Leica Summilux-M 1:1.4//21mm ASPH. and 1:1.4/24mm ASPH. , part 1 (January 9, 2009)
Introduction
The Leica Summilux-M 1:1.4/21mm ASPH. and the Leica Summilux-M 1:1.4/24mm ASPH. are now trickling into production and an evaluation is now possible. The SX 21 is a world-first and while the SX24 has some companions in the SLR world, for a CRF camera it is indeed a nouveauté. For generations of photographers high speed lenses implied a restricted usability, quality compromises and a high price. For general purpose imagery and high performance a standard Double Gauss system is the first choice. At least, that is the common knowledge position. Leica proved with the SX-A 50 that it was possible to design and manufacture a high speed general purpose lens with outstandingly good performance over the whole range of apertures and distances. All optical tricks were employed to make it possible: aspherical surfaces, floating elements, special optical glass and a sophisticated manufacturing process.
The high cost of these measures is not well-known. I have on my desk one tiny glass element (the middle element of the 2.8/24mm lens) and for the cost price of this single element (ready to be mounted, so after grinding, polishing, centring and coating) I could buy a good quality zoom lens of a reputed japanese maker for their highend cameras.
One is justified to ask if all these efforts make sense, when the cost price is soaring to a new level. In 2005, the Noctilux had a price tag of Euro 3000 and was with the 1.4/75 the most expensive lens in the Leica M stable. Now the Noctilux is still the most expensive lens at E 8000 and the SX line has been extended with a 21 and a 24 lens, both at a price tag of E 5000.
The mechanical sophistication of these new lenses has been brought to a new plateau: the tiny movements of the floating element must be very precise and consistent over years of use to have effect on the lens performance. The reason why the lenses do not have an aperture of 22 is related to this level of precision. The circular hole that the aperture blades have to create is very narrow and cannot be consistently assured with the required accuracy.
In the course of this review, I will present the optical performance of these lenses and I can state that the SX 21 and 24 open up new vistas for creative photography with high speed wide angle lenses.
The community of Leica aficionados seems to be upset about the current pricing of Leica products, lenses in particular. This attitude is in striking contrast with the imperviousness to high price tags that can be found in the mountain bike world. Most mountain-bike riders are singularly focused on top-class engineering, cutting edge technology and subtle differences between components that determine rider satisfaction and above all rider success. MB's are a discerning and competitive lot of people. For a bike to be really competitive, a price tag between Euro 4000 and Euro 8000 is not uncommon. Bikers pay these prices because they feel the advantages of these products while riding over the terrain and trying to stay ahead of the rest. In fact price is not an issue if and when you experience the surplus value in demanding situations. My Cannondale Taurine behaves spectacularly well when I do rough single tracks at full speed, but at slow speeds is not really convincing. At these speeds the bike moves a bit awkward.
Perhaps bikers need the best components and are willing to pay the money, because they actually use them as designed and intended.
Leica cameras are often owned as icons and less often used as intended. This is a sad fact, but it is reality. If you wish to own the whole range of Leica M lenses, then the current price level might be an impediment. If you have the goal and intention to use the optical properties and pictorial characteristics of the highspeed-wideangle combination, then the price is not a hindrance. The style and quality of your pictures will reflect your expertise and success in creating the images you want. As with bikers, high quality material is only justified if you are really putting it into action.
The handling and use in practice.
Both lenses are impeccably manufactured and finished. The aperture click stops operate with just enough resistance for speedy selection, that can be done without looking. The distance ring operates form infinity to closest setting with a homogeneous smoothness. Only with the finest sensitivity of touch can you detect the floating mechanism come into action. With normal handling, turning the distance ring from one position to another swiftly, the smoothness of the movement is amazing as these lenses offer a very solid feeling. Especially the SX21 is a weighty piece of optics in both senses of the word. Attach the lens to the camera body and you get a very solid package, with the weight of the lens making the system front heavy. With your hand giving the right support for the lens, quite slow speeds of 1/8 are possible with good image quality. Walking around with the camera hanging on the neck-strap, the lens is pulling downwards and you have to get accustomed to this position. At about 600 grams the SX21 is not a featherweight. The SX 24 is somewhat smaller and brings about a hundred grams less on the scale. The large front lens diameter of the 21 demands a Series VIII filter, whereas the 24 needs a Series VII filter. Below is a picture that shows the difference in size.
If accurate framing is required, the additional finders are a must. The new finders are beautifully finished, show the framelines for the original 35mm format and the 1.33 crop factor for the M8 and M8.2. Size and logo on the finder are of classical proportions and blend very well with the camera. When medium apertures are selected, one can be a bit more careless about focusing accuracy and work with preset distances. Then the double action of framing with the accessory finder and focusing with the in camera rangefinder is not needed. With the wider apertures and certainly with the 1.4 aperture and closer focusing ranges, the rangefinder focusing is mandatory. It is a matter of habit how you will work with the sequence: first focusing and then framing or the other way. I prefer the second option as this also the way to go with moving objects.
The SX21 and SX24 on the M8(.2) offer the field of view of a 28 and 32mm lens. The framelines of the SX24 are available in the camerafinder and the additional finder is not required. If you live with, or can guestimate the approximate framing, you could use the SX21 too without additional finder, but then you are walking on the wild side.
The 30% reduction in field of view is not a major problem when using lenses from 35mm to 90mm. Quite often, you will see more on the picture than you had intended. The 50mm lens (as example) on the M8 has the magnification of the normal 50mm lens, but the picture-box of a 75mm lens. For the 21mm and 24mm lenses, on the other hand, you want the full view. It is at least mentally a bit strange that you are using a 21mm lens on the M8 and expect (from past experience) the wide angle of such a lens and then to see a cropped picture with a narrower 28mm view.
Both the SX21mm and SX24mm lenses offer a new and fresh pictorial experience to Leica photography. The wide angle lenses are traditionally seen as lenses for landscapes and architecture (inside and outside the buildings). Bill Brand (among others) showed that you could create intriguing views on a subject when you exploited the other characteristic of the wide angle lens: the rapid shrinking of the size of subjects in the scene from foreground to background. Get very close to the subject and you will notice the elements behind the main subject in the scene receding rapidly in size and distance. The new characteristic that the SX wide angle lenses bring into the design is the possibility of a high degree of unsharpness in the background elements while isolating with great sharpness the main subject. This isolation and attention to the main subject while the background envelopes the main motive to bring it into perspective without overwhelming it, might be the primary attraction of the new SX lenses. With smaller apertures the main subject will be incorporated (or integrated) into the background because of the wide sharpness gradient that is created with the extended depth of field.
This description is valid for pictures with the M7 (as the proxy for all film loading M cameras) and the M8, but with the M8 the background envelope is narrower because of the restricted field of view. You will need to experiment with both kind of cameras to explore what is suitable.
While on this topic, I may note again that working with film is still a very pleasant and rewarding workflow. Film emulsions with speeds around ISO100 (bw) to ISO200 (color) offer better resolution than the current crop of Dslr’s with around 20 Mp and microfilms far exceed the capabilities of these digital tools. The main drawback of film is not the more leisurely postprocessing, but the transfer of the quality from analog to digital: normal scans do not extract all information and drum scans are notoriously expensive and difficult to use.
The high speed of the Sx21 and SX24 are welcome in dimly lit interiors or outside in dusk or twilight, but can be a problem when the scene brightness is very high. Especially on the M8 with the lowest ISO speed of 160, you might be running into over-exposure sooner than you like when setting the 1.4 aperture. A neutral density filter is advantageous in this situation, but then you have to switch with the IR filter on the M8, which might be a problem depending on the subject matter. Perhaps Leica can design a filter that offers both options (IR and ND) at the same time.