Re: New Elmarit 24mm -M Asph

[edwardk9@umcc.umcc.umich.edu (Edward Kowaleski)]

I was able to obtain the new 24mm lens and I have shot several rolls of 
film with it as well as make some comparisons with the 24mm R and 24mm 
Nikon AF.

The lens appears quite sharp in all the prints I have made -- of course 
I'd say that if only to justify what I paid for it!  I haven't processed 
the slides as yet so no comment on them for the moment.

I did a comparison by mounting the cameras on a tripod and focusing on an 
object at about 12 feet.  This was an interior shot and the light was 
constant.  I set the aperture at f5.6 and used a CLE and 
an M6 with the new lens as well as an R7 with a 24mm R and an N90S with a 
24mm AF.  All shots at f5.6 with the same roll of film (I rewound the 
film after shooting with each camera) on a tripod; the CLE, R7, and N90 
were shot in Auto mode and the M6 with a cable release.  I made prints of 
each.  I used a lens shade for each shot.

I did not make comparisons at other f stops; if an f2.8 lens doesn't work 
well at f5.6, then who cares.

I couldn't detect any difference in contrast in any of the negatives.  
When I printed them filtration and exposure was essntially the same for 
all four negatives.  I used a Focotar 50mm-2 at f8.0 to enlarge the negs.
I enlarged full negatives to fill the 10" side of the frame.
 
I basically checked the center and now realize I should have also checked 
the edges.  I enlarged the prints to 8x10 and they were all very sharp 
visually from center to edge.  Again, I may be trying to justify the cost 
but the CLE and M6 shots appeared slightly sharper when I tried to read 
the writing on the spine of a OE dictionary that was near the center of 
the print at 12 feet.  The R7 24mm was almost as good but there was a 
perceptible difference in the N90-24mmAF which just wasn't quite as 
sharp.  All this isn't very scientific but while I would tend to rate the 
new M version at a 10, the R7 version was probably 9.7 and the N90-24AF 
would be 9.5.  All the prints looked very good and it is only when you 
compare them by looking for smallest detail that is sharp that the 
difference can be seen.

I am happy to note that the lens appears to meter successfully with the 
CLE, i.e., the automatic mode works well.

Hope this make some contribution and I would like to hear the results 
that others have had.  Ed Kowaleski