Leica 24mm f/1.4 Summilux Asph.

35mmdelux

35mmdelux

Veni, vidi, vici
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I feel the need for the Leica 24mm f/1.4 Summilux Asph. This one needs to be found in every Leica photographers bag. Nice complement to my 35mm Summilux Asph.. Might have to sell the wife's car to afford this one.

Anybody using this rig yet?
 
My need is more along the 21f1,4! Unfortunately, selling my car would probably not even get me the back cap and hood for it! My hat is tipped for Leica here. It is a "tour de force" lens - at a price.
Luck has it that a friend is getting one - so I will have one available for occasional use later this spring. Amazing piece of optics.
 
Lucky friend you have there Tom, and lucky you to have such a friend ;).
Shoot it full frame and let's see some pictures will you ?
 
I'm very interested in the 24/1.4 and I have two 24/2.8s to trade in for one. I love the focal length (just bought a CZJ Flektogon 25/4) but I'm beginning to wonder if I really need f1.4 at that FL. If it is heavy that might sway me too. In any case I want to hold off until I see some pix at f1.4...
 
i dunno. the 24mm elmar sure is nice! and so tiny and light. i rarely wish for more speed. f1.4 would be nice, but at the cost in size and weight it just isn't worth it to me. that said, i can't afford it so this all might be reverse rationalization too ;)
 
Yeah, I think I'm with you guys on the size. When I heard Leica was releasing the two fast lenses I couldn't wait to get my hands on one. That was until I seen a few images with the lens on a body. Forget it! That's a bridge too far. I may as well use the money and buy a Canon or Nikon which I could use ANY slow lens in low light with. The tiny 28 Cron will do just fine if I need another stop if my 24 Elmarit is too slow.

Wasted R&D money if you ask me.
 
What amazed me with these lenses is that they are not that big. Longer than the 21/24 Asph's - but they felt more comfortable in my hands then the old 21f2.8 Asph or 24f2.8 Asph felt. One of the reason why i dumped these two lenses was the physical size - they were a bit clumsy to handle. The Summilux's, though not petite by any means, at least gives you 2 extra f-stops for similar sized lenses!
They are the kind of lenses that requires careful planning. For that kind of money you can get a lot of stuff - but if you are shooting stuff in "ragged" light situations and need the angle - there is nothing like it out there. The few shots i did with the 21f1.4 @ 1.4 impressed the hell out of me! Looking forward to shoot some more once I can borrow my friends too. Hmm, EFKE 25 asa @ f1.4 should give me an idea how good it is.
 
What amazed me with these lenses is that they are not that big. Longer than the 21/24 Asph's - but they felt more comfortable in my hands then the old 21f2.8 Asph or 24f2.8 Asph felt. One of the reason why i dumped these two lenses was the physical size - they were a bit clumsy to handle. The Summilux's, though not petite by any means, at least gives you 2 extra f-stops for similar sized lenses!
They are the kind of lenses that requires careful planning. For that kind of money you can get a lot of stuff - but if you are shooting in "ragged" light situations and need the angle - there is nothing like it out there. The few shots i did with the 21f1.4 @ 1.4 impressed the hell out of me! Looking forward to shoot some more once I can borrow my friends. Hmm, EFKE 25 asa @ f1.4 should give me an idea how good it is.
 
The photos I have seen over there at flickr taken with the 21/1.4 were impressing. This lens (and the 24/1.4) are bigger than the f/2.8 counterparts but as Tom said shooting 21mm in low light and with some Velvia 50 ... :):cool:
 
Tom, extra 2 stops is of course good but at 21mm, how often do we really shoot at 1.4? Im really curious about the picture quality of 21mm at 1.4 wide open...its too much to pay :s
 
I have now shot about ten rolls of what I would call serious project work with my 24 lux asph and I am seriously bowled over by this lens. I initially bought it after struggling with a 21 2.8 ZM and 28 ZM photographing inside dark buildings. I found the 21 a touch too wide for what I wanted and seeing as I love 35mm, I did not want to carry three lenses but two. I was also only able to shoot at f2.8 using Delta 3200 at 1000 for decent shadow detail and often at a push. Now I am using this lens and Neopan 1600 at 500 for contrast control and the IQ is worlds better! A lot of the images have light streaming through windows into a dark interior so some seriously high contrast. Here are my views on the lens in use:

  • The size is a non issue. Sure a M with 35 summarit balances better but...
  • Focus is very smooth. Like others with floating element you hit a slight bump when the floating element engages but its hardly noticeable and then only rarely. Its no problem regardless.
  • Sharpness is fantastic, contrast seems to be perfect all the time as if by magic. I really puzzled over a few frames where I could not believe how the shadow detail was there while strong sunlight lit parts of the frame were not blown.
  • The images are very smooth. The detail is there, but they are creamy, the tonality is great and the images just look very balanced.
  • Flare resistance is pretty good. I had one frame blown to smithereens by sun just on the edge of the frame (with hood) but the lighting was nasty and I expected trouble. its not as flare resistant as a ZM, thats for sure, but it is still more than good enough.
  • Shooting it with a 0.58 body is working really well. I just frame in the knowledge that the capture area is a touch smaller than the entire viewfinder as I look through it. The entire VF on the 0.58 is about 22-23mm.
  • Off centre sharpness and contrast is very good at f1.4 and f2 when shooting at medium distances. I have done little to no distance work with it apart from during an initial test when it was delivered to ensure all was well.

I have a good number of frames I could never have gotten on a slower lens, which is why I bought it. Looking through my negs, it has really opened up new possibilities and the frames show a creative variance that was not possible beforehand. Sure, there is no point in this lens for sunny outdoor work, but seeing as I will carry it about for poor lighting, I might sell the 21 2.8 and 28 ZMs as these two combined weigh the same as the 24 lux and I am hardly going to carry all three.

The 24-35 combo has turned out to be everything I had hoped for. With the crappy 28 frame lines in the 0.72 finder I figured there was nothing to lose with the full finder use of the 0.58. If anything it is less tight than using a 28mm on a 0.72 and it becomes instinctive quite quickly.

Now I need to wait for the new 35 lux to go with it. For now I am using a 35 summarit or f2 ZM Biogon, which works, but is lacking in speed of course. The signature of the Summarit and 24 lux are quite close and in terms of look they make a good pairing. I hope the new 35 lux asph II follows the same mould as these two.

This is by far the most expensive bit of kit I have bought, but I can honestly say that the pain is abating now that I am seeing the frames that were always beyond reach before and with such a beautiful signature to boot.

If you need the speed this lens is remarkable in every way. If Rockwell is correct and a 28 cron is sharper in the corners at infinity wide open, then so be it, but the 28 cron is neither as wide nor as fast. The 24 lux is for desperate people, but boy is it good at what its designed for. That extra stop will always be there, as will the wider angle of view.

For M9 users, I would be tempted to shoot this lens with an accessory finder, but also as a 28mm i.e. using the internal VF and expecting to crop a little off the resultant image if the image needs tightening up. Presumably you still get a bigger better file than when used on the M8 and nobody complained about this lens on that camera! When there is time to use the external VF, then it can be used as a full 24mm.

Its a cracking lens and I have managed to pull of a surprising number of new frames for the project because of what the lens made possible. Surely this is what it is about?
 
Turtle said:
This is by far the most expensive bit of kit I have bought, but I can honestly say that the pain is abating now that I am seeing the frames that were always beyond reach before and with such a beautiful signature to boot.
Click to expand...

Aspiring to that which is out of reach has always been a source of inspiration for me, too.

Turtle said:
If you need the speed this lens is remarkable in every way. If Rockwell is correct and a 28 cron is sharper in the corners at infinity wide open, then so be it, but the 28 cron is neither as wide nor as fast. The 24 lux is for desperate people, but boy is it good at what its designed for. That extra stop will always be there, as will the wider angle of view.
Click to expand...

People often complain about the 28 cron, either for the "original sin" of its FOV (neither 24 nor 35) or for it's lack of blistering speed, but it has, to my mind, one of the loveliest signatures of any modern lens I've seen. It does vignette wide open in the corners, so I'm a little surprised at Rockwell's observation about corner sharpness.
 
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