michaelwj
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The images in this thread are doing absolutely nothing for the affordability of this lens, so in the interests of fairness to those who are currently looking to purchase the Elmar-M I offer the following counter point:
I don't know why anyone would want to use this lens, it's really not that small once you add the required hood, not much smaller than a Summicron (which is way better). And anyway, it's not like a Leica M is that pocketable, if you want small, get a barnack with a collapsible LTM Elmar.
Which brings me to my second point. The previous collapsible Elmar in both LTM and M mount is so much cheaper, better made, and with a better rendering. They are everywhere on the used market - even better, the collapsible Summicron - now that's a lens!
Now lets talk about handling, you have to pull it out before you can take a photo! Say goodbye to the decisive moment! And the aperture ring, non even spacing, half stops to f/8 then full stops, what were they thinking! Did Leica forget how a lens is used? :bang:
Even Ken Rockwell says he'd prefer either a Summicron or the previous collapsible Elmar to this half-baked modern version. I'll go one further and combine the two - if you really want the best lens in this category, and a nice price, the collabsible Summicron is the lens to get!
If the collapsible Summicron is to old, then you really need the ZM C-Sonnar 1.5/50. From 2.8 it will give you that "classic" look, with modern contrast, small size, and no-hood-required flare resistance. No need to remember to extend this baby, it's ready for the decisive moment full time! Plus you have 2(!!) more stops in case you need it! And you can use it on the fabulous M5 with reckless abandon :angel: What could be better!
To make life easier for all of you, you can sell your Elmar-M lenses here: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost-classifieds/
There we go John, you should see a glut of Elmar-M's appearing in the classifieds soon and record low prices as everyone rushes to rid themselves of their copy. Snap one up before people see through my post! 😀
I don't know why anyone would want to use this lens, it's really not that small once you add the required hood, not much smaller than a Summicron (which is way better). And anyway, it's not like a Leica M is that pocketable, if you want small, get a barnack with a collapsible LTM Elmar.
Which brings me to my second point. The previous collapsible Elmar in both LTM and M mount is so much cheaper, better made, and with a better rendering. They are everywhere on the used market - even better, the collapsible Summicron - now that's a lens!
Now lets talk about handling, you have to pull it out before you can take a photo! Say goodbye to the decisive moment! And the aperture ring, non even spacing, half stops to f/8 then full stops, what were they thinking! Did Leica forget how a lens is used? :bang:
Even Ken Rockwell says he'd prefer either a Summicron or the previous collapsible Elmar to this half-baked modern version. I'll go one further and combine the two - if you really want the best lens in this category, and a nice price, the collabsible Summicron is the lens to get!
If the collapsible Summicron is to old, then you really need the ZM C-Sonnar 1.5/50. From 2.8 it will give you that "classic" look, with modern contrast, small size, and no-hood-required flare resistance. No need to remember to extend this baby, it's ready for the decisive moment full time! Plus you have 2(!!) more stops in case you need it! And you can use it on the fabulous M5 with reckless abandon :angel: What could be better!
To make life easier for all of you, you can sell your Elmar-M lenses here: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost-classifieds/
There we go John, you should see a glut of Elmar-M's appearing in the classifieds soon and record low prices as everyone rushes to rid themselves of their copy. Snap one up before people see through my post! 😀
