Re: [Leica] 21mm or 24mm?

["Bryan Caldwell" <bcaldwell@softcom.net>]

Austin,

I opted for a 21mm, but mainly because I've got a 28mm which I've started to
use more and more. BTW, the latest version of the 28mm f2.8 lens is really
remarkable, but often seems to get overlooked in discussions. For many years
I also used a Nikon 20mm, so that's a focal length that I'm used to. For a
couple years I used the Nikon 24mm-120mm lens as a travel lens (I've since
sold it) and while it wasn't a bad lens for a slow zoom, I kept finding that
I wanted to go wider than the 24mm range.

Whether I have to use an accessory finder is not a factor with me - I wear
glasses and find that even with the 28mm on an M6 I prefer using the
accessory finder.

As I'm sure you'll find, you'll get the opposite advice as well. You have to
decide what lens is right for you - and you need to take into account the
other lenses you already own or plan to own in the future.

Bryan


- -----Original Message-----
From: Austin Burbridge <LIGHTandPOWER@ibm.net>
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Date: Thursday, April 22, 1999 11:00 PM
Subject: [Leica] 21mm or 24mm?


>I would appreciate advice and opinions about this happy dilemma.
>
>I want to get one of the very wide-angle lenses -- the 24mm ASPH or the
>21mm ASPH -- for my M6. Although I've read Erwin Puts articles and looked
>at the scanty materials on the Leica site, I'm having trouble working out
>which would be better. (I used to have a Canon F1 and a 20mm and I liked
>the compositions, although the quality and speed of the lens left much to
>be desired. I like the emphasis and the context whic a very wide angle of
>view gives. I've also used a 28mm lens, which was not wide enough for the
>look and feel I enjoyed with the 20.)
>
>My first inclination would be -- all other things being equal --  that
>'wider is better'.
>
>But are all other things equal? Is the linear distortion of one
>significantly less than that of the other? Vignetting? Other qualities?
>
>And, is wider indeed better? What would be the thing you prefer about the
>look of a 24mm composition, as opposed to one formed with a 21mm lens?
>
>And, among those of you who have already made such a choice, between the
>24mm and the 21mm, what were your considerations?
>
>AUSTiN.