Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH - The Forgotten Child
A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that one of my dry cabinets was no longer working. Because of that, I had to transfer all the gear I had in that cabinet to the other cabinet. Obviously, it was a great imposition. That said, it was not as cumbersome an undertaking as it would have been a little while back, given my gear purge before the pandemic hit us eighteen months ago. Apparently, I had whittled down my mass hoarding of cameras and lenses to less than half of what I used to have, thus leaving much empty space in both my dry cabinets.
Mind you, it was not all emptiness I found inside my malfunctioning dry cabinet. Buried deep behind the piles of gear, I came across an unopened gray Leica box. I had no recollection of ever receiving this box. Curious of the discovery, I opened it up to find something I did not expect - a mint condition Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH. Looking at it, I was puzzled why I had this lens. After all, did I not say that the 24mm focal length was the invisible child of the Leica bunch? Given my bias, why then would I have this 24 Elmar in my possession?
Naturally, I needed answers. Therefore, I contacted Craig at the Leica Store New York Soho. I expected him to say that I purchased this lens at the same time I purchased the Leica 90mm f/1.5 Summilux-M ASPH - around the end of 2019. But, then he messaged me back, informing me I bought this lens in the summer of 2018. Thus, the plot thickens. I mean, it made no sense why I would have procured this lens for over a year before I ended the first iteration of this dog and pony show - only to forget about it without a photowalk and blog entry.
Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800. Cropped the image to the 28mm equivalent for the sake of balance. The image was too bottom heavy. Hazard of not having a wide viewfinder.
Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800. Left side of image has been edited to remove two shoppers who photobombed the image. Hazard of not having a wide enough viewfinder.
Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
That was over eight weeks ago as of writing this blog entry. Naturally, I forgot about it for a little longer. It is just that kind of lens. But then, the necessity for new content spurred me to remember it - seeing that this dog and pony show has hit the wall. Thus, I finally attached the 24 Elmar onto a Leica MP variant - only to discover that I did not have either an MP with a 0.58x magnification viewfinder or an external 24mm finder. I mean, what were the odds! So, I settled for an MP with 0.72x magnification. I felt the 24 Elmar was not worth the extra effort.
Frankly, how bad could it be to not actually see the entire 24mm frame? At 0.72x magnification, I can see up to 28mm. At worst, all I need to do is frame properly by leaving less or no space between the subject’s head and the top of the frame. And because I am shooting a wider angle lens, it is already advisable not to position the subject’s head too close to the top (or the edge) of the frame, since such placement would elongate the head relative to the torso in a disfiguring manner. In that way, it makes reasonable sense to go with it at 28mm.
Of course, if I were not so obstinate and favored a contemporary digital Leica rangefinder fitted with live view, I would not be encountering this problem. That said, it is not as if the live view shooting experience on a Leica CMOS sensor is without issues. The shutter re-cocking is laggy. The glare from the sun on the rear LCD makes accurate viewing impossible. And, the only way to sidestep that glare from the sun is to use an external 24mm finder. Given that, how is that any better than analog framing? Plus, it is not like it solves that laggy shutter!
Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800 + Fill Flash
Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800 + Fill Flash
Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800. The second shot after my SF-24D ran out of battery! The one before was completely underexposed 😖
Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800. I was too lazy to edit out the child on the right bottom corner of the image. Again, hazard of not having a wide enough viewfinder.
Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800. I was hoping that the wide angle focal length would have made the photobomber in the background appear further away in documentation. Apparently, not far enough.
For the sake of shooting a digital Leica, I could just shoot indoors to avoid the sun’s glare. But, I kind of have to shoot outside on the streets, on account of this dog and pony show’s namesake. Or, I could just shoot at night. However, I no longer go on photowalks after sundown, owing to a change in life’s circumstances. Since I must shoot on the street and during the day, and since I saw no advantage shooting a digital Leica, I figured I might as well conduct this review of the 24 Elmar in film. Besides, there are already loads of digital reviews online.
So, what more can I say about the 24 Elmar that has not already been said? In addition to that, what more can I say about the 24mm focal length for M-mount rangefinder photography that I have not already said? Frankly, it is what one would expect from folks at Wetzlar. The 24 Elmar excels in construction, styling, ergonomics, and performance. But, we already knew that. What we really want to know is whether the 24 Elmar is actually worth getting. After all, it is still a 24mm lens for Leica M-mount rangefinders - which makes no sense at all to me!
It is not like there is a logical reason to get the 24 Elmar, given the existence of the Leica 28mm f/2.8 Elmarit-M ASPH and the Leica 21 f/3.4 Super Elmar-M ASPH. I mean, the current version 28 Elmarit is almost a stop faster and is even more compact than the 24 Elmar - albeit slightly less in angle of coverage. Additionally, it does not need an external finder or live view. As for the 21 Super Elmar, it truly is a super wide angle lens - albeit slightly more in angle of coverage than the 24 Elmar - making it rightfully deserving of an external finder or live view.
Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800. I made the background leaves on the trees extra green for the sake of complementing the red dress.
Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Complicating the decision making further, one must also consider the Leica 28mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH or even the Leica 35mm f/1.4 Summilux-M ASPH when considering the 24 Elmar. In terms of construction, the 24 Elmar, the 28 Cron, and the 35 Lux are identical. For that reason, they all offer the same ergonomic experience in use. On top of that, they are essentially made for the same purpose of documenting at wide angle. The only difference between them is the degree of coverage they provide - whether wide or approaching super wide.
For most of us, the 35 Lux is the preferred wide angle lens, given its three stop advantage in speed. Of course, that speed comes at the price of losing more angle of coverage relative to much slower wider angle lenses of the same size. Next in line, the 28 Cron is generally the runner up. Since it is one stop slower than the 35 Lux, it loses some of its appeal. However, it makes up for it by being two stops faster than the 24 Elmar. That said, the increase in speed comes at the price of losing more angle of coverage - albeit markedly less than the 35 Lux.
Given all the alternatives listed above for consideration (which, by the way, does not include past iterations no longer in production and third party substitutes), why would anyone consider a slow, approaching super wide, external finder or live view needing lens like the 24 Elmar? I suppose there are those in this world who actually need to shoot smack dab at the 24mm angle of view with a compact lens. But for everyone else, losing speed or angle of coverage for the 24 Elmar is really not worth it, especially if external finders or live view is needed.
Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800. Cropped the image to the 28mm equivalent for the sake of balance. The image was too top heavy. Hazard of not having a wide viewfinder.
So it was like this, with immense bias, that I conducted this photowalk with my forgotten 24 Elmar. To be fair to this lens, there is nothing wrong with it. I mean, it looks, feels, and performs like any other wide angle E46 filter lens from the folks at Wetzlar. Even so, I just refused to give it a chance to be liked. Not seeing the entire frame was obviously the main point of contention, as was the unavoidable need to use an external finder or live view for proper framing. That said, I did adapt to framing it on the 0.72x magnification Leica MP’s 28mm frame lines
Frankly, I cannot think of a single functional reason to get the 24 Elmar, other than the very perverse obsession to frame specifically at the 24mm angle of coverage - which makes absolutely no sense. I mean seriously, why 24mm? As a focal length, it is just a number. There is nothing intrinsically special about it. Moreover, it is not as if anyone can actually tell the difference between the 24 and 28mm angle of view or the 24 and 21mm angle of view. And, that is the point! I mean, why would anyone bother with all the trouble without gaining any benefit?
I suppose if the beancounters at Wetzlar decided to produce a next-generation-native-electric-viewfinder-M-mount rangefinder, the fate of the 24 Elmar would improve in the eyes of prospective buyers. Only then could the 24mm angle of view be accommodated. That said, with the introduction of the close focusing Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH, I am sure that the successor of the 24 Elmar will also have that trick up its lens hood. Because of that, the 24 Elmar will likely continue to be passed over for more logically conceived lenses.
Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800. At this point, the humidity was frizzing up Bea’s hair.
Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
So then, where is the 24 Elmar’s place in the Leica pantheon of optics? In my opinion, it is in the second hand market, priced reasonably for anyone who is willing to put up with its limitations. I think that is why I got it. The price was good. Plus, it was in mint condition. But, I think we all know why it was well preserved. The previous owner probably forgot about it too.
Special thanks to Beatrice for joining me on this photowalk. Red mask was nice again. However, the choice of footwear is different matter. 😖
