Dan Kerin

 Leica 21mm F/3.4 Super-Angulon

There are not many lenses I get excited to use these days but when I had a chance to try out the Leica 21mm f3.4 Super-Angulon I had to take it. This is a lens I have wanted to try for a number of years after settling on the Leica 28mm f2.8 Elmarit version 2 for my personal go to lens. Manufactured by Schneider-Kreuznach from 1963 until 1980 this lens had a pretty long production life however only around 5,970 lenses were made making it one of the more uncommon Leica lenses. While Leica made fantastic optics Schneider-Kreuznach were renowned for their wide-angle designs and so were contracted to design this name and re badge it as Leica. The lens has 8 elements in 4 groups and an unusual 4 bladed aperture. Despite being wider than the 28mm version 2 it is actually smaller measuring 51 x 52.5mm and weighing 301g. Due to the protruding rear element this lens made before 1971 were not compatible with the Leica M5 or CL due to their swing arm filters. Like with many lenses made during this time period it took the series 7 filters and used the same hood as the 28mm Elmarit version 2.

Shooting with this lens felt very similar to the version 2 28mm Elmarit, only the 21mm is a little shorter. It’s a nice compact lens and even with the hood balances well on the camera. In addition to this the lens does focus down to 0.4m which allows you to get really close. Just keep in mind that Leica rangefinders are not coupled down this far so it will be complete guess work. I did find the aperture ring to be very small and quite difficult to quickly move when the hood is attached, while not a game changer it annoyed me enough to mention on the review. I was a little underwhelmed by the performance but this being said this was Leica’s first f3.4 21mm. Sharpness is good once stopped down to f5.6/ f8 however there is heavy vignetting throughout which while can easily be fixed in post-production is much harder to correct when in the darkroom.

While the performance is very mediocre for a Leica lens being able to shoot this wide is just amazing in certain scenarios. During my road trip across Europe, I passed through both the Italian and French alps which gave some amazing views and having a super wide angle like the 21mm allowed me to capture all its beauty. The combination of having a super wide-angle lens and orange filter allows you to capture images which are instinctively different.

Overall, I did enjoy shooting the 21mm but personally want to try and get a better version at some point as I feel I got a ‘bad’ copy which unfortunately can be an issue with older Leica lenses. Unless like me you are a vintage Leica collector I would pass on this lens as earlier on during the year I was able to test the 21mm f3.5 ASPH Voigtlander lens which even new is half the price of one of these used 21mm’s and significantly outperformed this. I am looking forward to testing more 21mm’s as it is definitely a focal length I have come to like.