One of those hopeless questions that will produce so many different answers ... but I'll ask anyway ... if you were going to buy a 24mm or 28mm legacy lens, and the criteria for selection were razor-sharpness, lots of contrast-y-ness, and speed (lets not be to too demanding -- f/1.4 or f/1.8 would be great, but f/2 or f/2.8 is likely to be good enough by far) , what might be on the shortlist ? (oh, and I realise the Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 is only a little shorter than what's being asked about, plus I'm deliberately not including a budget)
The 4/3 PanLeica 25mm f1.4 ? Think it might even AF with the adapter. Ah wait, legacy, technically it's not mu43... ;-)
well, I used "legacy" when I might have said "legacy or any other lens" ... I was expecting (assumptions, though, are dangerous things) that the most contrasty utlrasharpy lens wouldn't be native or even a close cousin
plus one for the pananleica 25/1.4... just got one today... havent shot it on micro 4/3... just my regular 4/3... but it is outstanding... noting compares... but it aint cheap {} Self#21 by kevinparis, on Flickr more shots here Panaleica 25/1.4 - a set on Flickr probably means I have a OM 24/2 for sale soon.....maybe not as it is still nice on my canon 5D K
wow ... i just googled the Hexanon and found one on eBay for nearly £500 ... and it looked like it had been hit with a hammer on the filter thread ... @Streetshooter -- "the" Leica 28mm?
pdh, Yessir... I have both and the Leica has a slight edge on contrast but on sharpness, they're about equals.... and price wise...well, nuff said!
I need to get a Konica adapter for that 28/1.8. Mine is mint. I do not know why it goes for so much- seems crazy. Makes the Nikkor look like a bargain, and it uses a floating element for close-range-correction (CRC). The Konica is a big lens, uses 55mm filters. Well- Konica adapter should be here next week. I think that does it for adapters for me. Leica M, Nikon F, Pentax 42mm screwmount, Canon FL/FD, and Olympus OM Mount. And I can use the Contax RF and S-Mount adapter with the M-Mount to u4/3. No Kodak Retina adapter.
oops ... in trying to be "clever" I've just been unclear ... what I should have said is "I see a number of different Leica 28mm lenses are available, which particular one are you referring to?" ... Apologies
pdh, I have one from the 80's, pre Asph and a newer Asph. I prefer the Pre Asph as it has slightly less contrast but records very smooth. The 28 1.9 is about the same as that lens. I don't use either digitally as I prefer Dedicated lenses in this format. AF baby, I'm spoiled and tis a pretty thing it is.
My Leica Elmarit 28mm F2.8 V3- Add it to the list of Sharp, but expensive- at least compared to the Nikkor 28/2.
I did a comparison between the "hard to find" Konica 28/1.8 and the Nikkor-NC 28/2, much easier to find and much less expensive. The Nikkor was sharper and had less flare used wide-open than did the Konica. At F4, both evened up. The Nikkor 28/2 can be found at reasonable prices, close focus to under 1ft.
My Minolta MD 24mm f2.8 is about the only lens I haven't yet tried on my GF1 (too close to the 20mm f1.7) but it always gave gorgeous results on 35mm film.
