whats your thoughts on a leica 24mm f2.8 asph?

[Roastchestnuts]

I just recently purchased a leica m8.2 and want some sort of wider lens than my 35mm. witch acts I was originally thinking a 28mm elmarit v4 but that would act more like a 35mm on the 1.33 crop. I do love a good wide angle. I think 21mm would act more like a 28 on this crop but the m8.2 has 24mm frame lines witch is pretty convenient. I have a couple of film leica m cameras and will probably get another digital m in the future.

My question is should I go for a 24mm or 21mm elmarit asph and are they good? is one worth buying over the other? they both seem to hover around the same price. I am aiming for the 2.8 elmarit asph lenses for the speed over the elmar. with the M8.2 Id trade for speed over a little distortion.

also does anyone have a photo of a m8 with a 24 or 21 elmarit asph? Just trying to get an idea of the size of the lenses.

Edit: or if you think the 28mm elmarit v4 is the way to go let me know.
Thanks!

 

[Godfrey]

The M8 sensor is 27x18 mm format, which is 75.2% the size of a FF sensor or a 1.33x crop factor. So a 24mm lens provides about the field of view of a 32mm lens in FF terms (near 35mm FF), and a 21mm provides about the FoV of a 28mm lens in FF terms.

I had either the Elmar or Elmarit-M 24mm, the last one they offered, for a short time some years back (traded for the wide Tri-Elmar-M 16-18-21mm as I wanted wider options on the CL APS-C body) and it was a good lens; I recall it being a little bulky.

I've not owned any Leica 21mm lenses, but I have the latest Voigtländer Color-Skopar 21mm f/3.5 (recomputed for better performance on digital sensors compared to the original CS21/4) ... and it also is a lovely lens, small and light on the M10-M/-R body.



Hope that helps.

G

 

[Harry the K]

I had the Elmarit 2.8/24 asph. and sold it. It is an excellent lens, but I hate using additional viewfinders. If the M8.2m has the 24mm- framelines, good. Considering iq, it´s worth the money. And: It´s not too expensive on the 2nd hand market.

 

[Roastchestnuts]

The M8 sensor is 27x18 mm format, which is 75.2% the size of a FF sensor or a 1.33x crop factor. So a 24mm lens provides about the field of view of a 32mm lens in FF terms (near 35mm FF), and a 21mm provides about the FoV of a 28mm lens in FF terms.

I had either the Elmar or Elmarit-M 24mm, the last one they offered, for a short time some years back (traded for the wide Tri-Elmar-M 16-18-21mm as I wanted wider options on the CL APS-C body) and it was a good lens; I recall it being a little bulky.

I've not owned any Leica 21mm lenses, but I have the latest Voigtländer Color-Skopar 21mm f/3.5 (recomputed for better performance on digital sensors compared to the original CS21/4) ... and it also is a lovely lens, small and light on the M10-M/-R body.

View attachment 4846649

Hope that helps.

G

yeah I know the crop factor. I think the one thing I am more worried about loosing is the difference in the way the lens compresses if that makes sense. flip side to that is the 24 and 21 it should not matter as much as most everything will be infocus. I owned a 21mm super angulon a while back but only ever used it on my m3 and m6. I am kinda leaning towards 24mm just because of the in camera frame lines. and its a little wider than 35mm. Id be curious to see a picture with the m8 and a 24mm and a FF leica and a 28. just to see how close it would be. Thank you! Thats good to know about those voigtlander 21mm lenses. that voigtlander 21mm f1.4 is kinda interesting.

 

[Roastchestnuts]

I had the Elmarit 2.8/24 asph. and sold it. It is an excellent lens, but I hate using additional viewfinders. If the M8.2m has the 24mm- framelines, good. Considering iq, it´s worth the money. And: It´s not too expensive on the 2nd hand market.

Kinda what I was thinking. I can get it cheeper than a modern 28mm elmarit. seems to be aroudn 1500 - 2000 for a good one!

 

[Godfrey]

yeah I know the crop factor. I think the one thing I am more worried about loosing is the difference in the way the lens compresses if that makes sense. flip side to that is the 24 and 21 it should not matter as much as most everything will be infocus. I owned a 21mm super angulon a while back but only ever used it on my m3 and m6. I am kinda leaning towards 24mm just because of the in camera frame lines. and its a little wider than 35mm. Id be curious to see a picture with the m8 and a 24mm and a FF leica and a 28. just to see how close it would be. Thank you! Thats good to know about those voigtlander 21mm lenses. that voigtlander 21mm f1.4 is kinda interesting.

i'm not sure what you mean by "the way the lens compresses". The 24mm will render very close to what a 35mm does on a FF sensor, the 21 will present the wider aspect of a 28mm on FF.

I don't have any good sample shots to offer at the moment, and no time to generate anything useful as I'm packing for a trip (fly out early early Wed).

Good luck! 🙂

G

 

[Roastchestnuts]

Thanks I am now sort of leaning to the 21mm for price the 21 is looking better and better. I saw a 21mm f2.8 asph for 1200$ and like I said I really like 28. I tended to like a wider feild of view over 35mm. and the 24 comes out to 32mm almost. Now I did find my self being annoyed with how wide the 28 can be. now on the flip side I really like the 35mm I have as a wide 50mm! I think with the crop factor its acting like a 46 and some change. The 50mm I have I basically don't use it because a 50 seems too tight to me on the crop sensor.

I am worried about distorting faces and stuff in corners with the 21mm though. witch the 24mm would be better for that. I know alot of m8 people love the 24mm. wish I could try both haha.

 

[Godfrey]

I liked using the 50mm lens on my APS-C bodies (1.5x crop) as a short portrait tele (equiv to 75mm); on the M8's APS-H format, it's a little shorter still (66mm equiv or thereabouts) but still a nice portrait length.

I wouldn't worry about distorting faces and such in corners with the 21 any more than you worry about that with a 28mm lens on FF format ... It's just about the same FoV. Such distortion is a matter of perspective on a given field of view, not a property of the lens focal length. (Yes, 28mm lenses on FF will do such distortion if you put faces and such too close to the camera at the corners of the frame, but it's no more pronounced an effect than putting a 21mm lens on a smaller format. 😉 )

To me, that 46mm equivalent focal length with a 35mm lens on APS-H is often a perfect normal. I love using my Pentax 43mm on full frame 35 format!

i recommend stopping the worry, just go for one or the other, then go out and learn it, enjoy it! 😀

G

 

[Rayt]

The 24mm Elmarit-M ASPH is one of Leica’s best on film and digital and was one of my most used lenses on the M8 because I can still see the frame lines.