Leica Elmarit-R 28mm f/2.8 : Specifications and Opinions

Reviews

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Jörg Beschmann

sent on 12 Luglio 2023

Pros: small, sharpness, resolution, colours, contrast, ... and the latest version has floating elements

Cons: price and Leica dealers keep the prices high

Opinion: The thing with this tiny lens is quite simple. It out performs most of the 28mm lenses on the planet. The ones which are better are very often huge. The challenge with this lens is to find the digital camera body which fits best. I have used it with a Sony A7R II and a Nikon Z6 II. The resolution of the Sony A7R II fits well to Elmarit-R 28mm. Nikon Z6 II supports the rendering of the lens. I think the colours are much better. Maybe a Nikon Z7 is a good choice for this lens. The lens blur at f2.8 is nice and it allows to seperate the object from other things in the frame - when you are close enough. I would not work with the concept of "hyperfocal distance". Even in landscape pics it's obvious when the sharpness has not been set to the right spot. The lens feels great when you have an object and you need to try things out, e.g. different angles, different distances and you have to move. It's kind of action lens. The rival of this lens in the Leica shelf is the Leica Vario-Elmar-R 21-35mm. Both are great. I would not give a strong recommendation for both lenses. Sometimes you buy a good Leica R lens, it does not give the expected satisfaction. Then you have to send to Leica in Germany to get it serviced and that means you have to wait for long period - a few month or more. Considering the image quality of today's standard zooms there is no need to get this lens. Because of the money it's just irrational to buy this lens.

The following opinions have been automatically translated with Google Translate.

Covre

sent on 30 Novembre 2024

Pros: Impeccable construction, nice to handle, flare resistance despite acceptable age

Cons: little engraved especially at the edges

Opinion: it is a disappointing lens, it does not solve well even the 24mp of a Sony A7 II, at the edges it is never really sharp even stopped. The colors are Leitz therefore very pleasant, the rendering in the shadows is very good but overall it does not excel in anything. He was discreet at the time of the film but did not stand the years. It costs relatively little used but at the same price you buy a distagon with much much higher performance

Everlastingz

sent on 10 Novembre 2023

Pros: build quality, optics, files, lens hood.

Cons: It's addictive.

Opinion: I have the version with a VI lens hood and it looks like new, with no signs of wear or scratches. Fantastic lens that I use with a lot of love on the Fuji X-Pro2. I have to say that I really like the 28mm focal length that then becomes 42 on Fuji. The only defect that is addictive. Hard to take it off to use the 23F2. Paid 400 euros, but I think it's money well spent. Coupled with the orange 48mm Vivitar filter to darken the sky since I shoot in BW and the SOOC file produced by my fuji is already perfect.

Giosanta

sent on 17 Gennaio 2022

Pros: Optical performance, build quality

Cons: Nothing

Opinion: It is difficult to tell a Leica goal. Let's say that in my personal opinion this, like other Rs, give the prints a material thickness that I have not had the opportunity to recount in other noble Japanese dynasties, except in part only the Zuiko. He never loved this focal length but, with the Leica, I had to change my mind. Sold unfortunately the first a long time ago, I recently took another three cams to use it on my Leicaflex SL and R8. Apart from, so to speak, this "non-measurable" feature, the other parameters are in the norm of the best wide angles that I have had the opportunity to use. Another aspect in which it clearly detaches itself from the competition is in the build quality, but it is also true that even from this point of view the House of Solms does not give anything.

Charliepersol

sent on 16 Novembre 2021

Pros: Lively yield, low distortion.

Cons: I can't find any.

Opinion: Never loved the 28 mm as a focal length. This lens made me change my mind. I use it on the Leica R4/R6 and I find it really exciting: contrasted and with very reasonable distortion for the focal length. Vivid and natural colors. Excellent construction. I can not make too technical considerations, I have not had the opportunity to do even too many tests, I have only taken photographs for the pleasure of making them and it came naturally to me to use both this lens and with other equivalents of other brands it has never happened to me and in some cases I have replaced with a 20 or a 35 mm.

Charliepersol

Maurizio Trifilidis

sent on 13 Novembre 2019

Pros: shade in general and in particular embodied, build quality, value hold, lightness

Cons: Can be used on Nikon bodies only in stop down; diameter filters, but it can become an advantage.

Opinion: Original lens modified, reversibly, with F graft; in these cases you work in stop down, which is a constraint for the street but does not create problems for landscapes, main field of use; between 5.6 and 8 give the maximum and it is easy to shoot in hyperfocal; Pleasant vignette but still easy to eliminate at maximum opening. 48mm filters, which require the use of a step up and the ability to use 52 filters (of which the old nikonista usually has ample availability; especially those to shoot directly in black). Often used, with satisfaction, on the D850 as an alternative to Sigma art 35, the latter sharper but with less pleasant and real shades for my taste. Also tried on Z6, with FTZ, as an alternative to the 24/79 f4 zoom, where for my taste, the corresponding focal is preferred. That's why I decided to sell it and switch to the Leica M model, even lighter and usable on the Z more easily. Recommended for those who are looking for unique shades and, for me now more and more important, want to reduce weights or carry more equipment for the same weight overall.

Piergiovanni Pierantozzi

sent on 02 Maggio 2017

Pros: Aesthetically pleasing lens with its conical-shaped hood, Leica mechanic, excellent optical quality but all to be studied, particularly pictorial and creative effects

Cons: Vignette visible to open diaphragms, focal aberration "spherical"

Opinion: It is a definitely dated lens (mine is from the early seventies of last century) but it can give you great satisfaction. I've been able to mount it on Nikon with the adapter ring that allows for endless focus (I tried both the Fotodiox and the Leitax, both valid but with a run end that goes beyond infinity, but that's not a problem Essential) and of course you have to focus manually. The yield is exceptional for the quality of the colors the environmental sensation it makes. The open diaphragms are noticeable for vignetting (post-production eliminable) that is not only visible from f8 onwards. Another problem is the focal aberration that the low diaphragms blur the parts not in the center of the image as if the lens was to focus not a plan but a curved bottom. It is not particularly noticeable, but it is a defect that the full frame is noticeable, however, that it can be used in its favor if, at the sides of the frame,39 there are some of the closest parts that remain astonishingly in focus (see the photograph of the gate below). It is therefore a lens with merits and defects, which can be greatly appreciated if you learn to know it. I'm glad I bought it (350 euros plus 50 or 100 euros the adapter ring).