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Best used 90 for m240


joshs

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Thoughts ? I don't want to spend a ton and I prefer the look of older vintage glass

Objectively, 90mm lenses are relatively easy to design, so there really aren't many bad ones. You can almost assume anything in M mount will produce quality images.

Subjectively, they are all subtly different in terms of rendering and other optical properties like flare.

I can't believe I'm going to say this, but good old Ken Rockwell has some pretty good summaries of the Leica 90s, including sizes and weights. It's a pretty good starting point. From there you should be able to narrow it down to just a few.

Good luck!

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I have a late version Elmarit-M 90 and it's a great lens. E46 filter size, 6bit coded and not much bigger or heavier than my lux 50. On the budget side the CL 90 (Elmar-C 90) is really a bargain, very compact, cheap and light weight. The major drawback is the series 5.5 filters, not very easy to find. I like it, but I found F4 to slow for me. In terms of image quality I think all 90mm are great, there are no bad ones. Most compact with highest speed is the "thin" Tele-Elmarit from 1970s and 1980s, it's also good but the later Elmarit is clearly better at f2.8.

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I have two 90mm; the f/4 macro (old) and f/2 APO. I find the f/2 hard to handle. My fingers always fumble to find the focus ring since its diameter is smaller than outer part. Probably because I dont use it often. Both are really exelent in terms of IQ. The 90 macro is a great travel lens.

Edited by flyalf
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Thoughts ? I don't want to spend a ton and I prefer the look of older vintage glass

Elmars 90 , even if in very good conditions, are really "cheap" and easy to find... but their Handling (they are "long and thin") is a bit odd for today's attitudes.

So, if you like the look of oldies, I'd say that the Tele Elmarit is probably the best choice :

- The first version is the most compact 90, and is a very fine mechanical build, very ergonomical, rather heavy but , let me say "Worths its weight". Good performer, one of the lenses I used the most: for >20 years I considered it MY 90 :). Its hood is really "old style" and can look someway uncomfortable to carry (is completely metal), but the front thread is E39 std. and one can find easily other solutions. Isn't cheap on the used market... but imho worths its cost, and, thanks to its built , can deserve a CLA in case. It's probably just a chance... but my item, though not 6 bit coded, is correctly recognized on M240... probably thanks to one of the Mount screws that is in a position that "equals the reading" to 000100 :)

- The second version (which I haven't) is lighter and probably as good in Handling as the previous... my feeling is that it looks someway less "robust" but, repeat, I haven't it... my impression is based just on the fact that its build looks similar to the Elmar 90 C for CL... not a masterpiece of mechanics, imho... Its optics is different from the former one (4 lenses vs. 5) but I think that rendering is quite similar.

 

About handling, one fact to keep in mind with old 90mm lenses is that their focus throw is much LONGER than the modern ones... if you compare the Tele Elmarit 1st to , say, the Summarit 90 2,5/2,4 you see that their is really a great difference.. surely less than HALF of the rotation from infinity to 1m... depending on your current lens set it can be a (minor) problem to deal with. I think the the 2nd Tele Elmarit (Tele Elmarit M) has a focus throw a bit shorter than the 1st version... but am not 100% sure of this..

Edited by luigi bertolotti
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Based on your preference for a vintage look, ideally with some flare as you indicated in the other post, I'd suggest a "thin" Tele-Elmarit.

Alternatively, the Elmarit-M is perhaps the best all-rounder in this focal length or, if you need the extra stop, a pre-APO Summicron could meet your requirements too.

Finally, there are several vintage Canon/Nikon LTM lenses in the 85mm focal length. Most won't break the bank.

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M-Rokkor 90/4 for Minolta CLE. Excellent quality, same sharpness and general IQ as my Tele-Elmarit "thin" 90/2.8 more or less but much more affordable and flare resistant. A must have if you're not after a faster lens IMHO. My favorite 90s remain Leica 90/2 apo, 90/2 v2 and 90/4 macro but they are much more expensive obviously. Another option is the latest Elmarit 90/2.8 but it is significantly more expensive than the Rokkor and is not significantly better than the latter. No experience about Summarits 90/2.5 or 90/2.4 but they have an excellent reputation.

 

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I had Summarit 90 f/2.5. Excellent lens for M and Sony A7r (via Novoflex). I traded it for an APO 90, because of maximum aperture in trouble light circumstances, but in terms of size & weight Summarit easily wins.

... not to mention price.

But I guess both are probably too sharp, "modern" in rendering for what the OP is looking for.

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Sticking with your quest for "vintage" lenses (which for me means pre-1990)....

 

The original Elmarit f/2.8 (1959-74) is probably the best performer all-around. It is a "true" 90mm, without the optical compromises needed for compact tele-photo construction.

 

The original "stovepipe" 90 Summicron (1957-1980) is not bad, just really large.

 

The 90 Elmar-C f/4 introduced for the compact CL camera in the mid-70s is pretty good, but some have reported focus issues on M bodies due to a different cam geometry specifically designed for the small CL rangefinder. Very similar to the M-Rokkor displayed by lct above.

 

The Tele-Elmarits suffer a bit from the "tele" compromises needed for their ultra-compact size (to fit into the same case as the basic 50mm). Mostly in terms of flare problems. The "thin" version (1974-1989) is a bit crisper and sharper in the corners, and I used it for many years - but very flare-prone in backlighting. Almost as small as the Elmar-C f/4.

 

The compact 90 Summicron tele (1980-1997) is a tad soft at f/2, and still a bit heavy, but has very good contrast and resolution stopped down to below f/4, and few flare problems. And very smooth background blur (bokeh).

 

The "new" 90 Elmarit-M, added for the M cameras in 1990, but a 1980 design originally for the SLRs - for me, doesn't have the vintage look. It is really the first lens with the modern "Solmsy" look, pinker and very, very contrasty. Almost a 90 APO-Summicron, at a stop slower.

 

My own take: On a 240, with the higher imaging demands of digital, and the slightly reduced RF magnification (unless you use live view), focusing a 90 quickly at f/2 is marginal, and f/2.8 just adequate. And if you are not going to use those apertures, the vintage f/4 lenses will do as well, at a lower price and smaller package. However - the 90 Summicrons do have a lovely look for portraits, and the thin 90 TE gives you the option of f/2.8 in the size and quality of the f/4s (so long as you watch out for flare). So it somewhat depends on just how you want to use the lens.

 

Practical note: Among older 90s, Leica only supports the compact 1980 90 f/2, thin 90 TEM, and recent "new" Elmarit for 6-bit coding. Third-party technicians can probably code the others, though. If you care about the coding.

 

EDIT- one other option, made in Leica screw-mount but adaptable to M bayonet, is the Cosina/Voigtlander 90mm APO-Lanthar f/3.5. Built in this century (2001), but with a look in between the real vintage look and the modern Leica look. Very high resolution, moderate contrast.

Edited by adan
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Curious if anyone has used the once-legendary "three-element" Elmar on the M240.

 

 

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I tried one on an M9 - softish wide-open and fairly low contrast. But if you like the 'vintage look' its fine ;) .

 

Personally I see three categories of lens here:

 

'Vintage' - that is non-aspheric lenses which lack well controlled correction,

 

Non-aspheric lenses with high correction (ie lenses which are pretty well as good as economically possible without using aspheric elements), and

 

Aspherically corrected ('modern') designs - 'state-of-the-art' lenses which have better correction than is currently possible without the use of aspheric surfaces.

 

To me the first includes most older 90mm lenses from Leica, but the later designs such as the 90mm Elmarit-M, Summarit and macro versions sit in the second category (I'll leave the arguments over the pre-aspheric Summicrons to others) whilst the 90mm Apo-Summicron is in the last category.

 

So if you want a vintage look then avoid the lenses listed.

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