Steve,
the Tri-Elmar is a great choice. Of course you will need a true wide angle lens (like the CV 12mm) and a 90mm lens to complete the set, but for most situations the Tri-Elmar is the right lens to have on your RD-1.
I've been on a ten week long journey this spring (Seoul, New Zealand, Buenos Aires), and had the Tri-Elmar in my bag, together with a CV 12mm, a Leica 24mm asph. and a CV 90mm APO.
I took approx. 80% of the hundrets of photos with the Tri-Elmar.
The pros:
- It is really a top class performer, and very very convenient...
- Never mind the f4 max. aperture, you will have enough light in most situations, unless you somehow get your RD-1 to deliver photos at ISO 50 or 100... 😀 Even for portraits, f4 is not too bad, as you can really use the full aperture without a loss of quality.
- The Tri-Elmar produces NO noticeable vignetting or aberrations in your RD-1 shots, and it is very sharp, down to the very last pixel in the corner, even at f4. And: hardly any flares... (ok, I'm using the $1xx lens hood...)
- Compared to the 28mm at f4, the photos of my 24mm asph taken at f2.8 are quite soft, show some vignetting and do show yellow-blue aberration towards the corners (which is amazing for such an expensive lens of that focal length...), together with some (minimal) red-green aberration due to the rear element being much closer to the sensor than the rear element of the Tri-Elmar. The worst of all: the M 24mm asph is a real flare queen... 😡
The cons:
- the Tri-Elmar is quite heavy and bulky. Wearing your RD-1&Tri-Elmar around your neck all day long will make you long for a massage&spa in the evening.
- well, I did not have the money for the massage&spa that night (for me AND my lady), because of that most expensive lens shade I've ever bought :bang: ...
Best
Dragan