[Leica] widest lens used?

[henningw at archiphoto.com (Henning Wulff)]

Some years ago I did a comparison for the LHSA 
Viewfinder of four 21mm lenses: the CV 21/4, 
Ricoh 21/3.5, SA f/3.4 and Elmarit ASPH f/2.8. I 
used to have the older Elmarit, and had compared 
that lens to the ASPH and SA separately, 
indicating that that lens would have ended up in 
last place. Some other 21's such as the Kobalux 
lenses also would not have touched the ASPH, but 
some samples were quite good.

The Ricoh was the poorest in most respects, but 
not by a large margin, and the ASPH was 
definitely the best in most respects. The SA and 
CV lenses each had strong points and weak points, 
but both were very useable. Since then I've tried 
a number of newer lenses like the Zeiss 21's, 
both of which can compete very well with the 
Elmarit ASPH and are definitely better than the 
CV 21. But again, they're larger, and the Biogon 
is even slower.

The main problem I've seen with the CV is 
decentering, which unfortunately affects many 
other CV products. A lot of samples need some 
stopping down to bring some corners into good 
performance. That's were a lot of the money goes 
with Leica lenses.

In comparison to the 15 and 12mm lenses, I find 
that the 21 a) has a lot of competition, which 
the others don't, and b) there's not a lot of 
difference in performance, and certainly the 21 
and 15 have a quite similar character.

As for Ken Rockwell's 'tests' and 'opinions', the less said the better.



At 1:42 AM -0400 4/3/10, Mark Rabiner wrote:
>>  Rabs, I said "BY ALL REPORTS" competitive since I have no idea whether 
>> it's
>>  competitive or not; just telling you about the *reviews* out there. Gandy
>>  for one but ok he has an interest in the matter. But -- since you've 
>> already
>>  mentioned the technically knowledgeable though aesthetically wanting, 
>> often
>>  goofy, and I suspect on other fronts dumbass closet right wing, Ken 
>> Rockwell
>>  , I offer first this:
>>
>>  *<<This Voigtl?nder 21mm lens is the best 21mm lens ever made for Leica
>>  cameras, regardless of price....This lens is tiny, and works at least as
>>  well optically as anything ever sold by Leica.....It is as sharp, and
>>  sometimes sharper, than the $4,300 Leica 21mm f/2.8
>>  ASPH<http://www.kenrockwell.com/leica/21mm-f28-asph.htm>to which I
>>  compared it directly.
>>  *
>>
>>  *How can this be? Probably because this Voigtl?nder lens is only f/4, 
>> which
>>  is far easier to design and manufacture than trying to push things with 
>> the
>>  modern f/2.8 ASPH lens from Leica, which has to be much bigger and much 
>> more
>>  expensive just to retain the same optical quality. It costs a lot in many
>>  ways to add just one stop of lens speed. *
>
>
>I've been harping on this for years on the lug what you just said. The
>wonders of slow glass to the effect...
>Every once in a while Leica gets smart and gives us a slow option. Instead
>of listening to the marketing people and making us pay 8 grand for a huge
>thing you'd not want to carry around all day and have a filter size which is
>the same size as the platters at the Yankee pot roast family restaurant.
>Traditionally  in the Leica catalog you got a slow medium and fast option
>for about very focal length.
>The slow lenes are slow.
>But will have less flare and result at least as well as not better than the
>high priced spread. Compact.
>So there is a gap which Cosina has filled with the help of the typefaces &
>fonts from  Voigtl?nder and Zeiss family heirlooms. And the power of mind
>over matter on the part of their customers who want with all their might to
>think they are buying a Zeiss lens for a few hundred dollars.
>I do wish I had some of these options when I was getting my glass in the
>90's
>We keep forgetting that  we don't need 1.4 to see thought the darned thing.
>It can be a 5.6 our viewfinder rangefinder is just as bright and sharp.
>For many photographers they don't know it but that is their real speed
>issue. They just want a bright groundglass.
>Well we don't need no stinkin groundglass. We can get sharp as  tack
>focusing with an f 11 lens. If anyone ever made one. If the did I'd buy it.
>But I'm been using my twinkie light.
>
>[Rabs]
>Mark William Rabiner
>
-- 

    *            Henning J. Wulff
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