Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH

asiafish

asiafish

All-Pro
Location
Bakersfield, CA
Name
Andrew
I bought this a few-weeks-ago and haven't played with it much. Got a very good deal so I just pulled the trigger, figuring it would be easy to sell on if I didn't like it. Not having an external viewfinder I find it very hard to predict what I will get on the sensor.

Anyway, here are two shots I grabbed at a local stripmall while waiting for my take-out sushi order. Nothing special about the images, just trying to get a feel for the lens. The towers were shot on the M Monochrom at ISO 320 and the sign at ISO 6400 (in almost total darkness), both at f/3.8 (wide-open). No filter, minimal post.

Still trying to decide if I want to invest in a viewfinder (at which point I'll probably keep it) or just sell it on.

12078604665_a10d275d17_b.jpg

L1001736-Edit.jpg by Lawman1967, on Flickr

12079027074_4b516bcab4_b.jpg

L1001741-Edit.jpg by Lawman1967, on Flickr
 
Yes, I've been looking at Flickr results for this lens for about a year now and I like and enjoy 24mm on my SLRs. Its VERY hard to use without an external viewfinder on the M Monochrom, and external viewfinders are expensive enough (for good ones) that I have to know I like using it to spend the money.

Now if a good deal on a used external VF (Leica or Zeiss) should pop up....
 
Trash day today! 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH, no filter, minimal post. This shot was at ISO 1600 on the M Monochrom, 1/25th of a second wide-open at f/3.8. Still guessing on framing without a 24mm viewfinder, but I'm really liking the way this lens handles and the abundant depth of field even without stopping down.

12086877055_61891e5afa_b.jpg

L1001747-Edit.jpg by Lawman1967, on Flickr
 
I got a chance to borrow one with a Monochrom and walked around Wash DC for two hours. Made me want a Monochrom and the 24, wish I could have taken them home. I think the only reason to stop this lens down is to have more depth of field, I thought it was sharp enough wide open.
wbill
 
@agfa100, Thats what everyone (including Leica) says. The shot above was at f/3.8 and was focused on the white numbers in the middle of the front trash can. Distance was only about 6 feet. The car is in acceptable focus and even the background is only very slightly blurred. At f/8 you get sharp focus from about 3.5 feet to infinity.

Did you use an accessory viewfinder with the 24 and Monochrom? If not, what was your technique for guessing composition?
 
Just visited Samy's Camera in Los Angeles and after my jaw hit the floor at the almost $800 price of Leica's 24mm viewfinder, the Leica guy there suggested I see if they had the Panasonic viewfinder near the Lumix cameras.

They had it, it cost $150 bucks, and while made of plastic and nowhere near as nice as the Leica one, it did show an accurate 24mm frame line and is actually quite nice.

So, I'm in business, and should get some use out of the 24 Elmar and the cheapie Lumix viewfinder at my workshop this weekend.
 
I was lucky they let me use a 24mm finder, and I had one of those shots where I had to open it up 3.5 stops and it still looked ok made me really appreciate what you can do with Monochrom files. Now it's back to my Ricoh GXR with the A12-m module.
wbill
 
It will be slow. Remodel should be finished in a week or so, but after that I'm not going to do anything with it until November. Too many other things going on before I can open.
 
Its my favourite wide angle focal length by far, I have CV 21, CV 25 and the 28 Elmarit ASPH but the 25 has pretty much taken over due to my love for this focal lengths characteristics.

I bought a second hand Leica 24mm viewfinder for 2/5 of what the current one costs new. The one I have looks identical to the current bright line finder and it has the smaller 32mm frame for the M8 in it but the body is black plastic rather than metal. Its very light and they do seem to come up for sale fairly often at this sort of price. It also has a soft ring around the eye piece which is great for glasses wearers. Base is both offset and angled slightly to correct the framing. Definitely recommended.
 
I just bit thebullet and bought the expensive Leica viewfinder. Very overpriced, BUT the it is a thing of beauty.

NJH said:
Its my favourite wide angle focal length by far, I have CV 21, CV 25 and the 28 Elmarit ASPH but the 25 has pretty much taken over due to my love for this focal lengths characteristics.

I bought a second hand Leica 24mm viewfinder for 2/5 of what the current one costs new. The one I have looks identical to the current bright line finder and it has the smaller 32mm frame for the M8 in it but the body is black plastic rather than metal. Its very light and they do seem to come up for sale fairly often at this sort of price. It also has a soft ring around the eye piece which is great for glasses wearers. Base is both offset and angled slightly to correct the framing. Definitely recommended.
Click to expand...
 

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