Leica M11 and Tri-Elmar 28-35-50 MATE - Questions

[a.noctilux]

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Hello Sam,

As long time user of MATE, I think that this 28/35/50 would never "replace" the same fix focal lengths.

I like the lens as it is, almost sold it if my wife didn't want to use it.

Mate is handy and unique in M lenses, when changing lenses is not easy/possible, in life-size real use now I'd prefer fix lens one of 28/35/50 can do.

Many things to think about : the hiding VF portion (mainly 28mm) while the tiny Elmarit/Summaron 28mm let us "see" the whole framing.

 

1m closest focus when other can focus to 70cm if this can be counted.

Focus ring (version I , and tab on "II") is less pleasant in use than fix lenses that I use more.

The famous flare at 50 is something to know to avoid or use as special effect.

Anyway I'm happy not to sell it and happier to use it from time to time.

Nothing in IQ to complain for me.

Edited May 27, 2022 by a.noctilux

[SrMi]

23 minutes ago, a.noctilux said:

Hello Sam,

As long time user of MATE, I think that this 28/35/50 would never "replace" the same fix focal lengths.

I like the lens as it is, almost sold it if my wife didn't want to use it.

Mate is handy and unique in M lenses, when changing lenses is not easy/possible, in life-size real use now I'd prefer fix lens one of 28/35/50 can do.

Many things to think about : the hiding VF portion (mainly 28mm) while the tiny Elmarit/Summaron 28mm let us "see" the whole framing.

 

1m closest focus when other can focus to 70cm if this can be counted.

Focus ring (version I , and tab on "II") is less pleasant in use than fix lenses that I use more.

The famous flare at 50 is something to know to avoid or use as special effect.

Anyway I'm happy not to sell it and happier to use it from time to time.

Nothing in IQ to complain for me.

This article claims that you can have a 40cm focus when setting the lens at 40mm (midpoint between 50 and 28). Is that true?

Most MATE lenses currently available are not 6-bit coded :(. Is it an issue? Do you need to keep changing the focal length in the menu?

[a.noctilux]

3 minutes ago, SrMi said:

 

This article claims that you can have a 40cm focus when setting the lens at 40mm (midpoint between 50 and 28). Is that true?

Most MATE lenses currently available are not 6-bit coded :(. Is it an issue? Do you need to keep changing the focal length in the menu?

Must be true, found this before the thread, I tried it and as I don't use LV much I leaved the trick in a case of my memory.

I choose "35" in menu for all of my mate use, if I need the info.

[skanga]

2 hours ago, SrMi said:

 

This article claims that you can have a 40cm focus when setting the lens at 40mm (midpoint between 50 and 28). Is that true?

Most MATE lenses currently available are not 6-bit coded :(. Is it an issue? Do you need to keep changing the focal length in the menu?

"Most MATE lenses currently available are not 6-bit coded :(. Is it an issue? Do you need to keep changing the focal length in the menu?" - good question, I would be interested to know.

[Jeff S]

Jeff

[lct]

35 minutes ago, skanga said:

"Most MATE lenses currently available are not 6-bit coded :(. Is it an issue? Do you need to keep changing the focal length in the menu?" - good question, I would be interested to know.

There are 3 different options in the M11's lens menu for 28mm, 35mm and 50mm focal lengths. Choosing the 50mm option triggers a higher shutter speed in auto iso mode (1/125s vs 1/80s e.g.) but i'm not aware of other modifications. 

[lct]

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3 hours ago, SrMi said:

This article claims that you can have a 40cm focus when setting the lens at 40mm (midpoint between 50 and 28). Is that true?

It is true and it works the same way as on other Leica or non Leica cameras. Reduces the MFD from 1m to about 0.5m but i never measured precisely. Here at about 0.5m on the M11.

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[skanga]

11 hours ago, a.noctilux said:

Must be true, found this before the thread, I tried it and as I don't use LV much I leaved the trick in a case of my memory.

I choose "35" in menu for all of my mate use, if I need the info.

Thanks!

[skanga]

9 hours ago, Jeff S said:

Jeff

Thanks for this link from 2017, Jeff!

This is great to know.

Sam

[SrMi]

A recent article about MATE by Mike Evans (macfilos.com):

Review: Leica Tri-Elmar MATE — buy one, get two free

[sarkleshark]

The more I use this lens, the more I appreciate it.  It makes a great one lens or adding 21 or 75 as per your taste a two lens outfit.  A one lens walkabout travel or street/outdoor party lens this so easy as you do not need to change lenses.  I had mine 6-bit coded and the camera knows which focal length is active just as it knows which frame line to show (I don't know if this also happens with manually assigning the six-bit code in the menu.  So if you do not have space or time to zoom in and out with your feet or time to change lens and are ok with f/4,  this lens is a great choice.  best wishes

[skanga]

1 hour ago, sarkleshark said:

The more I use this lens, the more I appreciate it.  It makes a great one lens or adding 21 or 75 as per your taste a two lens outfit.  A one lens walkabout travel or street/outdoor party lens this so easy as you do not need to change lenses.  I had mine 6-bit coded and the camera knows which focal length is active just as it knows which frame line to show (I don't know if this also happens with manually assigning the six-bit code in the menu.  So if you do not have space or time to zoom in and out with your feet or time to change lens and are ok with f/4,  this lens is a great choice.  best wishes

Fabulous, thanks for your thoughts on this lens. Where did you send the lens for coding?

Thanks

sam

[skanga]

4 hours ago, SrMi said:

A recent article about MATE by Mike Evans (macfilos.com):

Review: Leica Tri-Elmar MATE — buy one, get two free

Thank you!

Sam

[MarkP]

I have the 49mm v2 MATE. A love-hate relationship. 

Love: how this lens renders (gently but with detail) and colours, compact 3-in-1 lens, covers my most used focal lengths (28 & 50).

Hate: unpredictable flare at 50mm focal length (the main reason it gets less use than it should), and less so barrel distortion at 28mm. 

 

 

 

[skanga]

6 hours ago, MarkP said:

I have the 49mm v2 MATE. A love-hate relationship. 

Love: how this lens renders (gently but with detail) and colours, compact 3-in-1 lens, covers my most used focal lengths (28 & 50).

Hate: unpredictable flare at 50mm focal length (the main reason it gets less use than it should), and less so barrel distortion at 28mm. 

 

 

 

Thanks for your comments. I hear so much about flare at 50. That's a bit concerning, as I use 50 the most.

Sam

[lct]

9 hours ago, MarkP said:

Hate: unpredictable flare at 50mm focal length (the main reason it gets less use than it should) [...]

Unpredictable, it depends. Flare occurs mainly at 50mm when the sun or other bright light sources stand outside of the frame. Easy to see on the LCD or EVF in LV mode. Less so in RF mode obviously but abstaining from shooting into the light is a good way to avoid it. Example with he M11 here.

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[MarkP]

I fully know when to expect flare from bright light sources just outside the frame!

Many  lenses exhibit this to some extent.
 It is more than that, hence my use of ‘unpredictable. It’s often enough just to kill contrast within an area of the photograph. Even bright light sources, very bright objects, or unpredictable stray light (reflections off water) within the frame can lead to flare.  Leica have checked and serviced the lens, told me it’s an impeccable sample,  but a design issue.

So, it limits compositional options more than any of my other 50s.  That is my main complaint of the MATE.  However I’m still not selling it 🙂

4 hours ago, lct said:

Unpredictable, it depends. Flare occurs mainly at 50mm when the sun or other bright light sources stand outside of the frame. Easy to see on the LCD or EVF in LV mode. Less so in RF mode obviously but abstaining from shooting into the light is a good way to avoid it. Example with he M11 here.

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[lct]

39 minutes ago, MarkP said:

 It is more than that, hence my use of ‘unpredictable. It’s often enough just to kill contrast within an area of the photograph. Even bright light sources, very bright objects, or unpredictable stray light (reflections off water) within the frame can lead to flare.  Leica have checked and serviced the lens, told me it’s an impeccable sample,  but a design issue.

I can only speak about my v1. Using this lens in LV mode may help a lot as one sees the flare in action so to speak. In my modest experience, worse case is when the sun or other strong light source is outside of the frame, either above, at the right or at the left of it. Not to say that flare never happens when said sources are inside the frame but i did not find significant differences at 50mm compared to other focal lengths then. What is sure is this lens is not flare free be it at 28mm, 35mm or 50mm. The Wate is not perfect but i found it superior to the Mate from this viewpoint. FWIW.

Edited May 28, 2022 by lct

[MarkP]

11 hours ago, lct said:

I can only speak about my v1. Using this lens in LV mode may help a lot as one sees the flare in action so to speak. In my modest experience, worse case is when the sun or other strong light source is outside of the frame, either above, at the right or at the left of it. Not to say that flare never happens when said sources are inside the frame but i did not find significant differences at 50mm compared to other focal lengths then. What is sure is this lens is not flare free be it at 28mm, 35mm or 50mm. The Wate is not perfect but i found it superior to the Mate from this viewpoint. FWIW.

I agree that with live view or EVF its easier to pick the flare (but not always with live view if it's just subtle enough to slightly affect contrast in part of the scene.  But not all my cameras have had LV, certainly not my film Ms 🙄

Maybe v1 is a bit more flare resistant than v2 at 50mm, but less so at 28mm and 35mm  as I can't recall a photo significantly affected by flare at these two FLs.

 

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[lct]

15 minutes ago, MarkP said:

I agree that with live view or EVF its easier to pick the flare (but not always with live view if it's just subtle enough to slightly affect contrast in part of the scene.  But not all my cameras have had LV, certainly not my film Ms 🙄

Maybe v1 is a bit more flare resistant than v2 at 50mm, but less so at 28mm and 35mm  as I can't recall a photo significantly affected by flare at these two FLs.

I've heard that v1 and v2 are similar in matter of flare but i have no experience with v2 at all. Anyway i would not buy any Mate, be it v1 or v2, if i had to use it in RF mode only but it's me .