Leica Macro-Elmar-M

A lens I’ve been thinking about for some time. My usual macro setup, the Hasselblad H4D-40 with the 120mm f4 Macro lens, is a heavy beast, somewhat of an overkill in many cases (but a brilliant setup nonetheless).

With the Macro-Adapter M, Leica claims this combination to be capable of 1:3 magnification. The lens cap below shows the level of detail that this combination is capable of, and I am, without a doubt, impressed with the performance.

The Macro-Elmar is a 90mm f4 collapsible lens, and works wonderfully on its own for general product and food photography (the latter, which I fear, will be largely compromised by my recent preference for monochromatic images).

Mounted on the M240/M246, it’s hardly longer than the 50APO in its collapsed state. One should, however, remember to extend the lens before shooting to avoid coming home to find a folder full of blurry images.

I am first and foremost a bokeh addict, and choosing between this slow lens and the much faster 90mm APO-Summicron was a tough choice. But portraiture with the Elmar isn’t difficult, given how tough it can be to focus accurately on rangefinders without a magnifiying eyepiece, this would be a worthwhile tradeoff.

The Macro Elmar is also known to be one of the sharpest lenses ever produced by Leica, and I’m somewhat curious to find out if this lives up to that claim.