I recommended it for those, like Jack, who want a lighter lens for hiking etc. It is not an APO lens. It is just a reasonably small nice lens. In fact, I keep it on an older Nikon DSLR body to take photos of equipment around the studio.
This is a beautiful lens, Michael, exactly in alignment with my favorite-type lenses to bring out into the field. Thanks for the tip.
I like the lens, but I do not use it for what I call "serious" photography. I would like to see the Big Brother of this lens, the Leica 60mm APO, but I don't think that is adaptable to Nikon mount and it costs a lot. I have the Zeiss Otus 55mm, which is close enough.
Honestly, most "serious" photographers do not deploy the highest-end Apo lenses ... but, rather, just really good lenses that are quite versatile in application.
While the Zeiss Otus is the pinnacle of 50-something commercial options, I would say there are at least 1000 professional photographers who use
other Nikkor 50-ish primes, for every '1' who uses an Otus.
The truth is, the absolute finest Apo-type lenses are really for
connoisseurs/collectors more so than for 'serious' photographers.
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Exactly Michael, affordable hiking lens, and to try a different brand then Nikon. And for sure serious enough for me.
There is nothing "unserious" about this lens: its construction and capabilities are all that's required.
For example, in
my 300mm f/4 tread, I compared
the absolute, ultimate usefulness of the 300mm f/4 with the 'superior Apo rendering' of the (too-heavy, too awkward) 300mm f/2.8 VR II. (I own/ed both, I can speak about both.)
While the latter does have more 'Apo exquisiteness'; the former is
good enough ... and it is
a thousand times more useful/pleasurable to implement in the field.
That said, the Leica Macro Elmarit 60mm appears to be, essentially, an equal option to the Micro-Nikkor 55mm lenses (sharp, small, cheap, versatile), but perhaps a little classier.
Whatever 'Apo' characteristics other 55mm lenses (Otus) have assets are probably not too discernible in real-life, hiking/field conditions to make up for their extra weight +
lack of 1:2 reproduction ratios as liabilities, rendering them less useful overall.
In the same fashion,
the results I get with the 300 f/4 PF are easily as nice as the results anyone gets (including myself) with the 300 f/2.8 VR II ... though the latter 'rates higher' in lens tests
Having used both, you couldn't
give me the 300 f/2.8 VR II if it meant I had to give-up the 300 f/4 PF to get it ... even though I know it delivers "technically better" image quality when pixel-peeping.
Regarding the subject lens, the reviewing sites on the Leica Macro Elmarit 60mm seem to ascribe a 'warmer rendering' to this lens than is typical of Leica ... and I happen to prefer cooler rendering.
In fact, that is another reason I prefer the Voigtländer 125mm Apo Macro over the Zeiss 135mm Apo: in addition to being
more useful, the CV 125 also renders cooler, whereas the Zeiss 135mm renders warmer.
At least that was my experience with my lenses ...
