[Leica] Leica-M 35mm apo v. 50mm Elmar-M pan

[Paul Roark]

The Leica-M 35mm apo is an excellent, modern lens.  However, for daylight
landscape shooters who like the least heavy outfit, the now-discontinued
50mm Elmar can produce some outstanding results (at f/6.7 down [within an
8x10 crop] or if used in a multi-shot panorama mode).  Below is a link to a
comparison of f/11 shots with the 35 apo v. the 50 Elmar pan (4 stitched
images).  Both images were enhanced with Topaz's AI Gigapixel software.

https://paulroark.com/Leica_35mm_Apo_v_50mm_Elmar_pan.jpg

In addition to the 50mm pan's sharpness advantage, note the lack of corner
shading and rectilinear distortion.  The 50mm pan image looks much more
like the scene itself.  (Note that straight lines in some compositions will
look curved, however.)

The Sony a7c with the collapsible Elmar fits into the Sony RX1 case.  That
case is made for the belt, but I found it too heavy for that.  With a
shoulder strap addition, however, the case is excellent.  It makes a good
one-lens, daylight, "walk-around" landscape outfit.  The camera+lens weight
is about 80% of the camera+35apo weight.  With the 35mm, however, I usually
also take the 90mm collapsible on my belt; so the total system weight and
convenience is more than the 80% comparison suggests.  The 50 Elmar, being
a rather traditional Tessar formula, is very sharp in the center (sharper
than the 35 apo at f/11 -- my preferred f-stop), which, particularly with
Topaz's AI Gigapixel software, makes enlargement of cropped images
practical.

Of course, I take the 35 apo in many if not most situations, but for light
weight, daylight shooting, the collapsible 50mm Elmar makes a very useful
alternative.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com