Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/03/03
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Mark Axness wrote: >About 20 years ago I bought a new 21mm f/3.4 Super Angulon-M that I found >to be absolutely tack sharp. Needing money for college, I sold the lens >(as well as all my other Leica stuff...sob). Now I'm in the market for >another 21mm lens. Is the 21mm f/2.8 Elmarit up to the same optical qaulity? > I'm not concerned re: Super Angulon inability to meter with an M-6. I have both, and if you do not have an M5 or M6, I would suggest sticking with the SA. The Elmarit, due to its retrofocus construction, has somewhat better eveness of illumination, but it also suffers most of the other problems associated with a retrofocus design (not to a very large degree, but they are present) . The SA is sharper, has essentially no distortion, and is a lot more compact, especially when on a camera. Also, using filters with the Elmarit is a problem for me, as you have to use 60mm filters with the current model, and the only other lens I have that uses this size is the Noctilux, with which I don't use filters. The series 7 filters for the SA are much cheaper and more readily available and generally useable. The SA with hood also does not intrude into the viewfinder. So I use the Elmarit when I use the M6 with metering, and I use the SA when I get fussy or have to filter. I had intended to sell the SA when I got the Elmarit, but I'll keep it. * /|\ Henning J. Wulff /###\ Architecture |[ ]| henningw@portal.ca