ELMAR-M 24mm f3.8 ASPH

[James1975]

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I have the chance to buy this lens brand new for only 1700€. Which, to me, sounds like a bit of a steal. I already own the 21/3.4 and it is my favourite, sharpest lens.

I wonder if owning the 21mm makes buying the 24mm redundant, or if both could happily coexist together and I'd be grateful for your collective thoughts... Does anyone own both or am I being greedy?

I'd be using it with the M11M for street and travel.

Thanks in advance.

[RexGig0]

21mm and 24mm are quite far apart, in angles of view. I do not believe that having both is redundant. My 21mm M lenses are Zeiss ZM and Voitlander VM, rather than Leica, but my 24mm is the Elmar-M f/3.8 ASPH, a most wonderful lens. Having paid about $2400 US for the Elmar-M, in 2022, 1700 Euros does seem to be a good deal.

Edited August 20, 2023 by RexGig0

[Ecar]

Get it if you can afford it. The price seems good, especially if it's brand new, as it was discontinued a couple of years ago IIRC.
I have both. My composition skills are not good enough to do street with the 21mm. I get better results with the 24mm, if only because it's a bit more forgiving in terms of perspective and because I can compose using the edges of the rangefinder window as a frame, without needing an external OVF or EVF on digital.

[RexGig0]

Notably, adding the Elmar-M 24mm ASPH did not affect my use of my 21mm lenses, but did tend to relegate my 28mm lenses to niche status. (Elmarit-M 28mm Version III, and Summaron 28mm LTM.) I still like really like using the 21mm focal length. When I do still use a 28mm Elmarit, it is more for my Version III’s quite dramatically cinematic flare, for woodland photography, than its 28mm focal length. The Elmar-M 24mm ASPH is quite well-corrected, with more-modern coatings, so is not prone to flare. Of course, my 28mm Summaron is “slow,” with a maximum aperture of f/5.6, and its tiny size is only rarely helpful.

I do not (yet) possess a 21mm SEM, but would think that the SEM, and the Elmar-M 24mm ASPH, would be a wonderful wide-angle “team.”

[doubleW]

I have owned the Elmar-M 24mm asph for about ten years.  I find the results on a par with my APO-Summicron 50mm.  Frankly, I could easily live with just these two lenses, even though I use other Leica lenses.  I used to own a Super Elmar 21mm that was nowhere near the performance of my 24mm asph.  I know people rave about that lens...perhaps my sample was defective and I later sold it.  I find the Elmar 24mm gives a wide perspective without appearing to distort - something I cannot say about 21mm.

[FDS]

Each of the focal lengths is quite distinctive and I wound up having them all, in the form most useful for me: 18 SE, 21 SE, 24 E, 28 'lux, 35 APO.

I carry the ones I think I'm most likely to use for each occasion.  Usually take the 35, 28 and 21 but the 35, 24 and 18 work very well together, too.   

 

 

 

Edited August 20, 2023 by FDS

[Olaf_ZG]

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A steal indeed. Buy it.

[pedaes]

1 hour ago, Ecar said:

bit more forgiving in terms of perspective and because I can compose using the edges of the rangefinder window as a frame, without needing an external OVF or EVF on digital.

I agree this is one of the big advantages of a 24mm. The Elmar-M is a stellar lens very sharp at 3.8 across the frame.

Edited August 20, 2023 by pedaes

[oldwino]

This lens falls into the "fantastic" category.

[didier]

Agree with all the above : the Elmar is an amazing Lens, sharpness and correction.

at this price you çan’t go wrong !

[Kl@usW.]

vor 4 Stunden schrieb James1975:

I have the chance to buy this lens brand new for only 1700€. Which, to me, sounds like a bit of a steal. I already own the 21/3.4 and it is my favourite, sharpest lens.

I wonder if owning the 21mm makes buying the 24mm redundant, or if both could happily coexist together and I'd be grateful for your collective thoughts... Does anyone own both or am I being greedy?

I'd be using it with the M11M for street and travel.

Thanks in advance.

I own both- the 21 and the 24. They are quite  different animals and  I don't see the problem of redundancy.  The 24 is an ideal FL for "people" and "street" in tight surroundings. If you pay a little attention to avoid tilting and look for an interesting  foreground, it will give you a very pleasant perspective  without screaming WIDE at you. So for me a useful "everyday" lens which the 21 E definitely isn´t. 

Technically the 24 E does everything you could reasonably expect from a modern lens: 

  

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MP; Fuji Acros (?) , 24 E 

Edited August 20, 2023 by Kl@usW.
picture added