Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/03/15
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I too have looked around at alternatives. As Jeremy Klime says, the Kobalux/Avenon/Pasoptik from Japan is available. Here in England, Photo Design Studios imports them. Telephone +44 1271 870067. The standard fitting is LTM, but it also comes with a screw to bayonet adaptor. 21mm is £495 + £95 for the finder which is sold separately, a 28mm is also available. The 28 performs marginally better than the 21. Roger Hicks reviewed them in the British Journal of Photography. Whilst not out and out raving about them, said (and these are his words not mine - no flame wars please), that they were well built and perform better than the old Angulons, but not as well as the pre- ASPH Elmarits, and obviously the ASPH Elmarits are better still. I suppose if your photography demands the ultra wide more than your pocket can afford them, then they're a good purchase. If you need the micro definition, then you're probably better to save up and go for the Leica alternatives. Also, consider this, how many OEM lenses do you see advertised in the photographic press? Not many - are they so good that we Leica owners hold onto them, or conversely is the market so poor, that dealers can't sell them? Looking into the light - Ian