw taken with Leica lenses and i'm finding it difficult to produce anything the same (Think i was looking at Lux and Noctilux work!) with the lenses i can afford.
Thankyou all for the help.
Click to expand...
 
Yes, the CV 28/3.5 is a really good lens. It's very sharp, has good contrast, very compact with great ergonomics and build quality - and cheap enough to keep no matter what top shelf glass you end up with later.
::Ari
 
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