ashwinrao1 Posted January 22, 2010 Share #1 Posted January 22, 2010 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hello, everyone. I have heard many great things about the 135 mm f/4 Tele-elmar (versions 1-3) on M film bodies as well as some limited but positive reports on the M8. From reading threads on this forum as well as a couple of others, it seems that this lens is one of the hidden gems in Leica's repertoire. Many say that it is nearly as sharp, with better bokeh, as the 135 apo-telyt. It's also my understanding that all 3 versions of the lens have the same optical formula. I was curious if any of you have experience with this lens on the M9? I just picked up one from KEH for $420 (as prices are going up; this was was in "E" condition), and it's being sent my way. I was missing a longer lens on the M9, as my 90 elmarit was about 115 mm on the M8, a focal length that I grew to enjoy. Given that the M9 should have framelines for 135, shouldn't this lens be useful? I plan to use the lens in daylight for portraits or selective photojournalistic work (very selective, hahahah), using a 1.4x magnifier to aid in focussing. Thoughts? Opinions? Images from this lens on the M9? All are appreciated! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 22, 2010 Posted January 22, 2010 Hi ashwinrao1, Take a look here Opinions or Images of the 135 mm Tele-elmar on the M9?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Bo_Lorentzen Posted January 23, 2010 Share #2 Posted January 23, 2010 Funny, I was just looking KEH a few days ago, probably the same lens... don't snooze with Ashwin around. Can't wait to hear some thoughts about this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
adan Posted January 23, 2010 Share #3 Posted January 23, 2010 Love the 135 TE. I've repeatedly found it easier to focus than the APO since the longer and slightly stiffer focus-throw makes it easier to sneak up on perfect focus (I don't use the magnifier - no time to put it on and remove it in journalistic situations). As you mention - I got very comfortable with the "70-121" effect of a 50 and 90 on the M8, and after a bit of experimenting have more or less ended up in the same place with the M9 - 75mm and 135mm, with a tiny 90 TE on the side for when I really want "small" Nice to be able to pull off a tight portrait like this with the M system: 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/110397-opinions-or-images-of-the-135-mm-tele-elmar-on-the-m9/?do=findComment&comment=1197204'>More sharing options...
adan Posted January 23, 2010 Share #4 Posted January 23, 2010 ...especially when one realizes it was cropped out of this full-frame image (and the corner, no less) Not only a good 135 f/4 - also a pretty good "600mm f/4" some more 135 shots (uncropped) from this take here: ColoradoSeen - Stories Index - Martin Luther King Day�2010 (Statue silhouette, shadows on memorial wall, mayor at podium) 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/110397-opinions-or-images-of-the-135-mm-tele-elmar-on-the-m9/?do=findComment&comment=1197206'>More sharing options...
Bo_Lorentzen Posted January 23, 2010 Share #5 Posted January 23, 2010 Andy, the amazing part is that your crop have more pixels than my first apple digital camera.. and just a little less than my fujix at 1280x960px which were used for news shots... what a wonderful thing the M9 is with a great lens. . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
k-hawinkler Posted January 23, 2010 Share #6 Posted January 23, 2010 Hello, everyone. I have heard many great things about the 135 mm f/4 Tele-elmar (versions 1-3) on M film bodies as well as some limited but positive reports on the M8. From reading threads on this forum as well as a couple of others, it seems that this lens is one of the hidden gems in Leica's repertoire. Many say that it is nearly as sharp, with better bokeh, as the 135 apo-telyt. It's also my understanding that all 3 versions of the lens have the same optical formula. I was curious if any of you have experience with this lens on the M9? I just picked up one from KEH for $420 (as prices are going up; this was was in "E" condition), and it's being sent my way. I was missing a longer lens on the M9, as my 90 elmarit was about 115 mm on the M8, a focal length that I grew to enjoy. Given that the M9 should have framelines for 135, shouldn't this lens be useful? I plan to use the lens in daylight for portraits or selective photojournalistic work (very selective, hahahah), using a 1.4x magnifier to aid in focussing. Thoughts? Opinions? Images from this lens on the M9? All are appreciated! Ashwin, Congratulations. I got mine from KEH in early October 2009 for $499. It was listed as "EX" and manufactured in 1970. For the last several months they have had always a few for sale, ranging from about $200 to $500 each, classified from "BGN" to "EX". I only got my M9 on December 29 and haven't had a lot of opportunity to go take pictures. I am still sorting out focus accuracy of my Leica lenses. My 135 mm f/4 Tele-Elmar seems to be front focussing a bit at close focus distance of 1.5m. However, It seems to be doing quite well at 10-12 feet. I took photos of a brick wall stopping down from f=4 all the way to f=22, images, including full resolution ones, are here 2010-01-18 135 TE Brick Wall - winklers' Photos. You find my assessment of the lens here: http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m9-forum/112760-nikon-28mm-lens-m9-2.html, #27. I would be interested to see if you would draw similar conclusions from the full resolution images as I did as you have a lot more experience with Leica gear than I have. Good luck with your lens. With best regards, k-hawinkler Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashwinrao1 Posted January 23, 2010 Author Share #7 Posted January 23, 2010 Advertisement (gone after registration) @ Bo: hahah, I love it. We must think alike. I have been on a bit of a spree recently, but have had to re-think my lenses a bit on the M9. I had gotten so used to the M8, that suddenly, I was rediscovering new focal lengs and shockingly, missing some of the length that the 90 acheived on the 1.3x sensor! @ Andy: Holy smokes, man. That's an impressively sharp crop that you have there. I am very encouraged. I really like what I have seen in how this lens "draws", whatever that means, but you have shown me just how sharp it can be if focus is achieved correctly @k-hawinkler: Thanks very much for the brick wall shots. I am excited that you had a good experience with KEH as well. I am excited to "discover" this lens. I never thought that I'd really want or need a 135 on a rangefinder (I tend to use the wonderful Canon 135 f/2 L for that), but heard so many good things about this lens, that given its price, I decided to take the plunge! Your shots show that this lens renders fine detail quite well across a range of apertures, so I am excited to test it out! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
k-hawinkler Posted January 25, 2010 Share #8 Posted January 25, 2010 The sequence of images located at 2010-01-24 Black Mesa at Dusk - winklers' Photos were taken with an M9 and a 40 year old 135 mm f/4 Tele-Elmar @ f=8 and show Black Mesa at Dusk. The image below is a central crop from the last image in the sequence. Full resolution images are included in the link above. As adan has pointed out the 135 TE seems to work well 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/110397-opinions-or-images-of-the-135-mm-tele-elmar-on-the-m9/?do=findComment&comment=1199918'>More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.