Alnitak Posted December 10, 2009 Share #1 Posted December 10, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) I'm curious if anyone here uses the 135mm APO-Telyt on their M9. I loved the 90mm length on the M8, and have been debating the 135 on my M9, but I waver due to the focal length and the likely small frame lines. If you use it or the older 135's, I would be curious to hear what you think of the combination. I am debating picking up the 135 before the end of year price increase. Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted December 10, 2009 Posted December 10, 2009 Hi Alnitak, Take a look here Anyone use the 135mm APO-Telyt?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
jaapv Posted December 10, 2009 Share #2 Posted December 10, 2009 My tele-Elmar 135 4.0 was great on the M8, I don't doubt it will be better on the M9. Waiting for the rain and mist to clear... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jelico Posted December 10, 2009 Share #3 Posted December 10, 2009 Its a very very sharp lens, I used if often, with 1.4 magnifier no problems at all. Its a long lens and not that easy to handle. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riccis Posted December 10, 2009 Share #4 Posted December 10, 2009 Jeff: I highly recommend the 135 APO for the M9 as it is extremely sharp (even wide open). If you need focusing aid you can always put the 1.25x or 1.40x magnifier and you are good to go... IMHO, this is a sleeper lens that once more folks get their M9s and start playing with it will be in hot demand. Cheers, Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sm23221 Posted December 10, 2009 Share #5 Posted December 10, 2009 Great lens, use it fairly often. Leica recommends you stop down a bit on the M9. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Campbell Posted December 10, 2009 Share #6 Posted December 10, 2009 For me this is a heavily used lens. I'm not really a long lens shooter, but I frequently use it to make stitches. Resolution and contrast are outstanding - it's easy for it to outperform my technique. To get optimum performance you need to stop down to f5.6 (this issue is focus, not inherent image sharpness) and use 1/250 or faster. Puts describes it as the best lens of this focal length ever. Samples from my daily photo blog: A single frame from yesterday: Four frames stitched from last weekend: One from a couple of weeks ago (again a four frame stitch) - the long focal length permitted a long point of view, minimizing geometric distortion. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alnitak Posted December 10, 2009 Author Share #7 Posted December 10, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) Thanks, great stuff, just what I was looking for. Of course, this means my bank account will be somewhat reduced in size. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riccis Posted December 10, 2009 Share #8 Posted December 10, 2009 Great lens, use it fairly often. Leica recommends you stop down a bit on the M9. I don't know why they state this as I see no issues wide open... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alnitak Posted December 10, 2009 Author Share #9 Posted December 10, 2009 I don't know why they state this as I see no issues wide open... Based on what I was reading, Leica suggests that for DOF to make sure that the intended target falls in the plane of focus, not overall sharpness of the lens itself. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted December 10, 2009 Share #10 Posted December 10, 2009 Leica is extremely conservative on this. With the M8 they insisted that a 135 was not advised as being impossible to focus. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
UliWer Posted December 10, 2009 Share #11 Posted December 10, 2009 Leica is extremely conservative on this. ... That's a very polite way to state that they are just polite and don't crudely say: "Our lenses are better than the eyes of many of our customers". The aim of Leica's optical department seems to be to improve all of their lenses. To achieve this with the Apo-Telyt will be the the most difficult problem to solve. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjrose Posted December 11, 2009 Share #12 Posted December 11, 2009 This is a superb lens, but on the M8 there are no frame lines. One of the reasons I have an M9 on order is to be able to use this lens again. I use a magnifier and have no problems focusing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikenic Posted December 11, 2009 Share #13 Posted December 11, 2009 This is a severe crop out of an infinity test I was doing on my 135 Tele Elmar at f4 (on an M8) a month ago. I was focusing on the crater in the front left. So I think its back focusing.. ?? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sm23221 Posted December 11, 2009 Share #14 Posted December 11, 2009 Leica is extremely conservative on this. With the M8 they insisted that a 135 was not advised as being impossible to focus. I found it more difficult to focus on my M8 at about 50ft distances - it would front focus. It was spot on at infinity and at close range. Seems easier to use on the M9 and I've gotten good results even wide open. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom0511 Posted December 11, 2009 Share #15 Posted December 11, 2009 I also have used it on the M9 and really like the 135mm. However I had a slightly focus inaccurancy at infinity and therefore the lens went to Soms and I am awaiting it back now. I thought about the 135/2.8 with the loupe - but speciall for travel the 135/3.4 (or 4.0) is more compact. Personally I like the 135mm focal length quite abit and now use more often 75 or 135 instead of 90. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_tribble Posted December 11, 2009 Share #16 Posted December 11, 2009 I've always advocated the use of this lens on M8 and M9. The one thing that annoys me is that Leica won't release the 6 bit coding sequence for the Apo Telyt 135 so that if you HAVE a back plate with slots machined for coding + the right cam to bring up the correct frameline (which I have) you still can't code correctly. Also, the 2.8 coding doesn't work with the correct 135 framelines on the M9 so there's no workaround that I can see. The good news is that you can select the lens manually - but this isn't my preferred option (I've had the bad experience of swapping back to 21 from the 135 and forgetting to revert to Auto lens recognition - serious vignetting!). Otherwise the 135 rocks on the M9.... Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/106309-anyone-use-the-135mm-apo-telyt/?do=findComment&comment=1147277'>More sharing options...
tom0511 Posted December 11, 2009 Share #17 Posted December 11, 2009 I've always advocated the use of this lens on M8 and M9. The one thing that annoys me is that Leica won't release the 6 bit coding sequence for the Apo Telyt 135 so that if you HAVE a back plate with slots machined for coding + the right cam to bring up the correct frameline (which I have) you still can't code correctly. Also, the 2.8 coding doesn't work with the correct 135 framelines on the M9 so there's no workaround that I can see. The good news is that you can select the lens manually - but this isn't my preferred option (I've had the bad experience of swapping back to 21 from the 135 and forgetting to revert to Auto lens recognition - serious vignetting!). Otherwise the 135 rocks on the M9.... Chris, so far I have the feeling that you can leave the lens setting on auto in the M9 and the results with the 135/3.4 will look just fine. I dont know if you would have any advantage from coding other than Exif info of focal length. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Henry Posted December 11, 2009 Share #18 Posted December 11, 2009 Hi Jeff , I did it with M8 here : http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m8-forum/108439-135-elmar-m8-possible.html#post1144944 and i will try with M9 that i wait for Christmas Nice capture Chris ! Best regards Henry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott kirkpatrick Posted December 11, 2009 Share #19 Posted December 11, 2009 ... The one thing that annoys me is that Leica won't release the 6 bit coding sequence for the Apo Telyt 135 so that if you HAVE a back plate with slots machined for coding + the right cam to bring up the correct frameline (which I have) you still can't code correctly. ...Otherwise the 135 rocks on the M9.... I'm confused. If the 135 APO Telyt comes with 6-bit coding, one of you lucky guys who is using one can look at the base and read it out. Better yet, post a picture, so that it is clear in which order to read or copy the bits. Or is this actually an older lens from the days of the M6,7, and P, when the 35mm frames carried a tiny 135mm insert, just like the M9 now does? There is a code for the 135/2.8 in the M8's firmware, where it can be read, but no 135/3.4. I presume the M9 recognizes this lens, but its firmware is encrypted. Popflash doesn't currently have one in stock, but if they did, Tony usually posts a view of the back end, with the code visible. B&H does have them in stock, and theirs look new style, like the 75 and 90 Summicrons, with a built-in extendable lens hood, so I would have expected to see coding. scott Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ario Arioldi Posted December 11, 2009 Share #20 Posted December 11, 2009 I'm confused. If the 135 APO Telyt comes with 6-bit coding, one of you lucky guys who is using one can look at the base and read it out. Better yet, post a picture, so that it is clear in which order to read or copy the bits. Or is this actually an older lens from the days of the M6,7, and P, when the 35mm frames carried a tiny 135mm insert, just like the M9 now does? There is a code for the 135/2.8 in the M8's firmware, where it can be read, but no 135/3.4. I presume the M9 recognizes this lens, but its firmware is encrypted. Popflash doesn't currently have one in stock, but if they did, Tony usually posts a view of the back end, with the code visible. B&H does have them in stock, and theirs look new style, like the 75 and 90 Summicrons, with a built-in extendable lens hood, so I would have expected to see coding. scott The current LEICA APO- TELYT-M 135mm/f3.4 will not be available in a 6-bit coded version. (From Leica M9 FAQ). So there is no way to read the code on a real lens, but since there is the possibility to manually set the APO Telyt from menù, may be there is a binary code for it which can be red on the exif data. I could not find it but somebody more clever than me might do. Cheers, Ario Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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