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My 28 Elmarit ASPH review..

Lloyd

Lloyd

Active member
L

lambert

New member
stevem8 said:
Hi Guys!

Just added a small short but sweet 28 elmarit ASPH review on my site. I have been using this lens for 3 weeks and love it. Here is a link to the page on my site with the write up:

http://www.stevehuffphotos.com/Steve_Huff_Photos/LEICA_28_ELMARIT_TEST.html

Thanks for looking!
Click to expand...
Terrific site. Thanks Steve.

Your personal journey/perspective with the 28/2.8 ASPH is good reading.

I recently acquired this lens from the very fine gentleman and scholar we all know as Jono (thanks again JS).

Having once owned the highly regarded 28/2 ASPH, I can truly say that the 28/2.8 ASPH holds it's own. The size and weight of the Summicron were not as big an issue for me as losing almost 1/4 of the view you're framing. And like you, I solve the low-light dilemma with an f1.4 lens (35/1.4 ASPH in my case).

Cheers, Vincent

A quickie from the other day (M8 & 28 Elmarit ASPH @ f2.8)
 
S

stevem8

New member
Thanks guys! Lloyd, you are lucky to have all of that awesome glass. Vincent, it's nice t9o see someone who went from a 28 Cron to 28 Elmarit! Makes me feel better! Thanks for looking!
 
L

lambert

New member
stevem8 said:
Vincent, it's nice t9o see someone who went from a 28 Cron to 28 Elmarit! Makes me feel better! Thanks for looking!
Click to expand...
Steve, I should clarify. I actually dropped the 28 Cron to buy a 35 Lux ASPH quite some time ago. The 28 Elmarit made it's way into my camera bag more recently. My expectation at the outset was modest given that it is often touted as playing second fiddle to it's big brother. But the combination of small size, low weight, almost zero distortion and flare, combined with great colour/contrast impress me immensely. The only area where it lacks, in terms of IQ, is that sharpness when shot wide open at infinity is not particularly crisp. Perhaps this is just my unit and may be related to calibration with my M8. This doesn't trouble me since if I'm shooting at infinity I will almost always stop down to f8. Vincent
 
jonoslack

jonoslack

Active member
I suppose I better chip in here!
Hi Vincent - thank you so much for a perfect deal (from my point of view anyway). Quick and painless!

Steve - I enjoyed your 'review' and especially the fine photos.

The reason I changed, was that I had too many mid-wides, and I was dithering which to use. The 28 'cron has the big reputation, so I bought it and sold the others.

What do I feel? Well, the lens hood is so huge and ludicrous that I'm not going to use it - I'm searching around for a decent small lens hood in the UK, and in the meantime I'll put up with (not much) flare.

As far as sharpness is concerned, let's get it straight - the little elmarit is every bit as sharp it's bigger brother, I'm not sure that it's sharper, but I'm certain it's AS sharp.

If the 28 'cron has 'magic', then it's to do with a slightly less brutal approach, perhaps it has a little less microcontrast? I'm always very wary about the 'drawing' discussions about lenses, but if you nail my feet to the floor I guess that I'd say that the 28 draws more gently, has a slightly more 3D feel, and slightly better bokeh.

On the other hand, if you started talking about 'the emperor's new clothes' and told me I was speaking bollocks . . . I'd only be fairly sure you were wrong!

Basically, I like the 28 'cron (apart from the lens hood), I thought it was going to make my lens decisions easier . . . but I still have (and love) the humble Zeiss 25 f2.8.

However, like the 28 'cron though I may, it's certainly no revelation, and if I wasn't in the position to have simply 'reorganised' my existing investment, I would not have thought the extra price was worth it.
 
C

cam

Active member
i'm one of those who raved to Jono about the 28 Cron...

there was a Manufacturer day at a local dealer when i was in the States so i got to try out a lot of the lenses. the Leica guy was really game and let me disappear into the bowels of the store to test out the two 28's.

after an hour or so, there was no comparison. the 28 Cron won on every level -- draw, handling, look of the photos, with the added bonus of being f/2 (i shoot a lot of low light, metros and such). the funny thing was that the Leica rep actually preferred the 28 Elmarit -- what i found plasticky was what he loved about the lens. go figure.

i also preferred the gentler draw of the 28 Cron -- it's the only one of the new lenses (other than, maybe, the 35 Lux) that isn't too clinical for me. but i love the look of older lenses and treasure character over sharpness.

needless to say, the Leica guy thought i was bonkers. i could have afforded the Elmarit then and there, but definitely did not have the money for the Cron and so decided to wait. here he is, having a choice of lenses to "borrow" and he chooses the Elmarit. LOL.
 
M

Mango

Guest
jonoslack said:
What do I feel? Well, the lens hood is so huge and ludicrous that I'm not going to use it - I'm searching around for a decent small lens hood in the UK, and in the meantime I'll put up with (not much) flare.

.... Basically, I like the 28 'cron (apart from the lens hood), ....
Click to expand...
jonoslack,

Have you tried the Contax GG-2 hood and cap (comes in black or silver). I used it on the 35/1.4 (film camera) and it is a much smaller package. The hood screws on and the cap slides onto the hood ( a good fit).

The GG-1 is good for the 50/1.4. The GG-3 for longer lenses. They have a 46mm thread, so that's the only limitation, but they are better than the Leica hoods.

IMO the three worst hoods made by Leica are:
- (1) 28/2.0 [too big, and made of a hard plastic],
- (2) Hood cap of the 35/2.0 [falls off easliy, and the replacement is more than $25 for what looks like a $0.25 part], and
- (3) 35/1.4 [too big].
They could have made better hoods for these lenses.

Here's a link to knock-offs of the GG series hoods:

http://cgi.ebay.com/metal-hood-cap-...4|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:1|293:1|294:50

Best of luck in your hood search! And please let us know where you land.

Mango
 
S

stevem8

New member
Hey Jono, all I know is that your 28 Cron images are wonderful. They have that 3D depth like you mentioned. I think you and the 28 Cron are a good match. Thanks for checking out my page.
 
S

stevem8

New member
Cool! I hope you enjoy it! Let me know how you like it. I love mine, and I keep going back and forth on wanting a 28 Cron but you know, this little Elmarit delivers the goods every time I use it and its so light and small I really do not think I could ever really get rid of it!

Congrats, and enjoy it!
 
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