Leica 28mm ƒ/2.8 Elmarit-M ASPH First Impressions on Leica M9

I’ll soon be adding some material to my Guide to Leica on the Leica 28mm ƒ/2.8 Elmarit-M ASPH (about $2195).

Thanks to B&H Photo for making the Leica 28mm ƒ/2.8 Elmarit-M ASPH available for testing.

The diminutive Leica 28/2.8 Elmarit-M ASPH is about as low a distortion 28mm lens as you can find. It’s the smallest lens in the M lineup, and at 180g, there is no weight excuse for not bringing it along.

My initial shooting of the 28/2.8 Elmarit-M shows outstanding (!) contrast and sharpness centrally wide open at ƒ/2.8. Stopping down to ƒ/5.6 delivers superb sharpness across the frame.

Like all Leica M lenses, I find myself wishing that a Leica M10 with 36MP would show up soon, because the 'glass' delivers way more than the sensor can record. But it’s unclear what the demise of Kodak means for the sensors Leica needs.

My favorite mountain bike trail— the singletrack to/from Black Mountain from upper Alpine Road.