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I am a new Leica M9 user and I bought my camera with a 50mm Summicron f/2.

Doing a lot of travelling I felt last week in Chicago that I really need to go wide when shooting skylines, architecture and interiors (it was the art museum). In two weeks I will go to India and I really want something before that trip.

I have been thinking of both the Super Elmar M 21mm and the Elmarit M 28mm ASPH and I am going back and forth between them. I am quite well aware of the positives and negatives of them but cannot make up my mind!

 

What would be the recommendation from you using these lenses today in your daily photography and when traveling?

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21 makes a lot of difference compared to your 50. There is a learning curve to use ultra-wides like that. If you don't like external viewfinders, the 28/2.8 asph is made for you. Aside from its lower price and wider aperture, it is also smaller than the 21/3.4 asph, which is handy for travels. Now both lenses are amongst the very best in their focal lengths so you cannot go wrong with either anyway.

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I personally think if you are a 50 shooter, you need to first get comfortable with a 28 or even a 35 first before you go wider. With a 21 or an 18 there is always a tendency to get 'too much' in the frame.

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A 28 or even 35 should be wide enough for the typical India reportage/travel shooting. As others said, a 21 requires quite a different approach not to make pictures look boring. A compromise between 21 and could be a 24mm or the excellent ZM 25. I use a 50mm & 24mm combo quite often. Once familiar with the 24mm angle of view you could ad a ultrawide 18mm to the bag.

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For the Leica M, I like 28, 50 and 90 kit for daily use and travel.

 

If you plan to shoot architecture and landscapes, 21mm it would be ideal. Super Elmar 21 is an awesome lens but the M9's internal rangefinder doesn't go wider than 28mm so you would need to get an external viewfinder for it. So, it may not be ideal for some for travel.

 

I love the 28/2.8 Elmarit for daily use and travel so I would recommend the 28/2.8

 

Enjoy your India trip.

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my traveling kit is 21, 35, and 90. the Super-Elmar-M is extremely balanced. the quality is great, distortion minimal, and very light. a lot of time, i dont even switch back to my 35 because 21mm is just so fun to use once you get going with it. 28mm is also great but i have a feeling that it probably will not fulfill all of your needs.

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I do not have experience with the 21mm SEM, but I use the 28mm Elmarit-ASPH quite a bit. It is an excellent companion to a 50 for travel, and I very much like the small size of it.

 

Savvas

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A 28 or even 35 should be wide enough for the typical India reportage/travel shooting. As others said, a 21 requires quite a different approach not to make pictures look boring. A compromise between 21 and could be a 24mm or the excellent ZM 25. I use a 50mm & 24mm combo quite often. Once familiar with the 24mm angle of view you could ad a ultrawide 18mm to the bag.

 

+1 Most places in India tend to be crowded. The wider the lens you use, the more likely you will capture unwanted elements in the frame and before you know it all pictures will look alike. Suggest stay with 28 as the widest. Bring along a 75 and 90 as well.

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I'd strongly recommend the 28/50 combination to anyone who doesn't have a very precise reason for choosing differently.

 

I do not believe there is a more capable, flexible and versatile 2-lens combination for an imaginative photographer.

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Thanks for all of your inputs. The only thoughts I have now is if 28mm would be enough for me taking pictures of landscape and architecture. But maybe most of the time it will be wide without shooting landscape and architecture and then probably 28mm is the best one.

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India? Where there is density (i.e., lots of people) you'll want the 21.

 

I spent 3 weeks in Mumbai and pretty much stayed with the 21 to deal with the reality of being so close to everything. That lens can be used to wonderful effect that doesn't even look like a super-wide.

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I'd strongly recommend the 28/50 combination to anyone who doesn't have a very precise reason for choosing differently.

 

I do not believe there is a more capable, flexible and versatile 2-lens combination for an imaginative photographer.

 

Couldn't agree with you more!

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I'd strongly recommend the 28/50 combination to anyone who doesn't have a very precise reason for choosing differently.

 

I do not believe there is a more capable, flexible and versatile 2-lens combination for an imaginative photographer.

 

Oh yes! My favourite combination too :).

2.0/28 Summicron-M ASPH and1.4/50 Summilux-M ASPH.

(the 3.4/21 Super-Elmar-M ASPH is usually next)

 

I'm such an imaginative photographer ::rolleyes:.

Edited by MarkP
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Tony, welcome to the forum!

For years I worked with three lenses on my M3: 28, 50 and 90. All three lenses served me well. While the 50 was my workhorse lens, I found the wide and tele lenses most useful to give a rounded coverage of travel subjects. So, against that background, I would advocate the 28 for you. The current Elmarit is a cracking lens and less demanding than a 21mm on the photographer as far as picture framing is concerned.

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Another vote for a 28mm, preferably the Summicron but the Elmarit is good as well. As others have said a 21mm is a culture shock and pictures can be more about the characteristic view offered by the lens itself rather than the object being photographed, so it depends where your preferences lie. If you did ever find a 28mm wasn't wide enough you could do a sequence of photographs and make a multi image panorama with software when you get home.

 

Steve

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I agree. 21 it starts to become about the lens. 28 is really a point and shoot lens on a bright day with no distortion. 2 lenses take 28 and 50. One lens only take a 35. As for longer than 50 I bought an old 135 and a new 75 summicrons and dumped the 90

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