A7/r and pre-aspherical 28mm Elmarit?

[thompsonkirk]

I've tried the 28 Summicron and 28 Elmarit Asph on A7, and wasn't happy with the corners (without stopping down a lot); but what about the older pre-aspherical Elmarits? Has anyone tried one?

I'm asking because I've generally had better luck covering the Sony sensor with older Leica lenses (35 pre-A Lux, 40 Cron, 50 pre-a Lux) – and not much luck at all with M-mount Zeiss.

Please advise – perhaps there's even a thread or post here that I missed.

Kirk

(Edit: BTW, I meant Elmarit M, not R.)

 

[Bill Caulfeild-Browne]

Kirk, I have the 28 Cron ASPH and it gives excellent results - as long as you use lens correction in LR or C1. I use my Phase One LCC plate and the results are just about perfect.

From chatting with a friend who has an older Elmarit, the results are much the same - you will need LCC. Even more so with the 21 mm, but again the results are fine if you take the extra step.

I find the 35 Lux ok, but it too benefits from LCC if you want to be super critical.

See post 419.

http://www.getdpi.com/forum/sony/49601-shutter-vibration-9.html

 

[Bill Caulfeild-Browne]

I should have added that sharpness in the corners was an issue until about f5.6.

 

[Seascape]

Today I tested my Ver 4 28 Elmarit-M, on a A7.
This lens is a fabulous performer on my M240, but unfortunately is poor on the 24 MP A7.

Based on what I have read on the forum I was pretty sure it wouldn't work on the A7R, but was hoping it would be good on the A7. Unfortunately it was not worth the effort.
The outer areas of the image were very soft, corner light fall off was surprisingly not a problem.

This is without any LCC corrections of course.

 

[fmueller]

Today I tested my Ver 4 28 Elmarit-M, on a A7.
This lens is a fabulous performer on my M240, but unfortunately is poor on the 24 MP A7.

Based on what I have read on the forum I was pretty sure it wouldn't work on the A7R, but was hoping it would be good on the A7. Unfortunately it was not worth the effort.
The outer areas of the image were very soft, corner light fall off was surprisingly not a problem.

This is without any LCC corrections of course.

I have had zero luck with M lenses on the A7r including the 50 Summilux ASPH, a focal length that in theory should have little problem. Biting sharp and beautiful in center but falls apart badly at the edges at wide apertures. Gets better as stopped down but when I have to stop down to 5.6 and then not look too hard at the edges I start feeling like I'm trying to stuff a (very expensive) round peg into a square hole. My 35 Summicron IV also does some really weird things at wide apertures as well, see: round peg, square hole... I haven't even tried my 28 elmarit after the above experience.

Inexplicably, based on the above experience, my CV 35 1.2 v2 works great on the A7r even all the way wide open with no more aberations than seen on the M9. If it wasn't so darned heavy, I would have given up on the Sony 35 (see last paragraph)

I have a great respect for Leica engineering that they designed sensors that work well with most M lenses but it is becoming clearer to me that if you want to use your Leica M lenses full frame, you need to buy an M or M9 (used M9's can be had for about $4k now, not cheap, but....)

Alas, I did pony up for the Sony 55 and 35. I had to return 2 copies of the 35 before I received one that was right. That was the first time in my life that I had ever returned a lens and I had to do it twice. That has left me a little bit shaken about Sony lenses.

 

[Godfrey]

...Alas, I did pony up for the Sony 55 and 35. I had to return 2 copies of the 35 before I received one that was right. That was the first time in my life that I had ever returned a lens and I had to do it twice. That has left me a little bit shaken about Sony lenses.

What fault did you see?

I bought an A7 specifically to use my Leica R lenses (50-180 mm are what I have, just waiting for the mount adapter to get here now) and I'm sure I'll want a wide at some point. It seemed natural to me to consider the Sony/Zeiss 35 as well as a Leica R or Nikkor 24mm. So I'd like to know what to look for.

I agree with you about the RF lenses. My experience has been that they perform best on a Leica M digital body or the Ricoh GXR+A12 Camera mount. Adapting them to other digital bodies has only rarely produced results as nice. SLR lenses, in general, are better adaptations to digital sensors.

 

[Ocean]

I have not found any 28mm focal rangefinder lenses that performs well on my A7r. I have tried Leica Summicron 28/2.0, Contax G 28/2.8, and CV 28/3.5. None of them is workable! I don't have the Leica Elmarit-R 28, which may be one of the best 28mm lenses for A7r. But I am pretty happy with Nikkor 28/2.8 AIS lens, which has excellent performance close-up.

I don't use my rangefinder lenses on A7r. I am very happy that I can finally using Leica R lenses without performing any 'surgery' to these lenses. The disadvantages are size/weight and lost of AF. For that, one really have to invest in the new prime FE 35/2.8 and 55/1.8. lenses.

 

[fmueller]

What fault did you see?

I bought an A7 specifically to use my Leica R lenses (50-180 mm are what I have, just waiting for the mount adapter to get here now) and I'm sure I'll want a wide at some point. It seemed natural to me to consider the Sony/Zeiss 35 as well as a Leica R or Nikkor 24mm. So I'd like to know what to look for.

I agree with you about the RF lenses. My experience has been that they perform best on a Leica M digital body or the Ricoh GXR+A12 Camera mount. Adapting them to other digital bodies has only rarely produced results as nice. SLR lenses, in general, are better adaptations to digital sensors.

I had a softness on the left side accompanied by what best be described as a jittery look to details on the out of focus side. OOF areas elsewhere in the frame showed a smooth bokeh. Initially I attributed it to plane of focus issues but the use of the CV 35 1.2 which never disappointed alerted me to something just not being right with the Sony. Test reviews have been nothing but stellar for the 35FE and I couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. $800 is not a kit lens price, so I returned it for another. Same thing again, but maybe just a touch better and now I'm starting to think its me OR maybe the camera body is the issue---- but the 55 and the CV 35 work just fine. I'm alerted to potential lens centering or tilt issues but always thought it would be a symmetrical defect, a little more research says not necessarily. What a service it would be if I could send the lens to a place like lens rentals.com and pay them to test my lens and confirm I'm not crazy. My next thought is that perhaps there was a batch of lenses with the same fault, and a replacement from the same batch bears the same defect.... I return the second one and order from a different vendor with the thought that they are pulling from a different production batch. The third time was a charm and I'm not crazy, maybe just picky though....

I am now done with this lens/equipment testing frustration trying to refocus myself on making photographs.

 

[scho]

I have not found any 28mm focal rangefinder lenses that performs well on my A7r. I have tried Leica Summicron 28/2.0, Contax G 28/2.8, and CV 28/3.5. None of them is workable! I don't have the Leica Elmarit-R 28, which may be one of the best 28mm lenses for A7r. But I am pretty happy with Nikkor 28/2.8 AIS lens, which has excellent performance close-up.

I don't use my rangefinder lenses on A7r. I am very happy that I can finally using Leica R lenses without performing any 'surgery' to these lenses. The disadvantages are size/weight and lost of AF. For that, one really have to invest in the new prime FE 35/2.8 and 55/1.8. lenses.

My 28mm f/2.8 M-Rokkor is fine. No corner/edge smearing or blurring. The 40 M-Rokkor is also very good. The 28 doesn't have the crisp contrast of a Zeiss lens but it draws nicely.

 

[Ocean]

Carl, thanks for the info about the 28mm f/2.8 M-Rokkor! I have the 40/2 M-Rokkor and it works well on the A7r but also with somewhat of lower contrast.

 

[thompsonkirk]

Thank you for all the replies. I'm in agreement about general disappointment with A7/r as a body for M lenses in the 'normal,' 28-50mm range, and have found only three that work well for me (40 Cron, 50 pre-asph Lux, 35 CV 1.2).

I appreciate the tip about the Rokkor. I have a couple of friends who have these, but unfortunately their copies suffer from Rokkor White Spot Disease. I'll look for one that's clean and clear.

Thx again,

Kirk

 

[Godfrey]

Thanks for the response, fmueller.

I went with the A7 body rather than the A7r as I feel its sensor is a bit more forgiving for adapted lenses. As well as for the fact that I was able to acquire one for almost $1000 less. The 24Mpixel sensor will do well enough for me ... indeed, my lens testing for the Leica R lenses will mean that I shoot a roll of film with the Leicaflex SL alongside the A7 so that I can evaluate that what I'm seeing is actually what the lens produces with its original target medium. I'll do the same with my Nikkors (I have a couple of Nikon F bodies in the closet too).

So I'm either going to find an Elmarit-R 24mm f/2.8 or an Elmarit-R 28mm f/2.8. Anyone experienced using either of these on A7/A7r?

I've also got M-Rokkor 40/2 II and 90/4 lenses—I guess there's some reason to pick up an M-mount to NEX adapter too.

 

[judsonzhao]

It's said VM28/2 Ultron is good on A7, only the extreme corner smears a little bi, I mean extreme, otherwise it will be perfect

I'm still debating, and it looks like the pre-asph doesn' work well either. The konica M-hexanon 28, which has almost identical design to 28 elmarit pre-asph, may also be disappointing.

Originally I want to go 28/2.8 asph as I also plan to use it on film, now I just can't decide..

 

[Godfrey]

It's said VM28/2 Ultron is good on A7, only the extreme corner smears a little bi, I mean extreme, otherwise it will be perfect

I'm still debating, and it looks like the pre-asph doesn' work well either. The konica M-hexanon 28, which has almost identical design to 28 elmarit pre-asph, may also be disappointing.

Originally I want to go 28/2.8 asph as I also plan to use it on film, now I just can't decide..

If the Ultron 28/2 is good on A7 but smears a bit in the corners wide open, well, it does the same thing on the M9 and on film with the M4-2... ;-) Perhaps I will pick up the Leica M to NEX adapter after all..

I'm leaning towards acquiring the Leica Elmarit-R 24mm f/2.8. It would also provide the missing wide angle lens for my Leicaflex SL kit.

G