AVENON SUPER WIDE L 21mm F2.8
A review and Photo example of the AVENON SUPER WIDE 21mm F2.8 with the LEICA M9.
Table of contents
Gallery
Photo example for AVENON SUPER WIDE 21mm F2.8 with a Leica M9
Review
1．Overview
The Avenon Super Wide 21mm is a wide-angle lens with a focal length of 21mm released by Avenon Optical.
This lens is available in an early version with a silver barrel and a later version with a black barrel, the differences being the minimum shooting distance (1m > 0.75m), the number of aperture blades (6 > 8), and the addition of an intermediate stop to the aperture (stopping at 3.5 between 2.8-4). The silver version came with a dedicated hood and viewfinder. The black version was purchased as a standalone lens, so the accessories are unknown.
I have seen the lens sold in its box on the second-hand market, so the black version may not come with a viewfinder.
In addition to the 21mm, Avenon also released a 28mm lens.
2．Usability
This lens is characterized by a highly curved front lens and a large lens barrel, so it is more suited to larger bodies such as the M5 than compact camera bodies such as the Leica CL or Minolta CLE. I used both the early silver and late black lenses. I did not notice any difference in the basic elements of the lens, such as operability, image quality, and backlight resistance.
I used this lens with cameras with different sensor sizes: the R-D1 with an APS-C sensor, the M8.2 with an APS-H sensor, and the M9 with a full-size sensor. With digital full-size, there is distortion in the image at the periphery, and color casts can occur depending on the sensor. It has sufficient performance for sensors with APS-H sensors or smaller. Although not included in the sample, if you look at a night scene photo taken with the Leica M8.2, you can see that eight light stripes are visible in the night scene, so you can tell that I was using the late black version at that time. I used the old silver version with the R-D1.
The Avenon 21mm finder I tried out for the Silver wasn’t particularly good looking, and the Zeiss 21mm finder I had at the time had a clearer view and was easier to use.
I liked the 21mm angle of view, and had many lenses from the same time, so I didn’t use this lens much. Looking at the HDD where I store images, I saw that I sold it after using it a dozen times. Avenon brand lenses were quite cheap in the 2000s. However, in the 2020s, the lenses can sometimes be found on the used lens market, but prices are on the rise.
3．Summary
In conclusion, to sum up the AVENON SUPER WIDE 21mm F2.8, it is an old-fashioned 21mm wide-angle lens and there is no denying that the design is outdated.
If you want to enjoy nostalgic images, it is a good choice, but if you want sharp images with high resolution all the way to the corners, a more modern wide-angle lens or the latest zoom lens would be a safe choice.
For more information about Avenon, please see the 28mm page.
Specification
| Item | Early type (silver) | Late typ (Black, 2000 Edition) |
| Focal length(mm) | 21 | 21 |
| Max aperture | 2.8 | 2.8 |
| Min aperture | 22 | 22 |
| Leaf blade | 6 | 8 |
| Lens Construction | 8elements in 6group | 8elements in 6group |
| Min distance(m) | 1.0 | 0.75 |
| Lens length(mm) | 49 | 49 |
| Max diameter(mm) | 64 | 64 |
| Filter Size(mm) | 58 | 58 |
| Weight(g) | 225 | ? |
Reference links
- Fumio Nakamura’s Old Lenses: Learning from the Past “AVENON SUPER WIDE 21mm F2.8″(Japanese text)
- Leica Lenses of the World Part 2″ Shashin Kogyo Shuppansha(Japanese book) ・Ads by Amazon
- AVENON 28mm・Shige’s hobby
Update history
- 2025.3.17
- 2024.9.7
- 2024.2.7:Update
- 2023.6.21: First draft
Affiliate Link
- Some external links are advertisements and clicking them may generate income for the site administrator.
Leave a Reply