A SUPER FAST WIDE ANGLE FOR YOUR LEICA M

Well here it is! After publishing my Leica 24 Summilux review last week (see it here), many have e-mailed me with comments, questions, and even some not-so-nice comments. Some have told me I was not subjective in that 24 Summilux review. Hmmm...What can I say to that? Was I supposed to make up something about the lens to dislike? The ONLY thing with the 24 Summilux that was a negative was the purple fringing and I pointed that out. Other than that, it is pretty much perfection in a wide-angle 24mm lens. End of story. I would LOVE to own that lens and one day I will.

When Leica sent that 24 Summilux, they also sent along the 21 Summilux and viewfinder. With the 24 on an M8, you can use the entire viewfinder to frame the 24. With the 21, to get accurate results, you need to use an external viewfinder. Leica sent along the universal finder, but to be honest, I did not even use it. I found that I could shoot the 21 without the need for it. BUT if you want super-accurate framing, it is a must. I want to thank Leica for sending me these lenses and the finder for review. They are truly the best lenses I have ever shot with.

As for this review, I feel too many review sites these days provide only boring text, boring images, and boring test results. I am trying to provide a little of everything so everyone can enjoy the reviews. With that said, this review will feature my processed images, as well as quite a few out-of-camera originals, so you can see my finished product as well as the untouched files.

So here I am with the Leica 21 Summilux! Yes, another $5995 camera lens, but it is also a FANTASTIC lens that can be used in ANY situation. Light, dark, whatever. It can handle it. It is super-versatile-istic! (yes, I just created that word) and I tested it on the Leica M8. This review will be a little shorter than the 24 review, but only because it is practically the same quality as the 24. Much of what I said about the 24 can also be said about this 21.

We all know the Leica M8 is NOT the best camera for low-light shooting due to high ISO noise above ISO 1250. BUT, with a fast lens like the 21 or 24 Summilux, even the M8 turns in to a low- light camera that gives SUPERB results! After I put up the 24 Summilux review, I had many requests for more full-size, out-of-camera samples. I provided those in my 24 Summilux companion page (see it here) and will include more full-size samples in this review from the 21.

Before I start, let me point out that my time with this lens was limited to one week, but only one day of shooting due to my hectic schedule last week. So the images you will see here may not be the best technical images, but I feel they will give you an idea of how the 21 renders an image. I have shot with the Leica 21 Elmarit a few years ago and can say that the 21 Lux is a better lens for a few reasons:

- It is FASTER - 1.4 compared to 2.8. This is huge and lets you use the lens even in night time scenarios.

- It is even better built. The 21 Elmarit is a well built lens but the 21 Lux is SOLID as any lens I have ever used. Smooth focus, solid, but smooth aperture ring, and a metal hood.

- It has a unique 3D quality to its images. While the 21 Elmarit is sharp, the 21 seems to give a more 3D image. This is something I did not even see in the 24 Summilux

1. -The 21 lux is a “no compromise” wide angle. It can handle ANYTHING you throw at it.
   

2. -
   

So of course I would rather have this 21 Summilux over the 21 Elmarit due to speed alone. The only thing holding me back is that I am not a big 21mm shooter. My widest is usually 24mm and anything under that in my bag would get minimal use. But, if you are a 21mm kind of person, then read on and lets see what this lens can do!

LET’S START WITH SOME LOW LIGHT SHOOTING

I took this lens to Chicago along with the 24 Summilux. My wife and I arrived LATE, near midnight, and checked into the hotel. My wife was already in bed, so I decided to take a walk around the hotel which was on Michigan Avenue. No people were out, just a couple of shady- looking characters, so I kept the walk short. It was dark, so I wanted to see how the 21 Summilux would do in this situation. Click any image for a larger version.

There is not really much more I can say. Most of the greatness of the 24 Summilux is also present here in the 21 and then some. The Leica 21 Summilux renders images with a very nice 3D feel and is a little different than the 24mm in this way. The 21 Summilux gives you the whole package. A wide angle, a super-fast 1.4 aperture, heirloom-build quality, and simply amazing quality. The image quality from the 21 Summilux is as good as it gets in a 21 for 35mm format. It is as versatile as a lens can get and can handle ANY situation.

The ONLY negative was the purple fringing that showed up in 3 of my shots (out of about 300), but again, this happens with MANY high-end lenses and many say it is the digital cameras sensor that causes this and NOT the lens. Here is some info on purple fringing. To me, its a NON issue with any lens, unless it shows up in EVERY image. I do know my past Nikon, Canon, and other Leica lenses exhibit this behavior.

I am not really a 21mm kind of guy, so I would not buy this lens, but to those that really enjoy a 21, this is just about the best I have ever seen. Mark my words... This and the 24 will become future Leica classics.

If you want to buy this lens, it can be hard to find at times. I do know that B&H photo sells this lens and is fast to restock. Click here to check out their site to see if it is in stock. Leica dealer Ken Hansen also sells the lens and usually has it in stock.

With the rumors of the full-frame Leica M9 exploding (my M9 news page is here), it makes me wonder how this lens will perform on a FF camera. I plan on re-testing these fast, wide-angles when an M9 is released and in my hands. I can hardly wait!

Here are a few more images from my time with this lens. Click any image for a larger view! Enjoy!

I THANK YOU!!

I thank you for reading my review and hope you enjoyed it. Running this free site costs me money, but my passion for for photography and gear has led me to create and share all of this info with fellow camera nuts. I work 7-10 hours a day on this site, as it consists of a lot more than writing these pages. When I am not writing, I am shooting with the lenses and cameras I write about, then going through the images and preparing them for the site. If you enjoy the site and find it useful, then you can help me to continue bringing these reviews and write-ups! How? Just click here to find out. Thanks!

If shooting the 21 or 24 Summilux on a Leica M8 or M8.2, you will need a UV/IR filter attached. I have had a few e-mails asking me how these filters attach to the lens, so I put up a small youtube that explains it.

HOW ABOUT SOME REAL-WORLD, FULL-SIZE SAMPLES?

If you have read some of my previous reviews, you know that I am not a fan of technical tests. I would much rather shoot the lens and get some real-world results. Here are 3 images you can click on and download the full size original images. These have not been processed, just converted from RAW using Capture One. These should give you an idea of how the lens performs (on an M8 at least):

Again, the shots above are untouched, unprocessed, and straight out of Capture One. While going through some of the shots for this review, I found one that was pretty amazing and shows how much detail this lens can capture. The image itself sucks, but it does show you that this lens can give you gobs of detail! The image below is a 100% CROP of the image directly below it!

THIS IS A 100% CROP OF THE IMAGE BELOW!

Just look at the detail in the 100% crop of this image. In my opinion, it is pretty amazing. When looking at this image, it also shows me there is some slight distortion as well. Look at the bottom and how the concrete ledge is curved. So the lens, like any other 21mm lens, has some slight barrel distortion. Most 21mm lenses have much more distortion than this!

DOES THIS LENS SUFFER FROM CA/PURPLE FRINGING?

YES IT DOES! Just like the Leica 24 Summilux, when shot at 1.4, this lens, in certain high contrast lighting situations, can exhibit purple fringing. Here is the same church scene that I shot with the 24, but with the 21. Notice the lights and the purple fringing. Some people think this is due to the sensor of the M8. I will know for sure as soon as I test this on a Full-Frame sensor Digital M. Can you say Leica M9?? Both the 21 and 24 showed PF in this scene.

Remember, this only happens at 1.4 and only in certain situations. I had this issue creep up in 3 photos out of 300. You can also see it here. As I mentioned in my 24 Summilux review, this PF effect has been seen in MANY high-end lenses from Nikon, Canon, and previous Leica lenses. Even Medium Format lenses exhibit this. In my experience, it rarely shows up. When it does, it can be fixed in photoshop. It also only happens with digital, not on film, of course. To me, it’s not an issue.

So as you can see, the 21 Lux on a Leica M8 did very well for night shooting. I shot the lens wide open at 1.4 and the results are excellent. BTW, the four images above were not processed. They were converted in Capture One and/or Adobe Camera Raw and resized. That’s it. A Leica M8 or M8.2 with a 21 Lux attached can be a very capable night time combo.

HOW ABOUT BOKEH?

With a lens of this caliber, you have to expect not only top-notch sharpness, contrast, micro-contrast, and detail, but also beautiful “bokeh”. To me, this is a very important part of a fast lens like this. If it renders the out-of-focus areas harshly, then it would not be worth even a 1/5 of its asking price. Leica is well known for their lens designs and gorgeous bokeh. I was curious how this 21 would do because I have NEVER shot a 21mm lens faster than 2.8. Do any even exist?

The 21 Summilux keeps the Leica tradition of amazing bokeh. Want proof?

In my opinion, the bokeh in the above image is beautiful: Smooth, silky, and not at all “busy”.

HOW SHARP IS THE 21 SUMMILUX? VIGNETTING?

The 24 summilux I reviewed last week (see review here), is one of the sharpest lenses I have ever shot with. It was pretty much like a wide-angle version of the 50 Summilux ASPH...Beautiful rendering with amazing separation of subject from background. The 21 Summilux is wider, so it only makes sense that it will not have as much subject separation as the 24. With that said, for a 21mm wide angle, this lens is sharp! Not as sharp as the 24, but sharp enough for me. How about vignetting? I did see some vignetting on the 21 when shot at 1.4, but only while shooting for my sharpness tests. The wall behind the clock clearly shows the effect. Here is an example...

Here are some sharpness crops as well as some comparisons with the 24 lux:

the 21 Summilux 100% crop is on the left, the 24 Summilux 100% crop is on the right. Shot at 1.4, the 24 seems a little bit sharper. This test was repeated 3 times to rule out focus error.

Again, the 21 on the left and 24 on the right at F2. Still, the 24 is a bit sharper.

Even at F4, the 24 retains its edge as far as sharpness is concerned.

By F8 they are just about eqaul.

So while the 21 Summilux is not quite as sharp as the 24 Summilux, it is still phenomenal and Leica has created a pretty amazing lens. This 21 Summilux is still insanely sharp AND ITS A 21 1.4! That is what this lens is all about: That amazingly FAST aperture.