Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2015/10/23
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]The 21mm SEM beats the Elmarit asph in all areas IMO. I would say that the S range is Leica's still lens showcase range ;-) john -----Original Message----- ?Yes, everything is a whole set of compromises. I assume Leica and Zeiss will both continue to make optics that also cater to those who value compactness. The M line is Leica's current showcase of what it can do. It may be that the Loxia line for the Sony is representative of what Zeiss can do for that platform. Since wide angle optics are the main area of my concern regarding the Sony line, I was curious just how much of a penalty that platform will pay. To show this, I made a Tiff file with a cutout of the Leica v. Zeiss Loxia 21mm f/2.8 entries into this competition shown on different layers. The images are adjusted to equalize size and distance from the sensor/film. Some might find looking at the two similar optics interesting. Download the Tiff from http://www.paulroark.com/Loxia-v-Leica-21-f28.tif As to relative sharpness, all we have are MTF curves that are not necessarily comparable. If they are to be believed, the Zeiss wins by a hair. My experience is that Leica is more conservative in these, and in the real world Leica might well win by a hair. The main and more objective measure of performance that could be important is that, consistent with the performances we see in other wide angle lenses, the more retrofocus optic has less vignetting. Zeiss is claiming light falloff at f/2.8 that is equal to the Leica at f/8. Paul www.PaulRoark.com ?