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LEICA ELMAR-C 90mm f/4 with M9


Giacomo.B

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Hello, yesterday in a Shop i have seen an Elmar-c 90mm f/4 like new, the prize is very good 200 euros with original rubber hood....

I have searched in the web some information for use it with my M9 but never, i know that its is fully compatible but do not know the results.

There is not no one who uses it with the M9??

 

Ciao

 

Giacomo

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Hello, yesterday in a Shop i have seen an Elmar-c 90mm f/4 like new, the prize is very good 200 euros with original rubber hood....

I have searched in the web some information for use it with my M9 but never, i know that its is fully compatible but do not know the results.

There is not no one who uses it with the M9??

 

Ciao

 

Giacomo

 

I'm using it now and then on my M8, but somehow I don't manage to get very good results from it. Lack of contrast mostly, but especially CA and purple fringing. It's not an expensive lens of course, so you might want to try one for yourself, but I hardly use it. Maybe mine is just faulty, so ymmv.

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Hello, yesterday in a Shop i have seen an Elmar-c 90mm f/4 like new, the prize is very good 200 euros with original rubber hood....

I have searched in the web some information for use it with my M9 but never, i know that its is fully compatible but do not know the results.

There is not no one who uses it with the M9??

 

Ciao

 

Giacomo

I have one and use it successfully, Mine is very sharp even at F4.

 

Lately I use the Elmarit-M F2.8 more often because it is not much heavier, and more versatile.

 

If F4 is enough, than go for the elmar-c.

 

Regards .... H

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Many thanks for the answers! Tomorrow i will go to try it, mmmh I'm undecided between this and the tele elmarit f2,8 MarK II (cost the same 200 euros plus my Vc 35mm f1,4).

I do not think I will use very much the 90mm, but i would like a good lens for a good price.

 

ciao

 

Giacomo

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I had this lens a year or so and used it on my M8 and M9, it's not bad and it sure has some character. If you don't have a 90, and given this price , why not? If you own the newest Elmarit or the SAA 90 Summicron you will notice that these are of course much more sparkling. You could use the Elmar for dreamy portraits and aquarel-like landscapes

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The "thin" Tele-Elmarit is a very good little lens but flares a lot. I would try to shoot a bright light source to check if the Elmar-C is better. Could you possibly report your findings here?

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I have used the 90mm Elmar C successfully on both my M9 and my MP. The results are wonderful. I've had no issues with colour fringes, or anything strange with the M9, and in Black and White on the M9 or with film on the MP, I'm super happy. I think at some point I may try to get a 'thin' Tele elmarit f2.8 just for the extra speed (they are similar shape and size and weight), but I'm not in a hurry. This lens is a real bargain. Check the glass for fogging etc. The only issue with the C lenses is the stupid filter thread at 5.5mm. You can screw in an E39 filter, but only part way as the thread pitch is different....screw the filter in only until you feel resistance, don't force it or you'll ruin the threads on both. Adapters pop up now and again on eBay.

 

Have fun...it's a great little lens and the biggest bargain you'll ever find in real 'made in Germany' Leica glass.

 

Jon

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I've had the Minolta Rokkor CLE version of the same lens for couple of weeks now. I've shot with it a bit and it looks like a pretty decent performer. Of course the F4 max aperture limits it pretty much to shooting in good light, but for the times I need/want a 90mm it's not a problem.

 

The lens vignettes noticeably wide open, but you can fix most of it in PP. Also it tends to frame your main subject, so in some cases this might even be desirable.

 

It's sharpness is ok, though when compared to say 50mm summilux pre-asph at F5.6 to F8 the summilux is clearly sharper. Comparing wide open wouldn't be fair as by these apertures the summilux has been closed down quite a bit and is expected to bring more sharpness anyway..

 

The build and light weight are to my liking. And since I have the multicoated Minolta version, it has enough contrast as well. Can even be too contrasty at times..

 

I got mine pretty much factory new, in a box, with papers and the rubber hood still smelling like fresh rubber for 270€.

 

You can download some sample images here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2532690/testshots.zip

 

It contains 3 testshots, totally unprocessed only gone through raw conversion in aperture and nothing more. It was a very gray/dull day, so nothing spectacular..

 

-- Juha

Edited by jlindstrom
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Unfortunately I don't speak French, so I didn't understand a word.. and I hate using google translator! :-)

 

But I did check on this and seems you're correct.

 

Here's a direct quote from cameraquest info page:"90/4 Multi-Coated Rokkor, 4 elements, 8 13/16 oz, collapsible rubber shade. The optical formula is slightly different and improved from the CL's 90/4 -- though the difference is a small one."

 

So, slightly different but nothing that really matters..

 

-- Juha

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Sure, but if you read this:

 

époque CL : des Leitz-C fabriqués en Allemagne et Minolta-Rokkor-C fabriqués au Japon, identiques, avec rampe de mise au point de type C (pour CL, avec note de Leitz concernant la compatibilité M)

époque CLE : des Minolta nouveaux (Rokkor-M), le 40 avec la même formule optique, et le 90 avec une nouvelle formule optique, tous deux avec rampe de mise au point de type M.

 

Seems: 90mm for CL---- Made in Japan

90mm for CLE-- Made in Japan with different optics

 

Ciao

 

Giacomo

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I get no CA with Leica lenses to speak of. The Nikons are full of it so know what I am seeing.

 

As far as the particular lens you have, it may need service, may have been serviced improperly, or was never right from the factory. I discovered a CV 25mm seemed alright when I first got it new, now that I tried it in the M8, it works poorly. It is perhaps 10 years old, never been damaged,seemed to work fine on film cameras. Demand of digital are higher. All the Leica lenses from 1985 transitioned to digital just fine however.

 

Yours may be a bin candidate just like my CV. I would not sell it.

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The lens is arrived and i am very happy, the results (with good light) are magnificent...this is a test with M9..

 

Ciao

 

Giacomo

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  • 4 weeks later...

This thread has been dormant for some time and probably for a good reason. But now I have a question that I am sure someone will be able to answer.

 

Somewhere I read:

 

The 90mm Elmar-C, made for the Leica CL camera, also has a very good

reputation, but it's rangefinder coupling was not designed to be 100%

compatible with M bodies and it seems to be a matter of chance whether

it works OK on any given body.

 

can someone comment on this statement? Is it an issue or is it not?

 

Tre -- in the process of getting an ELMAR-C 90mm f/4

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