gwelland Posted February 7, 2010 Share #1 Posted February 7, 2010 Advertisement (gone after registration) I've been rationalizing my M9 outfit down to a more manageable travel outfit and have settled on a 24 ('lux or Elmarit or even Elmar), 35 'lux, 50 'lux and 90 Elmarit-M. Now I just need to settle on the wide angle option. I like the idea and convenience of having 'lux's across the board and I've found an opportunity to get a 24 'lux at an almost 'reasonable' price, but before I act on it I'm curious as to other's experience with this lens on the M9. I've been using the 24 Elmarit-M to date with the M9, and I'm happy with the focal length and distribution of focal lengths with my other lenses. Are there any things to watch out for with the 'lux though? Any red edge issues? Softness/corner issues which didn't show up with the M8? I'm not bothered by the physical size of the lens particularly but I am curious about the 'feel' of the lens for focusing. Is the lack of a focus tab significant compared to other non-tabbed lenses such as the Noctilux etc? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted February 7, 2010 Posted February 7, 2010 Hi gwelland, Take a look here M9 & 24 'lux experiences? Anything to watch out for?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
batmobile Posted February 7, 2010 Share #2 Posted February 7, 2010 Unless you need the speed, why bother? I have on on the way in a few weeks, but only after really agonising over whether I have any other way of working around the speed issues I have been facing. With D3200 at 1250-1600 and sometimes still not being able to take the shot at f2.8 I decided to go for it, but if you have other options I personally would not bother. Its bigger, heavier, more expensive and offers nothing an Elmarit or similar cannot apart from a slightly different signature beyond f2.8. Watch you for examples not set up right. I hear tehre are a few out there that have the focus miles off right out the box. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hacker Posted February 7, 2010 Share #3 Posted February 7, 2010 I don't find any difference in regards to the handling between the Lux, Elmarit and Elmar. Also, I never had any issues with my lenses and cameras, except for the 135 APO which was not that great on the M8/M8.2 but works great with the M9. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sully Posted February 7, 2010 Share #4 Posted February 7, 2010 DAG put a focusing tab on this lens for me. Like all his work, the modification looks just as good as a factory job. Now, I can find a general focus by feel. That is a big help. It's a great all purpose lens which matches nicely with a 50 or 75 as a second lens in the pocket. I use the Zeiss 21mm finder which seems to match the field of view better than the Zeiss 25/28. Focus with any fast lens is always an issue especially with external finders. When I first got the lens there was a significant amount of operator error involved that gave out of focus pictures wide open at one meter. However, after using this lens for almost a year, I am now getting good sharp images. With the slower wide lens (21 or 24) the greater depth of field probably masks operator error. But at 1.4 there is not much room for focus mistakes. I love this lens. If you have trouble with it in the beginning, just stick with it. It's great to use a lens this wide and still be able to get an out of focus back round. Ciao, Sully Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sully Posted February 7, 2010 Share #5 Posted February 7, 2010 DAG put a focusing tab on this lens for me. Like all his work, the modification looks just as good as a factory job. Now, I can find a general focus by feel. That is a big help. It's a great all purpose lens which matches nicely with a 50 or 75 as a second lens in the pocket. I use the Zeiss 21mm finder which seems to match the field of view better than the Zeiss 25/28. Focus with any fast lens is always an issue especially with external finders. When I first got the lens there was a significant amount of operator error involved that gave out of focus pictures wide open at one meter. However, after using this lens for almost a year, I am now getting good sharp images. With the slower wide lens (21 or 24) the greater depth of field probably masks operator error. But at 1.4 there is not much room for focus mistakes. I love this lens. If you have trouble with it in the beginning, just stick with it. It's great to use a lens this wide and still be able to get an out of focus back round. Ciao, Sully Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
innerimager Posted February 7, 2010 Share #6 Posted February 7, 2010 I use the Zeiss 21mm finder which seems to match the field of view better than the Zeiss 25/28. Hi Sully- Interested to hear about this. I got the Zeiss 21 finder to use with the 21 lux and it's a great finder. (Great lens too!). I'll try it with my 24 elmarit and get a feel for what you describe, it will be nice if it can handle both uses. best....Peter Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwelland Posted February 7, 2010 Author Share #7 Posted February 7, 2010 Advertisement (gone after registration) Excellent info regarding the tab & viewfinders. Is anyone using the Leica Brightline 24 or 18 VF or perhaps the Frankenfinder with the 24/1.4? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sully Posted February 7, 2010 Share #8 Posted February 7, 2010 I recently had a chat with David Farkas. He also has used the Zeiss 21 with his 24 Lux lens and seems to like it. I tried the Zeiss 25/28 finder, but it just seemed to cut off too much of the FOV. There are of lot of finders to use, but the Zeiss image is just so big and bright. For aging eyes with glasses, they are hard to beat. Ciao, Sully Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwelland Posted February 7, 2010 Author Share #9 Posted February 7, 2010 With the Zeiss 21 finder is it more accurate (but still a little loose) at both close and far distances? When you had the lens 'tabbed', did you have DAG perform any other calibration or adjustment of your lens too? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
innerimager Posted February 7, 2010 Share #10 Posted February 7, 2010 There are of lot of finders to use, but the Zeiss image is just so big and bright. For aging eyes with glasses, they are hard to beat. amen to that, and I did try the 21 finder out with my 24 and totally agree is is very useable, thanks for the heads up.....Peter Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sully Posted February 7, 2010 Share #11 Posted February 7, 2010 Gwelland, Don didn't do any adjustments to the lens because it was focusing just fine. But you can rest assured that any time he touches your lenses they will come back in perfect condition. I have been sending him stuff for over twenty years. Everything from Don is always perfect. In Japan he would be valued as a National Treasure. Ask him to check your lens and he can correct it if it is off. Ciao, Sully Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alnitak Posted February 7, 2010 Share #12 Posted February 7, 2010 Graham, I love this combo. In fact, the 24/1.4 may be my favorite lens on the M9. I have had no issues with it: no red edges, no softness. Very sharp edge to edge, great color and contrast. A few shots: Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwelland Posted February 8, 2010 Author Share #13 Posted February 8, 2010 Thank you for the replies everyone. I think I've convinced myself that this is the right lens for my purposes and your images Jeff mirror very much the kind of environmental shooting I do as well. I know I could stick with my Elmarit but I do like the option for more flexibility with a faster lens. The only concern has been the stories from one of the dealers I've been speaking to of badly set up lenses direct from Leica. I was told of several lenses being delivered that were not slightly off but significantly off (and he had no vested interested in sharing this information - just sharing his own frustration). I can relate to this as I had the same scenario with my own first Noctilux that came straight from Leica and was off by several inches. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alnitak Posted February 8, 2010 Share #14 Posted February 8, 2010 One other thing I forgot to point out, Graham: I use the Frankenfinder. I just didn't feel like shelling out a bunch of money for another finder and then having to carry it around. Often I use no finder, and just use the full view of the M9 finder. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sclamb Posted February 8, 2010 Share #15 Posted February 8, 2010 Graham, I love this combo. In fact, the 24/1.4 may be my favorite lens on the M9. I have had no issues with it: no red edges, no softness. Very sharp edge to edge, great color and contrast. Jeff Please ignore. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alnitak Posted February 9, 2010 Share #16 Posted February 9, 2010 Please ignore. Hehe! I was going to answer but I see you edited. I do get "purple fringing" but that is as much a problem with the sensor as it is with the lens, and its only when shooting wide open with fine detail, backlit. The lens does have a little bit of chromatic aberration wide open, but it goes away very quickly, and its easily corrected in post-processing. Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samir Jahjah Posted February 9, 2010 Share #17 Posted February 9, 2010 amen to that, and I did try the 21 finder out with my 24 and totally agree is is very useable, thanks for the heads up.....Peter Are you using the 21 finder with the 24mm on the M9? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sclamb Posted February 9, 2010 Share #18 Posted February 9, 2010 Hehe! I was going to answer but I see you edited. I do get "purple fringing" but that is as much a problem with the sensor as it is with the lens, and its only when shooting wide open with fine detail, backlit. The lens does have a little bit of chromatic aberration wide open, but it goes away very quickly, and its easily corrected in post-processing. Jeff LOL, you saw my stupid comment before I deleted it :-) Agreed on the fringing. I can get it to appear faintly even at f/8 under the correct cicrumstances, but then I was looking for it and probably wouldn't have noticed under normal viewing. Here is a threads I started that showed what I meant: http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m9-forum/102127-purple-fringing-24-1-4-a.html The 24 Lux is an incredible lens though, and once you get to f/4 the sharpness and clarity across the frame is amazing. Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted February 9, 2010 Share #19 Posted February 9, 2010 try this lens at your peril! it will end in an inevitable purchase. the combinatiom of shallow dof and wa view is quite unique. the purple fringing is caused by the raw interpolation. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.