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Lux 21 with M8 - Impressions & some pictures


Ecar

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The pictures that I like the most in the group are the ones that are shot far away and at 1.4 then, they just seem to have something special without it being ovious. Did you focus on the quiosks? I also like how they are shot against the sun and the colours in the objects show very well.

 

I also use the 21 lenses without the external finder.

 

Yes Manolo, I focussed on the huts. I agree that these have something special (should we call that "Leica glow"?;)). But I'd say a lot of this is down to the light, which was truly unbelievable.

 

As Thorsten suggested in a previous post, the lens should also be able to shine (no pun intended) in close-up situations were you'd want to isolate a strong foreground. This, however, implies that you get very close to the main subject - and focus very precisely - with the lens wide open. My only attempt so far at achieving this resulted in the pictures from the diner's window - i.e., with a static main subject. I suspect a moving target will be very much hit-and-miss - particularly if I'd want to use an external finder - and/or will require a serious overhaul of my phototgraphy skills:rolleyes:.

 

My current feeling is that I have only started to climb a long and steep learning curve with this lens...

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For those of you who are contemplating the purchase of this latest, big and expensive engineering prowess from our friends in Solms :P (until such time as the new Nocti becomes available), I thought I'd post a few pictures taken during a recent trip to Florida.

All converted in LR, with standard adjustments (WB, curves and BW conversion - and, oh, yes, liberal use of the clone/heal tool to remove several small specks by courtesy of a dusty sensor...)

 

All in all, this lens a fantastic tool, and f/1.4 makes it highly versatile. I like the way colors and OOF areas are rendered, as well as its sharpness, although these are, as always, highly subjective factors. Distortion is very acceptable (to me at least) and you need to try really hard to start noticing some flare.

 

I'm also happy that I didn't upgrade the shutter, as I found myself hitting 1/8000s quite frequently even in moderate sunlight. ND filter may be the way to go with the new shutter or the M8.2 if one does not want to stop down when using the lens on sunny days.

 

I guess my biggest gripes are inherent to the fact that it's such an extreme design (but then, you can't have everything, can you?):

 

1- The lens is big - although handling is rather easy and it doesn't feel too disproportionate on the M8 - and so is the hood (not vented); in consequence, a fairly large portion of the viewfinder is blocked and a good dose of guesswork is required to include the lower right corner in the composition you are trying to achieve;

 

2- Fringing is very apparent when shooting wide open into a strong source of light (somewhat like the current f/1.0 Nocti in this respect); this improves somewhat as you stop down.

 

The above are just my impressions after a few days of real-life use.

I understand Sean Reid is working on a review of this lens: I'll be very interested to see what he thinks.

 

P.S.: for those who are interested, I have uploaded more on my zenfolio site (all the pictures currently in the Miami Beach set were taken with this lens)

 

I would guess that the reason Leica didn't bother with a vented hood is that an external viewfinder is required in any event. What is seen through the standard viewfinder is way too far removed from the actual view to be in any way useful. JMHO

 

Woody

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I would guess that the reason Leica didn't bother with a vented hood is that an external viewfinder is required in any event. What is seen through the standard viewfinder is way too far removed from the actual view to be in any way useful. JMHO

 

Woody

 

Woody,

 

I respect your viewpoint - which has also been made previously by Sean and others - but, believe me, with a bit of practice, using the edges of the camera's viewfinder gives satisfactory results on smaller, less obtrusive lenses (e.g., the CV 21). It worked for me on the Lux too, although I don't deny there's quite a bit of guessing involved in figuring out what's going on in that lower right corner, which a vented hood may have somewhat reduced.

 

It all depends on the type of pictures you take and how quickly you want to be able to react to changes in your "photographic environment".

It's a trade-off between achieving the exact composition you want and being able to capture a fugitive moment.

Highly subjective, I know...

 

And yes, I have an external finder coming and I'll try and see whether I'm able to manage with it. I use an external finder with my CV 15, but then I don't need to focus (although this will change with the new coupled version).

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First, I don't have doubts about the ability of the 21 f/1.4, or the fact that it is a technical tour de force to get that speed and performance into a package that is smaller than a Canon or Nikon 20 f/2.8, but...

 

for me the "correct" size for a Leica-M 21mm lens is still the f/3.4 Super-Angulon...

 

leica.overgaard.dk - Thorsten Overgaard's Leica Sites - The Leica M4 camera

 

(courtesy our buddy Thorsten's site)

 

Unfortunately, given the demands of metering and, perhaps, digital sensors, that era is probably gone forever, especially with the crop factor of the M8.

 

For the moment, I'm sticking with my 15 c/v when I want "Super-Angulon" compactness and FoV, and a 21 f/2.8 when I need a larger aperture. Some day there will be a reasonably-sized way to shoot (digitally) a full 21 FoV at f/3.4 or faster - either a FF body or a 16 f/3.4-2.8-2.0 smaller than the Zeiss 15. That's when I'll spend some money.

Edited by adan
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ecar,

many thanks for sharing your pictures, i like them a lot, especially #2 with the red chairs. i was a bit shocked when i saw the volume of the lens - for me it would be huge. probably one gets used to it, but i'd be really concerned whether i want to carry that much glass with me ...

 

markus

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ecar,

many thanks for sharing your pictures, i like them a lot, especially #2 with the red chairs. i was a bit shocked when i saw the volume of the lens - for me it would be huge. probably one gets used to it, but i'd be really concerned whether i want to carry that much glass with me ...

 

markus

 

Markus,

Thanks - much appreciated.

Indeed, this is a fairly sizeable piece of glass, but it gives you f/1.4 if and when needed.

The photo you mentioned, for example, was taken in dim light and without tripod. I couldn't have achieved that with my CV 21/4.

Ideally, as Sean Reid suggested, one may want to have a lens combo for this kind of wide focal lenghts: a small, light and unobtrusive lens for daylight/street work and a larger, heavier - but faster - one for situations where light is poor. Horses for courses, as the saying goes...

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