Advice on 24mm needed

[RexGig0]

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I really like the Elmar-M 24mm f/3.8 ASPH. I acquired both of mine pre-owned, but well-preserved. Based upon one walk-about, along a rural road, lined with houses, in a heavily-wooded area, I liked the first Elmar 24 so much that when another similarly-good one became available, soon afterward, I bought it, too. I found 24mm to be SO MUCH more interesting than 28mm. 

Why two identical lenses? Well, 24mm M lenses, other than the Summilux, had not yet caught the attention of collectors, at the time, but, I reckoned that one internet influencer could suddenly change the demand/price equation, so, I decided to hedge my bets. Plus, now and then, I will shoot with the same focal length on both Monochrom and color M cameras. So, when I really like an M lens, I am likely to want a spare. 

Regarding the matter of depth-of-field, for street shooting, well, is not most street photography done with the aperture quite stopped-down?

Before I bought my first Elmar 24, I acquired a pre-owned, well-preserved Zeiss Biogon 25mm f/2.8 ZM. The Zeiss certainly seems capable, but, the Elmar has gotten more of my attention, to the point that I only have a very few test shots with the Biogon. Admittedly, my 24mm, 25mm, and 28mm lenses “struggle” for my attention, because I shoot mostly with 35mm and 50mm lenses, with 21mm also being a favored focal length. My 24mm, 25mm, 28mm, 75mm, and 90mm M-mount lenses tend to remain at home, unless I have a specific task pre-planned. I want to my 24mm and 25mm lenses during a multi-state road trip, for landscapes and urban walking-about, but, life events keep getting in the way.

Edited August 23 by RexGig0

[LeicaR10]

Alexander108,   I see you have received a number of recommendations and advice from well intentioned photographers to include myself.  Personally, I used the Leica 24 Elmar for landscape photography.  Its has excellent color, contrast, almost no field curvature and very low distortion.  Its considered one of the best Leica M wide angle lenses ever created.  The Leica 24 Summilux is quite unique in its rendering and it too, is stellar, and many who use the lens will list its qualities.  It will get down to your intended use and genres of photography.  IMO, the rendering is most often a key aspect to consider with any lens.  I recommend you take a look at this site and see for yourself how the various lenses render.  This should help you with making the right decision.   r/ Mark

Try:  24 Elmar   https://onfotolife.com/lens_sample_photos?lens_id=339&page=1&focal_min=0&focal_max=800&aperture_min=0&aperture_max=32

Try:  24 Summilux  https://onfotolife.com/lens_sample_photos?lens_id=341&page=1&focal_min=0&focal_max=800&aperture_min=0&aperture_max=32 

Try:  21 Super Elmar  https://onfotolife.com/lens_sample_photos?lens_id=336&page=1&focal_min=0&focal_max=800&aperture_min=0&aperture_max=32

PS  The site also has Zeiss and other manufacturers.  As you look at each photograph, note the various cameras models that are used with the lens.

[costa43]

I own the 24mm Elmar f3.8 and it’s pretty much perfect in optical performance, at least as perfect as you can expect for a small M lens. Its size is ideal too. The trade off is of course the f3.8. At night or indoors, it’s not ideal for me and it doesn’t get used but I have a standard M11-P and not the Mono. 

Edited August 23 by costa43

[otto.f]

I prefer my Elmarit very much above what I’ve seen from the 3.4, which I find a bit digital. The Summilux is much too expensive to live up to the spreaded pretention that it is a lens for artists; what the 3.4 has too much, bite, has the Summilux not enough. I make very nice photo’s with my Elmarit, they always have something special and actually I find the current price on the market a bit below it’s value. 

Chania, Greece; Monochrome1.

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Edited August 23 by otto.f

[pedaes]

1 hour ago, costa43 said:

I own the 24mm Elmar f3.8 and it’s pretty much perfect in optical performance,

Agree. 24mm 3.8 / M10

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[52K]

The 24mm Elmarit M f2.8 is a nicely affordable lens and stunning quality. I'm shooting 60MP on an M11M with mine and the resolution it can deliver is absolutely outstanding. 

Colour and contrast is lovely too so, definitely worth a look. 

[audiophileguy]

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Of all the lenses I own (Tri-Elmar, 35 summilux ASPH, 75 summilux, 50 Noktilux, 90 APO Summicron ASPH, Zeiss 15 2.8), 

my most used lens is the 24 2.8 Elmarit ----on my M10R and M8 bodies.  This is a great lens that creates shots that

I can crop if too large without losing very much.  It simply captures everything well, with enough speed for me.  I have the electronic viewfinder, but after time I have found that I can pretty well estimate the boundaries beyond the frame without using it, so I can focus using the rangefinder...

[beewee]

The 24 Elmar is the sharpest 24mm lens that Leica has ever made. I would happily shoot it along side a 35/50 APO and it’ll look the part.

With a monochrome sensor, you have more than enough dynamic range to crank up the ISO. So it boils more down to whether you want the unique shallow depth of field of the Summilux or the corner to corner sharpness of the Elmar. I don’t see the point of the elmarit and neither did Leica because it was discontinued when the Summilux and Elmar became available.

One other option worth exploring though if 21mm is not a deal breaker is the Thypoch 21mm f/1.4 Simera. Early reviews show it’s got a similar shallow depth of field look of the 21 Summilux but is actually sharper than the Summilux and costs 1/10th the price of the Summilux. The MTF charts also seem to confirm this.

[Eoin]

I use both the Elmarits & Summiluxs in both 21 & 24 extensively and generally up close to the subject matter. The Summilux 24 has soared in price with some dealers looking for between €6 to €8 thousand euros for complete examples. The Summilux 21 can be got for closer to €4k

In terms of usability, I have no issues with the size, but the 21 Summilux is considerably larger than the 24 Summilux, both Elmarits are about the same size.

The Elmarits came out very well in E.Putts lens compendium when I read it many years ago even when compared to their Elmar counterparts. Today, the Elmarits can be picked up 6bit coded for about  €1.5k where as the Elmars are €2.5k.

Personally, I prefer the Summilux 24 as my go lens for the focal range 21 to 28, it has a wonderful rendering. But at current prices if I was to do it again, I'd choose the Elmarit 24 and get on with life with a few extra euros in my pocket and happy with my choice.

[Alexander108]

Thank you all for your advice. I finally bought a preowned Leica Elmarit 1:2.8 / 24mm ASPH (11878) including 6bit coding (which is nice). It comes with a nice hood that snaps on. However, when I use my E55 B+W yellow filter, the hood does not attach anymore. If anyone is using this lens, how do you use a color filter at the same time? Or is the hood just not necessary? Thank you.

Here's a picture (more a test shot in our neighborhood) with the new 24mm w/o hood but with yellow filter.

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[MarkP]

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Edited September 15 by MarkP

[pedaes]

5 hours ago, Alexander108 said:

I finally bought a preowned Leica Elmarit 1:2.8 / 24mm ASPH

Congrats and enjoy!