28 Elmarit or 28 1.9 CV Ultron?

[rondeb]

So there's the question. If I had the choice of one 28mm lens for my new M8 which would it be? Please also feel free to suggest other 28's as well. Thanks so much. I'm going nuts waiting for the day my (new and updated) M8 arrives!
All the best and thanks,
Ron Williams

[waterlenz]

Originally Posted by rondeb

So there's the question. If I had the choice of one 28mm lens for my new M8 which would it be? Please also feel free to suggest other 28's as well. Thanks so much. I'm going nuts waiting for the day my (new and updated) M8 arrives!
All the best and thanks,
Ron Williams

Have you seen the Reid Review comparison? - Quite a difference in the contrast, if you are referring to the latest 28 Elmarit. It might be worthwhile to have both ;-> I had the 49mm filter size version of the 28 Elmarit a few years ago - it tended to flare in the sun - not sure how the new version would fare (or flare!) under similar circumstances.
Tom

[rondeb]

Originally Posted by waterlenz

Have you seen the Reid Review comparison? - Quite a difference in the contrast, if you are referring to the latest 28 Elmarit. It might be worthwhile to have both ;-> I had the 49mm filter size version of the 28 Elmarit a few years ago - it tended to flare in the sun - not sure how the new version would fare (or flare!) under similar circumstances.
Tom

Yes, I've read Sean's review but I'm not sure the higher contrast outweighs the extra speed I'd get out of the CV. Sean's point about the color rendition when combined with the coding gives some weight to the Elmarit, I suppose. I'm curious to see how the DOF results come out.

Anyone else care to lend an opinion?

Thanks,
Ron

[waterlenz]

Originally Posted by rondeb

Yes, I've read Sean's review but I'm not sure the higher contrast outweighs the extra speed I'd get out of the CV. Sean's point about the color rendition when combined with the coding gives some weight to the Elmarit, I suppose. I'm curious to see how the DOF results come out.

Anyone else care to lend an opinion?

Thanks,
Ron

Other than pupillary magnification effects, DOF for a given f stop for a given FL for a given format will be the same.
Tom

[j. borger]

I am somehow in the same boat .... the new elmarit beeing more contrasty than even the 28 summicron holds me really back from that lens. I see high contrast of a lens more often as negative than a positive feature.
I know the M8 handles the higher contrast lenses much better than the R-D1 .. but nonetheless ..............i might consider a pre-asph 28mm Elmarit instead, even at 2x-3x the size!
Indoor schots i have seen with the new 28mm asph look really good but outdoor in bright sun is perhaps another story ....!
So if somebody has some 28mm Elmarit pre-asph pictures to share i would welcome them .....

[lars_bergquist]

Ron,
remember that the 28 is going to be your new 'short normal' lens, the way the 35 is with film. And Leica's last 35 for the M with a speed of 1:2.8 was brought out in 1958 ... F:2 has always been the standby for working photogs. So I got myself the 28 Summicron, which is a superb lens. I never used that length much with film, but I find myself bayoneting it quite often to my M4-P, simply because it is so good.

I suspect that many people who have bought the Elmarit will soon start to miss that last f-stop. The CV lens is of course not a Summicron, but I do have quite a bit of respect for the Cosina lenses (not for their camera bodies, though!) and corner cutoff on the digital sensor will banish many outer demons.

The old man from the Age of Uncoated Three-Element Lenses

[Bill Sievers]

I like shooting at night so for me the Ultron's 1.8 speed is a big plus. Nevertheless, I recently got the Summicron. It is a great lense at night, take a look at this

http://static.flickr.com/102/302594002_9b34dccf37.jpg

It was taken with an RD1 and the cron.

[sean_reid]

Originally Posted by rondeb

Yes, I've read Sean's review but I'm not sure the higher contrast outweighs the extra speed I'd get out of the CV. Sean's point about the color rendition when combined with the coding gives some weight to the Elmarit, I suppose. I'm curious to see how the DOF results come out.

Anyone else care to lend an opinion?

Thanks,
Ron

Hi Ron,

The higher contrast, as I'm sure you know, can be a pro or a con depending on one's purposes. I need to finish up a large client job today and then (hopefully) I'll be able to work start working on other sections of that 28s review, including the OOF rendition and CA. BTW, there are now color illustrations (one per lens) in the review as well as revised examples of the Leica lenses with coding on and off.

Cheers,

Sean

[sean_reid]

Originally Posted by lars_bergquist

I suspect that many people who have bought the Elmarit will soon start to miss that last f-stop. The CV lens is of course not a Summicron

Then again, the Summicron is not an Ultron, having more contrast and slightly more vignetting. <G>

Cheers,

Sean

[Jamie Roberts]

Originally Posted by waterlenz

Have you seen the Reid Review comparison? - Quite a difference in the contrast, if you are referring to the latest 28 Elmarit. It might be worthwhile to have both ;-> I had the 49mm filter size version of the 28 Elmarit a few years ago - it tended to flare in the sun - not sure how the new version would fare (or flare!) under similar circumstances.
Tom

I haven't had time to read Sean's latest on the lenses (been sick here) but I have shot the new Elmarit into the sun. It's fabulous; I'm not sure how the CV could improve on the flare and detail response.

See this thread for some information....

http://www.leica-camera-user.com/dig...rit#post102468


One thing I'd remember is that the camera's high DR / exposure latitude lets you unpack a lot of contrast in the RAW conversion (or whatever your post process is), especially in the "toe" and "shoulder" of the conversion itself.

So if you can spare the stop, the Elmarit seems to be a good choice to me.