21mm Super Angulon

Forgive me if I've repeated similar thoughts in previous responses to this post, but back in the day when I used Leica M and shot primarily slides, the ZM 21/4.5 blew the 21/3.4 out of the water. Not only was it sharper across the board (especially off axis) but fall off was negligible even wide open. Other than the metering issue, the biggest drawback of the SA and similar designs (early Zeiss Contax and Nikon 21/4.5 RF lenses) was the inherent high degree of light fall off due to the rear element proximity to the film plane. This is why Zeiss came out with their optional 2 stop gradient filter for the 15/8 Hologon which had the same problem. Now it can be fixed with digital post processing but before that, it was best fixed in the darkroom. Not very good if projecting slides. The only advantage of the 21/3.4 SA is the uncoupled RF near focus to 16". It's a beautiful piece of glass and mechanical perfection of Leica but made obsolete in my opinion after the introduction of the ZM 21/4.5 Biogon.

Yes, I wholeheartedly Agree with You
Technically it is far superior lens
A beautiful lens indeed ~
I do Love Zeiss glass

However I am not looking for ‘perfection’
Edge to Edge sharpness
Hence my love for the SA continues
 
Montag006; said:
Helen,
that is another awesome train shot!
One of these days I need to post some photos!

Oh hey Montag

Hope You were able to talk and sort it out
will PM YOU

Thank You for enjoying my train shot and YES post some photos, there is no excuse not to !
 
16303260248_c91d0bcbf9_c.jpg


Leica M4
tri-x
Utrecht
D76
21mm Super Angulon
negscan
2015
 
Leica store told me today that my 3.4 cannot be used on any digital Ms, yet here are pics in this thread. What’s the deal?
 
Leica store told me today that my 3.4 cannot be used on any digital Ms, yet here are pics in this thread. What’s the deal?

For sure Leica M8,M9., M262 not sure about other M’s
It will not meter ...
Talk to Josh at Leica Miami , he knows everything ‘Leica’ 😊
 
Montag006; said:
Helen,

I have to agree with matt335,

this is a wonderful view of New Yor.... New Yawk.
Especially for a fella who has never been there...
Looks a lot larger than Tampa

Hello there,

So pleased you Both like it !
Cheers & Thank You Matt and ‘Montag006’
 
For sure Leica M8,M9., M262 not sure about other M’s
It will not meter ...
Talk to Josh at Leica Miami , he knows everything ‘Leica’ 😊

Ah, thanks. I may give him a call if I can convince myself to buy a digital M.

Also, I looked around Flickr as you suggested before, but only found a really badly vignetted Sony shot that used this lens, so I'm still unclear on what, if any, other cameras can use this lens without issue. So far it sounds like it only works on Leicas without metering, and the old Ricoh GXR. I wouldn't mind one of the latter, since I use the GR compact series already, but full frame would be better because, ya know...21mm.
 
So I bought a used Monochrom 246 and the 21SA works fine. It even says so in the manual. The only condition is that you cannot use the classic metering mode.
 
What’s everyone’s thoughts on the voigtlander 21 f4 ? I can’t afford the Leica SA at the moment and I shot the 21 biogon for the contax g over the weekend and love what I’m seeing(I’m usually a 35-50 guy).
 
It's a great way to get into 21mm. It is light and small and easy to handle. I used to have one on my CL and it made for a great point and shoot.

I eventually went to the SA as I had some extra cash but I can't say a bad word about the CV 21mm f4.
Again, great way to get into 21mm lenses which is not easy. I used it to get over my shyness b/c if you are shooting people, you need to get up close :)

For some reason I can't seem to upload an image so here's a link for the gallery. There's been some post processing but not much.

https://www.rangefinderforum.com/rffgallery/showphoto.php?photoid=297062


What’s everyone’s thoughts on the voigtlander 21 f4 ? I can’t afford the Leica SA at the moment and I shot the 21 biogon for the contax g over the weekend and love what I’m seeing(I’m usually a 35-50 guy).
 
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