Leica 21mm Elmarit or 21mm Super Elmar

[doctorfab]

Great info! Thanks for your kindness.

 

[iiiNelson]

I can whole heartedly recomment the 24 Elmar as well... Especially paired with a Monochrom.

To answer your question I've tried both lenses and preferred the Elmarit personally but as Paratom says it has a more "organic" rendering and I mostly shoot people candidly and rarely pixel peep corners (landscape is not my primary photographic subject so it's usually an afterthought to be honest.)

I eventually settled on a 21/1.8 Ultron and that's not to say it's a better lens than either but it was good enough for me (actually it's excellent out to mid ranges but lack some microcontrast in comparison to say - the 21SE or 21Lux at infinity) at mid and closer ranges and offered the benefit of a lager aperture (important on the M9 based bodies.)

 

[Paratom]

I can whole heartedly recomment the 24 Elmar as well... Especially paired with a Monochrom.

To answer your question I've tried both lenses and preferred the Elmarit personally but as Paratom says it has a more "organic" rendering and I mostly shoot people candidly and rarely pixel peep corners (landscape is not my primary photographic subject so it's usually an afterthought to be honest.)

I eventually settled on a 21/1.8 Ultron and that's not to say it's a better lens than either but it was good enough for me (actually it's excellent out to mid ranges but lack some microcontrast in comparison to say - the 21SE or 21Lux at infinity) at mid and closer ranges and offered the benefit of a lager aperture (important on the M9 based bodies.)

Thats a good point. I would say if you shoot people or subjects with shallower DOF the 21/2.8asph can be great.

If you shoot subjects where you want sharpness all over the frame into the corners, even wide open, the SEM should be your choice.

The SEM is more perfect but also a bit more clinical, the 21 Elamrit is not as perfect but still a very nice lens.

In my case...I prefer the 21 SEM.

 

[Paratom]

focus is on the fence behind the "bird house"

21 Elmarit asph at f3.4:
L1009297 by paratom511, on Flickr

21 SEM at f3.4
L1009291 by paratom511, on Flickr

 

[Paratom]

Elmarit asph f5.6
L1009299 by paratom511, on Flickr

SEM f5.6
L1009293 by paratom511, on Flickr

 

[Paratom]

You can find another scene and images with both lenses at f(2.8),3.4,4.0, 5.6 in the flickr album.
I hope it helps.
The SEM has sharper corners until f5.6 and even then slightly better.
The SEM also shows clearly less vignetting.

 

[doctorfab]

Thank you very much for these samples. At 1200 pixel it's difficult to evaluate corner sharpness, but I trust you!
Vignetting is a l little more on the Elmarit, and the distortion is comparable.
Angle of field looks a bit wider on the Elmarit.
It is strange though the brightness of the 4th picture, the SEM at 6.8, that looks brighter than the 3rd one, Elmarit at 5.6. Did you post the jpg with some post production?

 

[Paratom]

Thank you very much for these samples. At 1200 pixel it's difficult to evaluate corner sharpness, but I trust you!
Vignetting is a l little more on the Elmarit, and the distortion is comparable.
Angle of field looks a bit wider on the Elmarit.
It is strange though the brightness of the 4th picture, the SEM at 6.8, that looks brighter than the 3rd one, Elmarit at 5.6. Did you post the jpg with some post production?

I did some vignetting correction (more to the Elmarit images).
I did another conversion without any correction/modification in full size. I will send you the link.
The Exif are not correct. They seem to be correct f-stop for the Elmarit but 1/2 off for the SEM.

Also-dont forget these are my samples of the 2 lenses, other samples might behave different.

 

[doctorfab]

Thank you very much for your effort. I checked the Hires you sent, and the SEM is sharp from f/3,4, while the Elmarit catches up from f/5,6.
I love the look of the Elmarit at f/2.8, it has that dreamy look at the edges that might be useful with people. The SEM is very analytical, perfect for landscapes, less appealing with people I think.
They are equally sharp at f/8, with the Elmarit having a hint of purple fringing at the far edges until f/8, while the SEM stops fringing from f/5.6.
Those pictures were really helpful, and I think I'll look for a Silver Elmarit (chrome addiction..), as my work is mostly people. Thank you again!

 

[Paratom]

Thank you very much for your effort. I checked the Hires you sent, and the SEM is sharp from f/3,4, while the Elmarit catches up from f/5,6.
I love the look of the Elmarit at f/2.8, it has that dreamy look at the edges that might be useful with people. The SEM is very analytical, perfect for landscapes, less appealing with people I think.
They are equally sharp at f/8, with the Elmarit having a hint of purple fringing at the far edges until f/8, while the SEM stops fringing from f/5.6.
Those pictures were really helpful, and I think I'll look for a Silver Elmarit (chrome addiction..), as my work is mostly people. Thank you again!

I think for people it is a god choice. And formladscapes its normally not a problemmto stopmdown.
For the last 2 years I seem to prefer 'neutral' lense ( some may say clinical) but I fully undestand those prefering the lenses which have an own
I hope you find a nic e sample and enjoy using it!