Leica 24mm Elmarit-M f/2.8 ASPH 35mm Primes
Leica 24mm Elmarit-M f/2.8 ASPH 35mm Primes
USER REVIEWS
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[Jan 08, 2006]
SPG
Expert
Strength:
Optical correction of all aberrations. Superbly flat field of view - super low distortion. Very flare resistant which is not common among very wide angle lenses. Excellent superfine detail resolution even wide open that changes very little out to the edges. At F4 it's performance is probably optimal - a great design achievement. Build quality - quality of design, build and fininsh. Beautifully balanced in the hand. Most lens design involves trade-offs; it's hard to see where there was any trade-off with this lens' design!
Weakness:
No performance weaknesses. It's just a bit sad that souch great quality must come with a relatively high price tag. But, if you buy only one lens wider than 35mm in a Leica M mount, this IMHO is the optimal choice. This lens is one of Leica's most remarkable optical "greats" and was well lauded by Erwin Puts as being one of the most outstanding 24mm lenses ever built and certainly one of the finest performers in the Leica-M stable. As a user I have to agree with every positive comment made about the Elmarit-M 24mm lens. It is superbly built with super smoot controls of focus and aperture. The latter has nice positive click stops and the former makes pin sharp accurate focusing a breeze. It comes with a neat but not optically corrected 24mm accessory viewfinder. One can take a bit of use to get accustomed to having to use the finder (unles your M body has a 0.58x viewfinder in which the outermost frame is a fairly accurate estimate of the AOV. Of course only the accessory viewfinder gives a user a "real" perspective of the "stretch" factor a 24mm lens provides. Physically the lens is a dream to use and comnes with a neat clip on rectangular hood that allows one filter to be fitted before the filter depth prevents the hood from fitting onto the lens barrel. F2.8 is e very reasonalble if not "fast" widest aperture for such a lens. Any wider would upset the brilliant aberration corrections and the nice size and balance of the lens. The lens is so well corrected for distortion the field of view is nearly perfectly flat - remarkably so. It resiste flare brilliantly, shoed no sign of astigmatism nor any coma etc etc. It is one of the best corrected lenses avalable. Clour tone is typically superb tonality from Leica. Wide angle enthusiats will just love this lens. While I'm not such a wide angle enthusiast I really enjoyed using this lens. I have not been able to fault its performance in anyway. Of course superb optics come at a price and this lens comes with a hefty price tag, but a very well deserved one at that. Customer Service None required. But with another Leica product I found the factory in Germany very responsive. Similar Products Used: Voigtlander M/screw mount 25mm; Canon 20 and 24mm; Olympus Zuiko OM 21 and 24 mm. |
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[Mar 04, 2004]
agp
Expert
Strength:
Quality
Weakness:
The lens hood. I have a fairly roomy camera bag, and the clips on the oens hood are knocked and the lens hood falls off. This is the only Leica item, I think, with really poor design. The viewfinder is fine, but I don't have confidence in its longevity. Not as useful as my 35mm, this is still a staggeringly good lens. There seems to be less distortion with this than with any otehr 24mm lens I have used. Customer Service No need |
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[Nov 01, 2002]
David Kernaghan
Professional
Strength:
State of the art resolution, contrast, and colour saturation. It has excellent flatness of field, and essentially no distortion. I have never used a wide angle lens from any manufacturer, with the performance of the 24 ASPH. A truly oustanding lens by any standard.
Weakness:
The plastic viewfinder is not that well constructed. The price is high, but with this lens you get what you paid for. Truly a lens without peer. The 24 ASPH is in a class of it's own, I expected this lens to be good, but frankly I was shocked at just how good the images are. The 24 ASPH can easily be compared to best lenses in the Leica line up, not just other wide angles. Similar Products Used: Nikon SLR |
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[Oct 10, 2002]
harbormor
Expert
Strength:
Solid construction, fine finish, high resolution, outstanding contrast, vibrant color rendition across the spectrum.
Weakness:
Cannot use a conventional filter with its own lens hood. Aside from what everybody has already said about its image quality capabilities, I must comment on how solidly built this lens is. It's heavy for its size. The focusing & aperture ring is heavily dampened which is great for the hyperfocal setting. I set it on hyperfocal all day, and when I got home, it was unmoved! And from close inspection it appears that no expense was spared in producing this lens. It's truly a jewel. Similar Products Used: No other |
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[Jul 13, 2002]
Alan Uke
Expert
Strength:
Image Quality
Weakness:
expensive Wonderful lens. Sharp and great color rendition. I have the Aspheric version Similar Products Used: Many Leica and Nikon lenses |
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[Oct 12, 2001]
jonas
Intermediate
Strength:
Quality of images and quality of build are staggeringly beautiful.
Weakness:
The same weakness as with all Leica M lenses - very squirrely aperature ring, much too much play. Engineers should take a lesson from Konica Hexar or Hassy Xpan lens aperature rings - tight and smooth. This is a fantastic lens. Probably the most underrated of all the Leicas, I guess, because it falls in between the more common 28mm and the more dramatic 21mm lenses. But the depth and three dimensional quality of the images are breath-taking. I like the 24mm precisely because it offers a rich and wide POV without going too theatrical. A great, great lens. Customer Service None for this lens. They are slow but good - and you can usually talk to a real person. That''s nice. Similar Products Used: Hasselbald Xpan 30 and 45 mm lenses, Konica M and Contax G lenses. |
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[Sep 19, 2000]
Frank Mareno
Expert
Strength:
Extremely sharp and outstanding contrast at all aperatures, and exceptional light gathering qualities.
Weakness:
Expensive and slightly heavier than the average Leica lens. This has to be one of the finest lenses Leica has produced and although a fairly recent introduction to their line, it will certainly become a benchmark lens for them. For anyone who frequently uses wide angle lenses, this lens is a must. Well worth the investment. Customer Service No complaints Similar Products Used: Nikon, Hasselblad |
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[Jul 02, 2001]
John Chan
Intermediate
Strength:
-super sharp wide open
Weakness:
-plastic finder (should be metal) or if you can spring for the latest multifinder I had a choice between the 21 and the 24 focal length. If you are going to do alot of scenics with your M camera then pick up the 21. The extra degree of coverage warrants your attention if you like that sort of thing. Personally, I believe that the M system was NEVER designed to do scenics. It excels in on-the-fly, discreet portraiture. That nixed the 21 for me... in order to get anything interesting for portraiture from the 21 you need to be at least 0.5-0.75 m away from the human subject. Quite interesting if you have a cooperative subject but Leica M users rarely deal with cooperative subjects on the street. Enter the 24 mm focal length... an aspect that was sorely missing in the M stables until now. The 24 mm affords me an extra meter or so from the subject to get an interesting composition. This is important as you want to define your "comfortable" working space between unwitting subjects and yourself. The 24 mm is a godsend!!!! Sharp, contrasty, and the right aspect to really get into photographic story telling without getting your hands stuck in the cookie jar!!! I've already blown up some shots (done on Ilford FP4+) to 16X20 and the grain is virtually non-existent! It blows you away cause its sooooo sharp! Much sharper than the old-style 35 cron that I also use abeit not "quite" as pleasant bokeh. Customer Service -never needed it (so far) Similar Products Used: 75 mm Summilux M |