I'm relieved to see the forum's still up and running while the archives are transferred to photo.net. It's one thing to be without while the server's temporarily down; it's another when no clear migration plan has been communicated to users ahead of time. (Spoken like a true IT consultant, I know.)

Anyway, on to my question. This weekend I'll be renting two lenses from Rich Pinto while I'm in NYC - the Elmarit-M 21mm and 24mm. I'm doing so to compare the two lenses side by side in a city setting. I'll have one lens mounted on my M6 TTL and the other mounted on my M2. I plan on shooting either B&W print film and colour slide film, depending on the location & time of day, using the same speed film in both bodies at any one time. I intend to keep the 24mm mounted on my M6, and transfer the readings to the M2 mounted with the 21mm, occasionally checking the readings against a Weston Master V handheld meter which George Berger so graciously sent me a few weeks ago (again, thank you George!).

Is there anything I should watch out for when using this technique? Normally I would use the trial & error approach, experimenting with a range of metering techniques. But this time I won't be able to see any developed results before I have to return the lenses to Rich.

Thanks in advance.

Cheers, Stuart

-- Stuart Dorman (stuart.dorman@us.pwcglobal.com), June 04, 2002

Answers

The only thing I would caution you about is to be aware of how much bright sky is in the image when metering with a super-wide. Any area of extreme brightness can negatively affect your meter reading by causing under-exposure.

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), June 04, 2002.

Stuart,

I've had no problems metering the 21mm on my M6, or using a handheld Luna Pro or a MR-4 meter with the 21 mounted on my M4-P.

While you're in New York, I highly recommend visiting Ken Hansen Photographic at 509 Madison Ave., 18th Floor (at corner of 53rd and Madison) He's got just about anything that might be on your Leica wish list, new and used. What an amazing collection, Leica and otherwise. I traded my 21/3.4 super angulon there straight across for a 21 elmarit. Ken is easy walking distance from Grand Central Station.

Peter

-- Peter B. Goldstein (peter.goldstein@cgey.com), June 04, 2002.

Stuart - You're more than welcome

George

-- George C. Berger (gberger@his.com), June 04, 2002.

Shooting in Manhattan I don't think you'll end up with a lot of sky in your shots. Most of the scenes will average out to middle tone. You should be able to pretty much trust the meter. As you meter through the in-camera finder with the 24, imagine a circle that touches the top and bottom of the 35mm framelines...that will be the metered area.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), June 04, 2002.

Stuart, Off topic, but please let us know which lens you choose to buy and why. I've been thinking about the 24mm for a while now and would be interested to hear your thoughts on the pros and cons of the two focal lengths.

-- Bob (robljones@attbi.com), June 04, 2002.

Thank you all for your responses. Rob - I've been going through the 21 vs 24 dilemma for a while, and I decided the only way was to try both lenses side by side. I have a 24mm f/2 Canon FD lens which has produced some excellent results. While I was using my Canon F1, the 24mm became my favourite focal length for landscapes. And I recently borrowed a friend's 40mm Bronica PE lens (645 format, roughly equivalent to 24mm), again with excellent results. But in both cases I can't justify carrying another body with my Leicas just for that one lens. So try the Elmarit-M 24mm I must. But will it be wide enough for city scenes? And will it give a similar perspective to the 24mm on an SLR? I remember distinctly reading one contributor here who decided on a quick sale when the focal length just felt wrong on a Leica...

Much has been written about the quality of the Elmarit-M 21mm, and its suitability for street / city scenes. So what better backdrop to test it against the 24mm than Manhattan? Hopefully I'll also get to try a few non-city scenes on Long Island, where my in-laws live, to see whether the 21mm is too wide for landscapes. Living in Colorado, I suspect the lens I buy will see more landscapes than cityscapes. But I want something versatile enough to use when I'm back in Blighty, trudging around London, York, Edinburgh, Glasgow and some other old haunts later this summer.

Just for reference, my other lenses are as follows: 35mm Summicron, 50mm Summicron & 90mm Summicron.

I'll certainly update this thread after my test, hopefully with scannned images, to let you know how I get on.

Cheers, Stuart

-- Stuart Dorman (stuart.dorman@us.pwcglobal.com), June 04, 2002.

Oops - I meant Bob, not Rob. Another thought which has crossed my mind is the Voiglaender range. The 21mm seems extremely viable, but I'm bothered by the fact that the 25mm is not rangefinder-coupled. I realize that it's probably not that big a deal in most cases, but psychologically that puts the VC 25mm in a league below the Elmarit-M 24mm...

-- Stuart Dorman (stuart.dorman@us.pwcglobal.com), June 04, 2002.

Stuart- Will the rental fee be applicable to the new purchase?

-- Frank Horn (owlhoot45@hotmail.com), June 04, 2002.

Frank - I'm not sure yet. But the rental cost for both lenses & finders for 3 days is $150. I figure that is way less than the cost of buying both lenses and selling one privately once I have decided which is the keeper. And who knows, maybe I'll decide neither is right for me... I'll believe that when I see it 8^)

Anyway, I'll let you know next week. But from earlier dealings with Rich Pinto, he seems like a very reasonable guy.

-- Stuart Dorman (stuart.dorman@us.pwcglobal.com), June 04, 2002.