Going Wide - 21mm lens

Krosya

Krosya

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Hi All,
Once again I count on your advice here. Could someone tell me how good is Leica 21mm lens. NOt the newest one, as I can't afford that one. But 21/4.5 (I think) ? Is it worth the money? In comparison with Voigtlander Color Skopar 21/4 (which is a bit faster and cheaper). Does anyone have good photos to demonstrate their differences?
What do you think on this matter?
Thanks
 
I have both the Leitz 21/3.4 and the Skopar 21/4. Both are excellent lenses. Despite what some people say, the Leitz 21/3.4 is an excellent lens. It's only drawback is that the rear elements block the meter cell in M6s, M7s, and M8s. For very little money compared to the Leitz, I highly recommend the 21/4 Skopar. It is an excellent optic and very compact.
 
The CV 21mm is so sharp, contrasty, compact and affordable, that I really can't see a reason why to spend more money for a 21mm lens, except if you want the extra stop of the faster ZM Biogon 2.8/21mm
Didier
 
rover said:
How often will you use the 21? Enough to justify the extra cost?
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Well, thats why I was thinking od CV 21/4 Skopar. But you know - there is always that "Leica look", etc. So, I was wondering if I'd miss something with CV lens.
 
I used the 21 3.4 super angulon in the 60's and 70's and purchased the 21 Elmarit when it came out. The previous non asph version is what i currently use. The 21 SA 3.4 is a very sharp lens but as mentioned it blocks the meter cell but i understand that the mount can be milled to enable the meter to be used. It's biggest drawback is vinyetting at wide apertures. At 3.4 to 5.6 the fall off is dramatic at the corners. It doesn't rally bother me in mist cases since I burn the corners down anyway but many would object. The 21 Elmarit was a real improvement in that regard. It's extremely sharp and much less vinyetting. Neither lens suffers terribly from flare. I have no experience with the 21 Biogon but would look at it seriously and have none with the CV but would take a good look at it aswell. If the Biogon 21 performs like the other Zeiss lenses that I have, 25, 35 and 50 f2, I would probably buy the Biogon over all the others. When I purchased my 21 thare were no other choices other than Leica but in todays world there are other choices. In todays world with the experience and knowledge that I have I would go all Zeiss over Leica with no reservations about image quality and build. The one exception is my 75 summilux where there is no Zeiss equivalent and possibly the 50 asph summilux but I'm not certain about that at the moment.

Here are two images from the 21 SA 3.4. The one of the guy with the cops around is about 40% of the full neg. The sacond is full width with the bottom cropped off. Both are excellent in tonality and sharpness. I don't have any images from the Elmarit scanned at the moment but it is a better performer.

Seriously look at the Biogon. You can probably buy one new for less than the v1 elmarit and have a better lens with a warranty.
 
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Also consider the Kobalux 21mm/f2.8. An extremely well-made optic that doesn't vignette wide-open. Only available on the used market it also sometimes uses the monikers Pasoptik, Bower or Avenon. 🙂
 
peter_n said:
Also consider the Kobalux 21mm/f2.8. An extremely well-made optic that doesn't vignette wide-open. Only available on the used market it also sometimes uses the monikers Pasoptik, Bower or Avenon. 🙂
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What are the chances to even find one of those? How much do they go for?
 
I have the 21 Color Skopar. Rarely I use too. I probably want to trade for a 28 but not for the quality, I found the lens quite good, but for the perspetive, I found the lens wide for me...
 

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Krosya said:
Well, thats why I was thinking od CV 21/4 Skopar. But you know - there is always that "Leica look", etc. So, I was wondering if I'd miss something with CV lens.
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With a 21 the field of view, intimacy of depth of your capture depending on how you use it is what is going to catch the eye rather than "look". With a normal or narrow lens where your subject is specific I think "look" carries some weight, but not for a super wide.
 
Beniliam said:
I have the 21 Color Skopar. Rarely I use too. I probably want to trade for a 28 but not for the quality, I found the lens quite good, but for the perspetive, I found the lens wide for me...
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Awsome photos - as always. Thank you.
 
If you dont need the speed and can wait a few months, the new Zeiss ZM 21 4.5 could be a good bet. Smaller and likely cheaper than the 2.8 version and by (some) accounts slightly sharper still which is saying something....this is the 21 I am after.
 
Krosya said:
What are the chances to even find one of those? How much do they go for?
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What Roland said in his reply. I would go a little higher with the price maybe $500-700, especially for the 3rd version. They also occasionally appear FS on photo.net. The lens is really very good, but it is big (takes 58mm filters).
 
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