135 f2.8 made in Canada

[Julius Bjornsson]

Hi there all.

I recently found a 135mm Elmarit f2,8 made in Canada with goggles and just have to tell someone about it as it appears to be a great lens. Pristine condition not even a scratch and the glass absolutely crystal clear. Even the goggles are not to much of a bother and make it really easy to focus. This works great on the M8 the only bad thing about it being that it is big and heavy. Highly recommended and the sharpness is great. Some samples follow, not anything good photographically but I found this junkyard and it had the details I was looking for in order to test the lens.

So here comes the sample with a 100% crop. Yes I know, pixel peeping, sorry. Just could not resist it. Does anyone know of any tests of this lens, I think the one I have is manufactured in 1979. I cannot find anything about it anywhere so some pointers would be great.

[haroldp]

I also have one and it is a great lens. The viewfinder vignetting with the goggles almost perfectly frames the image.

[Julius Bjornsson]

Yes that is also what I find, but it is a bit different according to distance. When focusing far away it shows a bit to much and when really near a bit to little. But these are trivialities.

[vanhulsenbeek]

Originally Posted by haroldp

I also have one and it is a great lens. The viewfinder vignetting with the goggles almost perfectly frames the image.

I find it is not a member of the super contrast-super sharp family, but the rendition is pleasing and the files are good to work with.

[jaapv]

They are nice lenses, if somewhat unwieldy; for practical purposes. all of them were made in Canada. Erwin Puts mentions a small first series made in Solms, but I never heard any confirmation on that.
The first series was rather soft and low contrast, the newer ones improved. It never got to the level of the 4.0, but on the M8 it seems to be at its best. It has to be stopped down for best results on short distances. Bokeh is excellent and the images, as shown here, just fine.

[steve kessel]

Just bought a 135/2.8 on ebay and looking forward to trying it out on my M6. A quaint, cumbersome brute. How can one tell if it's from Canada? I thought I might have a go with it on some portraits.

[jaapv]

I can guarantee you 99.99% that it is from Canada....

[Julius Bjornsson]

Originally Posted by steve kessel

Just bought a 135/2.8 on ebay and looking forward to trying it out on my M6. A quaint, cumbersome brute. How can one tell if it's from Canada? I thought I might have a go with it on some portraits.

On mine it says Canada in at least three places. First exactly where the later versions specify the length 50, 90 etc (there it says Canada instead), and again on back of the aperture ring, where it says Lens made in Canada) and finally on the front ring where the letters are Leitz Canada. So there should be no doubt where it is coming from.

[Julius Bjornsson]

And the contrast is I think just right, perhaps a bit on the low side compared to my other lenses but very pleasing. Here is one of my first shots from Paris last week (where I incidentally found the lens). this is straight form the camera, no manipulation, just resizing. But thanks all for the interesting comments.

[ajz]

Couple images with the Canadian 135mm f2.8...wasn't quite sure how to upload files and I dumbed these files down to small jpgs...Grey, dark image is Seattle WA USA from West Harbor bridge and second image is from Portland OR USA Willamette River z

[steve kessel]

After some bewilderment I've finally worked out that it brings up the 28/90 framelines and presents its 135mm view magnified in the 90 framelines. And it says "lens made in Canada" at the bottom of the aperture ring.

[Tony Wright]

Hi all,

I have obtained a copy of the 135mm f2.8 with goggles which I use on the M8 with the additional magnifier. I find it easy to focus and the framelines as accurate as for any of the other lenses. From what I have read it is currently unfashionable because of it's relatively poor performance and size which makes it a cheap option at present. I have attached an image shot wide open (@f2.8) in morning light @1/750th sec ISO 160 UV/IR filter in place with the plane of focus on my son's nose illustrating the importance of accurate focussing with the narrow depth of field seen - my daughter is effectively out of focus.

At first I found it impossible to focus accurately but when I looked carefully I found my 90mm elmarit and 50mm summicron were also out by varying degrees. I sent the M8 with the 50 & 90 to Leica UK (who did the adjustments free under warranty turned around in under 2 weeks) and now all are absolutely & repeatably spot on now including within +/-1/2 inch @ 15 feet for the 135 (please forgive old fashioned measures) which I did not send.

My feeling looking at the detail in the attached enlargement of my son's face from the first image (his skin has since improved) is that here is an underestimated bargain at current prices. There has been nothing elegant done in processing since I do not posess the necessary skills - I turned off all sharpening in C4 and added none subsequently. I can't see as much detail in the posted image as clearly seen in the original here - perhaps I should have cropped the enlargement more closely but I think the rendition of the lens is pretty good.

This shot is handheld and I wonder if the weight helps with handholding an effective 180mm lens @ 1/750th. Compared to our Nikon D200 with equal focal length zoom attached the M8 is still a lot smaller.

I have to say I am thrilled by the performance of the M8 (given quality of attached perhaps I'm not too demanding!), with every lens I use with it and also by Leica UK and Frank Foster my local dealer in Devon.

Tony

[mnsh]

I have one and like it with the M8, find best results on Manual Exposure 2 stops down from what the meter advises, and good contrast if well stopped down. Last year in Scotland had some lovely shots of deer and one of a leaping salmon. I haven't been able to get a UVIR filter for it so far but haven't had major problems with magenta.
Matthew

[Joseph Reid]

Hi-
I've been enjoying this thread but I have a 135 2.8 with a problem:

When the focus ring is thrown all the way to infinity, the rangefinder patches never line up. If I take a picture with the focus ring thrown all the way to infinity, items in the far, far distance do appear to be in focus. At the closest range, the rangefinder patches also fail to line up on objects 1.5 meters (or so) away but I can get a sharp image on close items by moving the camera closer or farther from the subject. I sent this to Leica for service and the repair estimate came back at about $800, which is ridiculous.

Does anyone know how to fix this? Or someone who does this sort of work for substantially less?

Thanks

[Leicapaul]

Originally Posted by Joseph Reid

Hi-
I've been enjoying this thread but I have a 135 2.8 with a problem:

When the focus ring is thrown all the way to infinity, the rangefinder patches never line up. If I take a picture with the focus ring thrown all the way to infinity, items in the far, far distance do appear to be in focus. At the closest range, the rangefinder patches also fail to line up on objects 1.5 meters (or so) away but I can get a sharp image on close items by moving the camera closer or farther from the subject. I sent this to Leica for service and the repair estimate came back at about $800, which is ridiculous.

Does anyone know how to fix this? Or someone who does this sort of work for substantially less?

Thanks

looks like lens itself is properly adjusted to the body, only metering adaption
fails, readjustment should be more or less bread & butter routine for experienced M specialists. Nevertheless, Leica service still seems to have kaviar for breakfast. Obviously, a certain $800 general repair charge switch
is still in action as soon as anything concerning this lens appears in their
minds or paperwork.

I had to learn this lesson already in 1975 and wonder about no further price
increase since these early days

Otherwise, even a precisely adjusted 2,8's overall performance is quite
disappointing compared to the 4/135's (on film). This, indeed, seems to
be different with sensors (as already mentioned in this thread). If you
won't care for readjustments and the M-System, do what I did: adapt
the detachable front part of the lens by bellows, tubes or so to a digital
SLR body. No focus problems at all, even with closeups from comfortable
distances never possible with Ms, and, most surprising experience:

this old fashioned average level monster performs marvelleously with
average level digital equipment, f.e. canon/Pentax (comparable to the
M8 pictures, taken from a recycling yard in Iceland above)

[Julius Bjornsson]

Originally Posted by Joseph Reid

Hi-
I've been enjoying this thread but I have a 135 2.8 with a problem:

When the focus ring is thrown all the way to infinity, the rangefinder patches never line up. If I take a picture with the focus ring thrown all the way to infinity, items in the far, far distance do appear to be in focus. At the closest range, the rangefinder patches also fail to line up on objects 1.5 meters (or so) away but I can get a sharp image on close items by moving the camera closer or farther from the subject. I sent this to Leica for service and the repair estimate came back at about $800, which is ridiculous.

Does anyone know how to fix this? Or someone who does this sort of work for substantially less?

Thanks

You have to check your other lenses, if they are ok, then the 135 is out of adjustment. I had some infinity problems with most of my lenses a while ago, primarily with a 50 Summicron, which I later found out was out of adjustment as all my other lenses (35, 90) did ok. Unfortunately I adjusted infinity for the 50 and all the others became problematic. But I managed to get the M8 into the right infinity (using the Allen key on the wheel, very delicately) and when I got the 135 this was the first thing I checked. I was lucky and it is spot on at infinity. Further checking also revealed that it does not have a bit of backfocus as the others all have, so it appears to be my best adjusted lens so far. Welcome to the world of Leica and never ending rangefinder adjustments. However if you get it corrected I am sure that you will like it with the M8.

[jaapv]

Originally Posted by Joseph Reid

Hi-
I've been enjoying this thread but I have a 135 2.8 with a problem:

When the focus ring is thrown all the way to infinity, the rangefinder patches never line up. If I take a picture with the focus ring thrown all the way to infinity, items in the far, far distance do appear to be in focus. At the closest range, the rangefinder patches also fail to line up on objects 1.5 meters (or so) away but I can get a sharp image on close items by moving the camera closer or farther from the subject. I sent this to Leica for service and the repair estimate came back at about $800, which is ridiculous.

Does anyone know how to fix this? Or someone who does this sort of work for substantially less?

Thanks

In these lenses there can be wear in the focussing mechanism. No amount of twiddling with the Allen key can cure that. If your other lenses are OK, don't touch the adjustment. I stronly recommend Wil van Manen index.html for this kind of work.