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Author Topic: Elmarit 28mm f/2.8 on Olympus E-M5III - Any experience  (Read 649 times)

artl52

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Elmarit 28mm f/2.8 on Olympus E-M5III - Any experience
« on: August 09, 2020, 05:40:03 pm »

Does anyone have any experience using an Elmarit 28mm f/2.8 on an Olympus M 4/3 system.
I've moved from Canon to Olympus E-M5III and am thinking of getting an Elmarit and using this as my "standard" prime (with equivalent) on my Oly.

Seems like the Elmarit gets good reviews, is small and would be a good fit.

Thoughts?

.....Art
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Paul_Roark

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Re: Elmarit 28mm f/2.8 on Olympus E-M5III - Any experience
« Reply #1 on: August 11, 2020, 11:24:05 am »

Leica M wide angle lenses were originally made for film cameras.  As such, they have ray angles at the film plane that are more obtuse than those that are now made for digital cameras.  Additionally, the older lenses did not include the sensor cover glass in their formulas.  The glass causes some curvature of field on the digital cameras.  So, if the Elmarit is an old one, the image will not be as good as it was on film.  I believe Leica released newer versions of some of these old optics that were modified for digital bodies. 

The smaller sensor will reduce the significance of these issues, but be aware that wide angle designs for digital cameras are slightly different than the older film camera lens designs.  I found my older Elmarit unacceptable on a full frame digital body, but the 50mm Leica worked well.  Whether the smaller sensor is enough different to be closer to my 50mm experience is beyond my experience to comment on. 

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com

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RichDesmond

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Re: Elmarit 28mm f/2.8 on Olympus E-M5III - Any experience
« Reply #2 on: August 11, 2020, 08:58:38 pm »

Does anyone have any experience using an Elmarit 28mm f/2.8 on an Olympus M 4/3 system.
I've moved from Canon to Olympus E-M5III and am thinking of getting an Elmarit and using this as my "standard" prime (with equivalent) on my Oly.

Seems like the Elmarit gets good reviews, is small and would be a good fit.

Thoughts?

.....Art
Why not one of the excellent native 25mm options?
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JeffSD

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    • Jeff Maysent Photography
Re: Elmarit 28mm f/2.8 on Olympus E-M5III - Any experience
« Reply #3 on: August 12, 2020, 01:11:30 am »

Art, I have no experience with the Olympus 4/3 system, but I have a 28mm Elmarit ASPH and it's a peach of a lens.

My lens is the first aspherical version (#11 606) and I use it on a Leica M240. It's small, light, sharp and great for travel.

The second ASPH version (#11 677) is supposed to be a bit sharper (especially in the corners) but I've also read that, on a 24 MP camera, the difference isn't that significant. The bokeh on version II is claimed to be superior.   

Here's the link to Leica's page on the latest version of the lens. As you can see, the MTF charts and the distortion numbers are impressive.
 
https://us.leica-camera.com/Photography/Leica-M/M-Lenses/Elmarit-M-28mm-f-2.8-ASPH2

LensRentals has version II available in case you want to take it out for a spin on your OLY.

Best,
Jeff

degrub

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Re: Elmarit 28mm f/2.8 on Olympus E-M5III - Any experience
« Reply #4 on: August 12, 2020, 09:41:35 am »

There were several posts here  when Michael was around and in the old DPReview site about the ray angle assumption used for older film designs. and the impact on digital sensors. The nominal result was that anything less than 50mm would have issues with "softness" off center.
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