Just Alex Posted March 25, 2010 Share #1 Posted March 25, 2010 Advertisement (gone after registration) Tossing up between the Leica 2.8 Elmarit and Zeiss 4.5 Biogon. Leica works with the M8 vignette and colour correction but Zeiss has less distortion. Speed isn't an issue for me. Will be using it on travel jobs for interior work so distortion is probably my main concern. Anyone have experience with the Leica v Zeiss? Is the Leica distortion noticeable? Is the edges of the frame coloured with the Zeiss? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted March 25, 2010 Posted March 25, 2010 Hi Just Alex, Take a look here Best 21mm lens. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
H. James Wolf Posted March 25, 2010 Share #2 Posted March 25, 2010 Which Elmarit are you considering - the Aspheric or the earlier one? The older Elmarit has some issues, the newer one is much better. The Zeiss Biogon is smaller than either and seems as sharp as the Asph. If speed is not an issue, the Biogon is probably a better value. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulrik Posted March 25, 2010 Share #3 Posted March 25, 2010 I was very interested in the Biogon 4.5/21 mm until I found out that it cannot be used on the Leica M9 which was confirmed to me by Zeiss. The light rays hit the sensor at a very steep angle. Ulrik Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Alex Posted March 25, 2010 Author Share #4 Posted March 25, 2010 Interested in the latest version of each lens. How have Zeiss acknowledged it wont work on the M9? I've seen some examples online using the M9 and the red edges are awful. Is this what Zeiss are referring to? Can the red edges be corrected with corner fix or coding the lens as a Leica 21mm? Does the 1.3x crop factor get rid of the red edges? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrice Posted March 25, 2010 Share #5 Posted March 25, 2010 Interested in the latest version of each lens. How have Zeiss acknowledged it wont work on the M9? I've seen some examples online using the M9 and the red edges are awful. Is this what Zeiss are referring to? Can the red edges be corrected with corner fix or coding the lens as a Leica 21mm? Does the 1.3x crop factor get rid of the red edges? The red edges ARE extreme with this lens, it can be fixed with cornerfix in most situations, it cannot be fixed by coding, not by a long shot. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted March 25, 2010 Share #6 Posted March 25, 2010 The ZM Biogon 21/2.8 is as good as the Elmarit 21 asph on both the M8 and M9 in my experience. Better than the older Elmarit. A lens you should consider. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Alex Posted March 25, 2010 Author Share #7 Posted March 25, 2010 Advertisement (gone after registration) The Zeiss 4.5 has the lowest distortion (practically zero) of all the 21mm's and the difference in sharpness between them at 5.6 is probably negligible. My main concern is the red edge because while the Leica may be free of red edges, photoshop cannot adequately remove the distortion as the distortion varies across the frame. If corner fix can indeed remove the red edges then its size and distortion free image would make it ideal. Has anyone actually tested the lens with cornerfix? I would do it myself except the lens is a special order. I cant seem to find one in stock. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrejK Posted March 25, 2010 Share #8 Posted March 25, 2010 Leica works with the M8 vignette and colour correction but Zeiss has less distortion. If you only plan to use the lens on M8, the Zeiss 4.5 works perfect for me hand coded as the Elmarit-M 21mm f/2.8 (pre-Asph.) Andrej Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redridge Posted March 25, 2010 Share #9 Posted March 25, 2010 I love my 21mm f2.8 ASPH.... its flawless. Sharp even at f2.8, incredible. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheekyguille Posted March 26, 2010 Share #10 Posted March 26, 2010 Which Elmarit are you considering - the Aspheric or the earlier one? The older Elmarit has some issues, the newer one is much better. The Zeiss Biogon is smaller than either and seems as sharp as the Asph. If speed is not an issue, the Biogon is probably a better value. Can you and others clarify as to the specific issues of the pre-asph 21mm Elmarit. I have read that the asph is better but no elaboration on why the older is not. Thanks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jplomley Posted March 26, 2010 Share #11 Posted March 26, 2010 I love my 21mm f2.8 ASPH.... its flawless. Sharp even at f2.8, incredible. +1 A stellar performer, and very very close to the 24/2.8 Elmarit Asph performance, which as far as I'm concerned is the benchmark in resolution amongst wide angles. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbretteville Posted March 26, 2010 Share #12 Posted March 26, 2010 I landed on the Zeiss 21/2.8 simply because I don't use the lens that often. And I am more than happy with the results. Carl Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpmac55 Posted March 27, 2010 Share #13 Posted March 27, 2010 I landed on the Zeiss 21/2.8 simply because I don't use the lens that often. And I am more than happy with the results.Carl Same here although I'll use it more often than originally expected. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photon42 Posted March 28, 2010 Share #14 Posted March 28, 2010 Which Elmarit are you considering - the Aspheric or the earlier one? The older Elmarit has some issues, the newer one is much better. The Zeiss Biogon is smaller than either and seems as sharp as the Asph. If speed is not an issue, the Biogon is probably a better value. I've used the older Elmarit 21 for a while, but the focal length did not really attract me much, so I sold it. The earlier Elmarit is an excellent lens and can be factory coded, if this is of importance. It's relatively large, however, given its field of view on an M8. It is not as flare resistant as my Zeiss Biogon 35 and requires an odd E60 UVIR filter. No complaints at all, however, on the image quality. The lens has got a nice rendering to my eye and is not of extreme contrast. Regards Ivo Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
photophile Posted March 28, 2010 Share #15 Posted March 28, 2010 I too have a pre-ASPH 21 elmarit. It is tack sharp almost to the edges - more distortion and off tack at the margins. The contrast is " clssic" versus hard. This makes it perfect for my type of photojournalistic shooting.and for faces. It has heft but carries well. Have used it for years and still use it almost daily - have yet to find a reason to "upgrade". My 2 cents worth. I have some images with it in the forum - just use search function. Best. CH Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
daleeman Posted March 30, 2010 Share #16 Posted March 30, 2010 The ZM Biogon 21/2.8 is as good as the Elmarit 21 asph on both the M8 and M9 in my experience. Better than the older Elmarit. A lens you should consider. I too have to throw in on the 21mm f2.8 Zeiss. There are only two things I find a little out of the ordinary, 1. it delivers very saturated colors, given a blue sky day and wham it is a very blue sky day. 2. I think the one I have is wider than it should be on the M8. With the 1.33x on it the 28mm lines comes up and I find it comes in between the 28 ad 24mm lines. Wish that was different but I still find it to be a great lens. Truly the difference between the 2.8 and the F4 version is mostly price point. Spend the extra $$ and go with the F2.8. I sprang for the 486 filter and lens hood too. I was disappointed I had to spend $75.00 US on the lens hood. I think you will really enjoy it. Lee Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSU Posted April 1, 2010 Share #17 Posted April 1, 2010 I will add another vote for the Zeiss ZM 21/2.8 Biogon, it is an exceptional lens. Due to its mount, I have mine coded as an 18/3.8 Super Elmar for use with my M8.2, this corrects the corner color shift well enough for me. Another consideration not mentioned already in this thread is the 21/3.4 Super Angulon. Mine exhibits typical SA light falloff wide open and at F-4.0 which pretty much evens out by F-5.6. Realize though that the crop factor of the M8.2 eliminates much of the signature light falloff of this lens which provides a unique rendering for the full frame formats. My SA privides a somewhat flatter contrast and warmer image than the Zeiss 21/2.8, and both are exceptionally sharp, particularly closed to F-5.6. I also have this lens coded as the 18/3.8 due to its mount. The SA will function with the M8.2's auto exposure when a +2 1/3 EV is dialed-in, it doesn't hurt to shoot RAW either to allow for finer correction in post. The 21/3.4 SA typically stays on a M4 body and the 21/2.8 Biogon is used for the M8.2, but I have no real bias towards either on the M8.2. I particularly like the 21/3.4 SA for B&W film with the M4. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronazle Posted April 3, 2010 Share #18 Posted April 3, 2010 I too use a F:/4.5 21mm Biogon often (only the 35mm Summicron asph is used more often). I could not be happier with its performance which is near flawless when coded as a 2.8 pre-asph Elmarit. Only in snow scenes have I noticed a slight corner bluish cast which was easily remedied in corner-fix. I have used it only on my M8s, so cannot comment on other use. regards, ron Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Alex Posted April 3, 2010 Author Share #19 Posted April 3, 2010 Thanks Ronalze, you're one of few people who actually own this lens. It's good to hear that it works well even in difficult situations (snow) and that corner fix is able to correct the coloured edge. Think it might me worth ordering myself. Is there any chance of posting a pic? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted April 3, 2010 Share #20 Posted April 3, 2010 You might also want to check Sean Reid's review (small subscription fee) comparing the 21 Elmarit and the Zeiss on the M8...Welcome to ReidReviews Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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