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24/1.4 vs 24/3.8 and Zeiss 25/2 Distagon (M240, Barcroft Green Machine)

In the field when shooting stopped down a few stops, how does the 24/3.8 Elmar compare to the 24/1.4 Summilux?

As a interesting side reference point, how does a Zeiss DSLR lens compare to high performance Leica M glass?

In general, one should expect that an f/4 (f/3.8) lens should be optimized to a higher level and have fewer compromises than an f/1.4 lens which is already much harder to optimize than an f/2 lens. Hence assuming sufficient design efforts, the f/4 lens should outperform the f/2 lens and the f/2 lens should outperform the f/1.4 lens, in general.

The 24mm f/1.4 Summilux-M ASPH is an ultra-fast wide angle (brand new sample used here). As with all fast wide angle designs, compromises have to be made to achieve the lens speed; even if exotic construction and special glass types can alleviate some design challenges the aberrations are far more difficult to control. Ironically, the 24/1.4 Summilux must be stopped down for field shooting in many situations, because ISO 200 and a maximum 1/4000 shutter speed cannot preserve highlight detail (no practical way to mount a polarizer or neutral density filter to cut the brightness).

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Diglloyd Guide to Leica is by yearly subscription. Subscribe now for about 25 cents a day ($90/year).
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Diglloyd Guide to LEICA contains in-depth coverage of Leica M system cameras and lenses, with additional coverage of Leica M Monochrom, Leica Q.

Special emphasis is placed on Leica M lenses and certain Zeiss ZM lenses.

  • Make better images by learning how to get the best results right away.
  • Save money by choosing the right lens for your needs the first time, particularly the Summilux/Summicron/Elmarit choice and/or Zeiss ZM.
  • Make better images, a sort of “cheat sheet” saving yourself months or years of ad-hoc learning. Processing parameters are discussed and shown.
  • Jaw-dropping image quality found nowhere else utilizing Retina-grade images up to full camera resolution, plus large crops [past 2 years or so].
  • Real world examples with insights found nowhere else. Make sharper images just by understanding lens behavior you won’t read about elsewhere.
  • Aperture series from wide open through stopped down, showing the full range of lens performance and bokeh.
  • Optical quality analysis of field curvature, focus shift, sharpness, flare, distortion, and performance in the field.

Want a preview? Click on any page below to see an excerpt as well as extensive blog coverage, for example on Leica.

Leica 24mm f/1.4 Summilux-M ASPH and Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH
(not to scale)

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