Additional information on the new 28/2,8 ASPH?

[berndr]

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The MTFs are out:

 

Leica Camera AG - Photography - LEICA ELMARIT-M 28 mm f/2.8 ASPH.

 

Best regards,

Bernd.

[marknorton]

Having now played with this lens, I think it is going to be vary popular - small size, great focussing action and reasonable price will, I think make it the entry lens of choice for M8 buyers and a great choice too for film users.

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[wbesz]

I have this lens and have been using it for several days now but have not seen the results. When I get my films processed, then perhaps I can post some images (if my shots are any good , that is).

 

The lens appears to be glued onto my M7 .

 

Cheers

[MP3]

Hi William

 

Your new photos from 28/2.8 is very much anticipated here =)

 

Best

Matthew

[FMB]

I have two questions:

 

1- The lenses designed only for M8 would they have the same specifications than the ones for 24x36 mm?

 

2- Could they be, preserving the same quality, cheaper?

 

Francisco (I`m spanish, excuse my horrible english).

[marknorton]

The 28mm f2.8 is designed for both full frame film cameras as well as the M8,

 

Leica undeobutedly had a problem because the traditional entry-level lens - the 50mm Summicron for film cameras is not so relevant to the M8 and they needed to provide a comparably priced entry level lens for M8 users. Otherwise, M8 buyers new to Leica would be faced with the 35mm Summicron as the entry point which is €700 more. It makes perfect sense then for them to have introduced another lens priced almost exactly the same as the 50mm Summicron.

 

I think this lens is going to be very popular and the pricing will assume that.

[wbesz]

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I have two questions:

 

1- The lenses designed only for M8 would they have the same specifications than the ones for 24x36 mm?

 

2- Could they be, preserving the same quality, cheaper?

 

Francisco (I`m spanish, excuse my horrible english).

 

As Mark has already said.

 

The lens is the usual verry high quality, no different than any other lens.

It is cheaper because it is f2.8 (Elmarit-M) instead of f2.0 (Summicron-M).

 

Also, the main engineering goal was is to engineer a more compact lens. The quality is excellent, ...just 30mm long without the hood.

[captain]

"I have this lens and have been using it for several days now but have not seen the results. When I get my films processed, then perhaps I can post some images (if my shots are any good , that is)."

 

Where did you get the lens from? Its not avalable for general sale yet?

[lct]

Should be available at the end of October according to SH Photo in Germany.

[rosuna]

Erwin Puts has published his analysis:

 

http://www.imx.nl/photosite/leica/elmarit28asph/elmarit.html

 

R.

[lct]

Should be available at the end of October according to SH Photo in Germany.

Yet available at SH Photo for 1,164 Euro + 16% VAT for European buyers:

http://shphoto.de/cgi-bin/shphotoe.pl?f=NR&c=12246&t=temartic

[Ivar B]

The information on the new 28/2,8 ASPH is very scarce.

Leica has not yet published MTF graphs or lens diagrams, distorison measures... The only information is a picture of the lens.

Many people would like to have more information before ordering a copy...

 

Erwin Puts at Erwins Photosite has already tested the lens. It appears that the lens is a good performer, although he points out some clear problems as well. It does not appear to be a better performer than the 2.8/28 it replaces.

[rosuna]

Looking at the MTF graphs my conclusion is different.

The Elmarit is a superb lens. Considering the crop factor (you have not to worry about the fall-off performance) it is a performer as good as the Summicron, and better than the 35mm ASPH, cron and lux.

[lct]

...It does not appear to be a better performer than the 2.8/28 it replaces.

I don't know but the 28/2.8 asph is cheaper then the pre-asph obviously.

Also the best charts don't make the best lenses needless to say.

More important to know how's the fingerprint of the lens IMHO.

[k_g_wolf ✝]

"I have this lens and have been using it for several days now but have not seen the results. When I get my films processed, then perhaps I can post some images (if my shots are any good , that is)."

 

Where did you get the lens from? Its not avalable for general sale yet?

 

 

Roumors have it, William B. recently was at the right place at the right time. At the day of the lensrelease

he happened to be in the LEICA shop in Solms when they had ONLY one for the general public ....

 

>> Der fruehe Vogel faengt den Wurm<< a german saying:

the early worm is cought by the bird, or something like this.

 

Enjoy your lens William, and please show us some photographs taken with it.

 

Thx.

 

Best

[wbesz]

Roumors have it, William B. recently was at the right place at the right time. At the day of the lensrelease

he happened to be in the LEICA shop in Solms when they had ONLY one for the general public ....

 

>> Der fruehe Vogel faengt den Wurm<< a german saying:

the early worm is cought by the bird, or something like this.

 

Enjoy your lens William, and please show us some photographs taken with it.

 

Thx.

Best

 

Thanks Georg, yes, I was at the right place at the right time (just like photography), and somehow became the Leica's first customer for this lens, ...just one spare lens from the Solms store.

 

Regards, William

[christer]

you may want to read this

 

http://www.imx.nl/photosite/leica/elmarit28asph/elmarit.html

[wizard]

The lens now appears to have made it into the shops, had one in my hands yesterday here in Munich. Quality seems to be very much like all other Leica M-lenses, with focussing being very smooth and aperture stops positively clicking into place. A Summicron 2/28 I checked for comparison had a more substantive feel to it, but then it has more mass, which may account for the difference in feel.

 

It (the new 28mm) is a sweet little lens though.

 

Cheers,

 

Andy

 

P.S.: Karl Georg, they do have the same saying in English: "Der fruehe Vogel faengt den Wurm" is 'The early bird catches the worm' in English (if I am not wrong), so it's a literal translation of that saying. Grüße, Andreas

[rosuna]

The best charts don't make the best lenses needless to say.

More important to know how's the fingerprint of the lens IMHO.

 

That's true. But the MTF graphs say something meaningful. The curves at 1:2.8 are very eloquent. Quite similar to the curves of the Summicron until 16mm from the center. Really impressive. Erwin Puts says the same:

 

At 3 meters distance (100 times focal length) the lens has excellent overall contrast and the micro-contrast is of a high order, at least till an image height of 15mm, beyond which one sees a gradual softening of detail and at the extreme corners the finest detail is not captured, compared to what can be seen at smaller apertures. But if this level of detail is required, one will stop down a bit.

 

 

Even more, compare it with the curves of the 35/2 ASPH, the 24/2.8 ASPH and 50/2 at 1:2.8. The new Elmarit seems to be better. I was surprised when I read this from Puts:

 

Overall the fingerprint of this lens wide open and at smaller apertures leans a bit in the direction of the Zeiss philosophy of lenses: reduction of flare and distortion is of more importance than striving for the maximum contrast wide open. If you need that high contrast performance wide open, Leica offers the Summicron 2/28mm ASPH.

 

If you read it more carefully, it is right, because Puts is comparing the lens with the 28/2 ASPH. But it is not all the truth, just because the new Elmarit is much better than other famous M lenses in terms of contrast of fine detail. Puts only compares lenses with the same FoV, but a more general comparison would have been good for a correct understanding of the relative qualities of this new lens. Consider that the new Elmarit has an equivalent FoV on the M8 than the 35mm lenses on film.

 

The new Elmarit (I have not tested it yet) is a incredible achievement. It is the smallest lens in the M line, one of the cheaper lenses and one of the best performers. This can be deduced from the MTFs graphs. Erwin Puts' conclusions seems to be much colder, and I don't understand why.

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Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[waterlenz]

The lens now appears to have made it into the shops, had one in my hands yesterday here in Munich. Quality seems to be very much like all other Leica M-lenses, with focussing being very smooth and aperture stops positively clicking into place. A Summicron 2/28 I checked for comparison had a more substantive feel to it, but then it has more mass, which may account for the difference in feel.

 

It (the new 28mm) is a sweet little lens though.

 

Cheers,

 

Andy

 

P.S.: Karl Georg, they do have the same saying in English: "Der fruehe Vogel faengt den Wurm" is 'The early bird catches the worm' in English (if I am not wrong), so it's a literal translation of that saying. Grüße, Andreas

 

I learned it as 'the early bird gets the worm' - the Brits might have it differently!