First Impressions of 21mm Super-Elmar-M on CL

[Camaro5]

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Got the 21mm Super-Elmar-M today along with the M-L adapter from Lens Rentals.  Came in a nice hard-shell case with soft cases inside for the two pieces.  I hadn't shot an M lens on my CL and was anxious to see how the image quality would be.  Put the lens on the camera, fired it up, and it worked perfectly.  No issues.  Took a few shots out in my yard to compare to similar shots I'd taken with the TL 11-23mm the day before.  Both photos were shot at ISO 100, f/8, at 1/200th second.  The 11-23mm was at a 30mm equivalent where the 21mm SEM works out to 31.5mm.  Both were processed in Lightroom with the same adjustments (as close as I could get) and my normal workflow.

These were shot on different days so the light is a bit different, as is the angle, but they are close enough to compare image quality which was my main objective.

The first photo is the 21mm SEM.  Focusing was easy and accurate.  Second one is the 11-23 Super-Vario-Elmar.  I was surprised at how close they really were in image quality.  My take-away was that the TL lens on a CL is almost as good as the 21mm SEM, probably 95% or so.  Some slight differences. I would think (and I could be wrong) that the APS-C sensor on the CL doesn't really do justice to the 21mm SEM because of the crop factor and maybe to a lesser extent, the quality of the sensor itself.  As I already have the 11-23mm it doesn't make much sense to also have the SEM.  I still have it for 6 more days and will do some more shooting with it.  I'm also going to compare it against the 23mm TL Summicron, but I don't expect to see much difference.  This was well worth doing since it satisfied my curiosity.  

Now if I can only keep from going after that M10 I'm lusting after.....

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Edited July 30, 2021 by Camaro5

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[rsolomon]

Thanks for doing this!

im currently an M user but looking to add a CL  sometime soon. My overall plan was to have the L - lenses for the longer focal lengths and maintain the M lenses for shorter FL’s  

[dfdann]

That will work well but I would recommend a 18 or 23 tl for grab and go. I love the 55-125 for longer shots. I use M, Nikon, and Tl lenses. Have CL for 3 years and love it. Dan

[robgo2]

The direction of the sun is these two pictures is very different, making a comparison impossible. Why not take identical photos one right after the other?