Leica 28mm lenses

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kzphoto

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After using this little Ricoh GR1v for awhile, I'm loving the 28 FOV. I'm flirting with the idea of acquiring a 28mm and I see that there are a ton of options.

Are there any side-by-side comparisons of the various Leica 28mm lenses? I'm aware the Zeiss is awesome, as is the KM Hexanon. I'm strictly interested in the Leica lenses.

Thanks!
 
The first version Elmarit is not great having used two and sold both. The shots from it looked if they were taken through silk stockings. The second version is great and the only one I kept. It is sharp with medium contrast, overall a very pleasing look and great for both color and black & white. I have never used the 3rd version. The fourth version is very high contrast and sharp sort of between the pre-asph and asph 35mm Summicron. It is very impressive with similar performance to the Summicron asph. Never tried the latest Elmarit asph. Newer Leica lenses are too sharp and harsh for me.
 
I've got the Elmarit V2, and love it for color slides- gives a vintage feel to Kodachrome I expect due to the coatings. I also use the Elmarit ASPH, which is arguably the best deal in Leica glass. In comparing it to my most used 28 Summicron ASPH one is hard pressed to see much difference. Only downside for me is it is so tiny- almost too small for my hands (like the older 35 pre-ASPH lenses) but I keep it for it is the best to bring it when compact is key.

I had and sold the V4 Elmarit, a more harsh look with B&W than I like, but certainly not something that can't be controlled with fine tuning development. It is about identical in size to the current Summicron, and uses the same hood. I don't bother with the Leica hood for the Summicron as it is a beast. I use the screw-in hood from a Contax G 28.
 
I just picked up an Elmarit 28 asph this week. No film developed yet but the lens is a joy to shoot with. Fantastically compact even with the hood.
 
The 3rd version is every bit as sharp as the 4th and a tad better than the 5th, even out to the very corners. I would go with the ASPH for size and lack of distortion as I can't stand having it in wide angle lenses.
 
Before you commit to a > thousand dollar lens, I recommend to try the CV 28/1.9 ASPH. Here is what Leica fan Puts has to say about it:

EPuts said:
.... There is no astimatism and only a very small amount of curvature of field. ... At 2.8 the overall contrast improves and at f/4 the optimum is reached. After f/8 contrast lowers again and from there we see a softening of image details with every additional stop. This is usual behaviour. At f/4 we note a resolution over the whole image area of above 100 lp/mm. As a design philosphy this lens is a bit tuned to high resolution versus high contrast. Mechanically this lens is excellent: no decentring at all, collimation at zero. ... The Ultron 28 is one third of the price of the Leica and delivers excellent, and close to outstanding imagery. .... To get some perspective: an older 28mm lens from Leica is blown to pieces by the Ultron. ... While the Summicron is still the one to beat, the Ultron delivers quality, that was unbelievable some years ago. Leica designers are challenged!!
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I had a 28/2.8 Elmarit vs. 3 (long nose with bayonet hood) and was neither impressed by it's size nor performance. Now I am using either a 28mm CV Skopar in S-mount or an Avenon 28/3.5 LTM. Both lenses perform very well, are tiny and much cheaper than the 28mm Elmar, the half stop slower aperture is no problem for me.
 
I tried Elmarit v3, Ultron 2.0, Ultron 1.9, Biogon, Elmarit ASPH and Summicron. Elmarit v3 is a waste of time, Ultron 2.0 is nice, but lots of coma wide open, and slight focus shift to deal with. Biogon has the typical Zeiss bite, but is slightly weak in the corners, even at infinity, which is not great for landscape or architecture. Ultron 1.9 wide open is similar to v 2.0, but it has no focus shift and I like it a lot for its low contrast high resolution philosophy - in fact it found a place among my older Leica lenses for "slow" shooting. Elmarit ASPH is a good all round lens, very rectilinear and sharp, also very small, but it is only 2.8, and I also was not wild about it's out of focus rendition. Summicron is almost faultless, already sharp corner to corner wide open, and I like the bokeh more. The only caveat, is to substitute the lens hood with a smaller one - I bought it already with a 35 Summilux ASPH hood, which works fine.
 
I just bought a 28mm summicron as my everyday lens for my M8 thought it was quite big at first but its similar size to the 35mm 1.4 pre asph with the hood attached which you have to use if you are using filters.
10fbpiclenssize1.jpg
 
Fraser said:
I just bought a 28mm summicron as my everyday lens for my M8 thought it was quite big at first but its similar size to the 35mm 1.4 pre asph with the hood attached which you have to use if you are using filters.
10fbpiclenssize1.jpg
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Sorry if this is off-topic - that 28 'cron looks to be quite close in size to the 28/2.8 M-Rokkor, which was the smallest of the semi-fast 28's before the advent of the Elmarit ASPH. Looks like a nice walkaround lens for the M8!
 
In a similar way than JSU, I like to think of the 28/1.9 as the perfect companion to the DR Summicron.

Which lens you pick should depend on your other lenses, IMO.
 
I have cycled through most of the 28f2.8's in Leica's line-up. Kept my VIII (1980) for two reason's, a/it is very good and b/ it looks ratty and will not bring much in trade/sale. Used it as one of my main lenses when we lived in paris 1982/83. Good performer overall.
The version I/II are rather mediocre by today's standard. The IV is probably the best of the f2.8's non asph versions.
The Summicron 28f2 is OK, but not better than the Ultron 28f2 in my opinion.
The compact 28f2.8 Asph would be my choice of a Leica 28 today. Small, sharp and less harsh than the other Asph's.
I do have the Biogon 28f2.8 and I find it the weakest lens in the Zeiss line-up. A bit prone to flare.
My favorite 28 for black/white is the 28f3.5 Color Skopar, small size and the best rendition of any 28 in black/white. Damned sharp too.
The Ultron 28f1.9 is a very good lens - but it is BIG.
 
I agree with Tom that one of the finest 28mm lenses is the 28mm f/3.5 Color Skopar by Voigtländer.

Leica MP, 28mm f/3.5 Color Skopar, Tmax400, silvergelatineprint.

Erik.

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JSU said:
One more vote for the 28 Summicron

The beauty of the 28 Summicron, for me, is how very well it matches up with my 75 Summicron, not just in how they feel, but particularly how their images look, the way they render. This is especially true, again for me, on the M8.2.
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+2 on the 28/75 cron pair.
I use a $10 heavystar hood on the 28 cron.

I remember the first time I saw images from the CV 28/1.9, I was totally blown away by the clarity. Yet the images somehow always seemed 'cold' to me (the 28/3.5 was the opposite). The 28 cron, on the other hand, has both clarity and organic warmth.
 
Another vote for the 28 Summicron. Mine always delivers wonderful images in my opinion. Don't forget the Tri Elmar. I don't use mine much but it works well and it was my first 28mm. The Tri Elmar does worry me a bit tho when even Leica calls it "complex". Joe
 
My vote goes to the Leitz Elmarit version ll or the Elmarit Aspherical. The latter is permanently attached to my M9. A joy to use. The version ll is attached to my MP. Love'em both!
 
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