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Seeking pros and cons of the 28mm elmarit VERSION IV


A miller

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If version iV of the elmarit is the latest, i have that lenses and up until recently, i also had the 28 summicron. I sold the summicron as i felt it was too large for a travel lense.

 

Looking back on the photo's i had taken with the summicron, i much prefer those to the elmarit. The summicron images to my non scientific eye, have more fine detail and less contrast.

The elmarit delivers 'punchy' images from a really light/small package.

 

Strangely, i also miss f2

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Many thanks for your time, Ali.

 

Version IV is not the latest version, which is ASPH, but rather the last version prior to the ASPH version. It was made around 1998.

 

Is this the lens you have/had?

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More an anecdotal reply than a useful one. Last year I bought this lens which a previous owner had had 6-bit coded. Yet it was immediately apparent that it was misfocusing at distances over about 10m. (Was he/she unaware of this???) Sent it to Malcolm Taylor (UK) who corrected it and it's now one of the best lenses I have. The hood was missing but part no 14043 is current – large and quite expensive – so I bought one. It has nice colour and is sharp across its range. A Leica employee thought it was optically one their best lenses and suggested it was preferable to the ASPH replacement model.

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... and the cron, which is the best lens I own.

 

What do you like about it? What makes it the best?

 

I'm asking in a genuine way, not to challenge your statement. I am considering buying the 28mm summicron.

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What do you like about it? What makes it the best?

 

I'm asking in a genuine way, not to challenge your statement. I am considering buying the 28mm summicron.

 

With M9 it is many lenses. Superb and unique WO, it is the sharpest lens I own at f/11. Incredibly versatile.

 

Here it is today at f/11:

15426750093_22491cfdff_b.jpg

L1025592 by unoh7, on Flickr

 

WO in dim light last week:

15413894463_30d5788cb0_b.jpg

Cleaning Ducks by unoh7, on Flickr

 

On the 240 it is still a strong lens, but a bit more generic. On film it would have to be great.

 

Prices have come down a lot also, I see them for 2500.

 

F/2 is a lot of light for a 28. Way way more than 2.8, and the DOF narrows much more, so you have all sorts of options no elmarit can deliver. It's also worthy of note that both the CV 28/1.9 and f/2 versions are quite good, for around 500usd or less.

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I have the IV version (46mm filter). Pros, it is to me a sharper lens than the ASPH (which I the best way is to try it out for yourhad for a short time). Cons, it is quite a bit bigger and heavier than the ASPH (which is why I bought an ASPH in the first place). That said I have a CV 28 f/1.9 LTM which is just as sharp from 2.8 down. But I only paid $650 for my IV Elmarit as it has a 2mm hairline scratch on the front element (actually, it's in the magical un-scratchable Leica coating that doesn't need a degrading UV filter for protection ;) ) so finding a buyer for it wouldn't be easy. Btw I saw one on KEH recently for around $1400 and they have a 2-week no-hassle return, so maybe a good way to try it out with little to risk.

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