Older M 90mm f2

[lct]

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It is a 1992 sample according to the lens database at summilux.net....

Thanks Menos. Exactly what i like. Just bought one from 1995 in Germany. You're a formidable seller.

[menos I M6]

Lol, I should earn my money otherwise then ;-)

 

Just make sure, that focus fits perfect with your other lenses (and I mean perfect, like in spot on).

Don't make compromises on this or you end up with endless shipping the lens back and forth with Solms or even worse, will start, to not use it/ hate it or even write bad reports about it all over the internet ;-)

 

Make sure, it is blistering sharp in the center, when doing casual shots from close to infinity with your camera and you should be fine.

 

You will love it, if it works and if you are aware of it's character. I love mine and won't sell it soon!

[ramosa]

Generally speaking, I think a Summicron 90 "old" is not one of the best buy one can do searching for a 90: using f2 is critical in most of situations and the lens is not an astonishing perfomer wide open : I have one, but from when I bought (used) a Elmarit-M 90 2,8 of the last version, it stands always on the shelf... is more compact, has a quickier focus throw, and is better than the Summicron at any aperture. The Summarit can be a good alternative too, supposed it performs similarly to my Summarit 75 (which is really superb wide open).

 

this is really helpful in regards to the elmarit 90. though i fear that getting a summarit (because of its "lesser" build) wouldn't be a good move ... in regards to future resale value.

[ramosa]

Of the Elmarit-M (e46) and Summicron-M (e55) I kept the latter. My findings (corroborated by E. Puts commentary, FWIW) were that from f/2.8 the Summicron and Elmarit-M are remarkably identical in performance (from say 6ft on...the Elmarit is a tiny bit better in the far corners in the closer range until f/5.6). They aren't that much different in size and weight, either (especially compared to the thin T-E). F/2 on the pre-APO Summicron lacks the biting sharpness and crisp contrast of the APO-ASPH, but the rendering for portraiture is IMHO nicer. It has that creamy smoothness that hides some skin pores etc.

 

As for the price, I'm not sure about today because Leica lens prices have risen so disproportionately over the last few years. I paid about $750 for mine about 6-7 years ago.

 

If you're needing f/2, then there are only 2 choices in Leica glass, the pre-APO and APO. If you need that clinical sharpness at f/2, then there's only one choice, the APO. I look upon the Summicron pre-APO as an Elmarit with an extra stop there for emergencies and portraiture.

 

**Disclaimer: I had most of the ASPH lenses at one time, but no longer do. They (ASPH) are everything everyone says about them, in a good way, but my taste just prefers the prior generation for some reason. Something in the look.

 

hmm ... two things here catch my attention. (pardon my pointing these out.) first, the elmarit is considerably lighter than the cron ... so i'm not sure why we're comparing these lenses to the much, much ligher tele-elmarit. (that's sort of like saying a sedan isn't that much lighter than an SUV when compared to a compact.) pardon the comment, but it's seems like an odd argument. second, the rendering and handle of the elmarit is dramatically different from the pre-asph cron, so i'm not sure how we can say that the pre-asph cron is like the elmarit plus an extra stop. actually, it seems that the pre-asph cron and elmarit are really different animals in regards to size, rendering, handling, sharpness, aperature, etc.

[bocaburger]

hmm ... two things here catch my attention. (pardon my pointing these out.) first, the elmarit is considerably lighter than the cron ... so i'm not sure why we're comparing these lenses to the much, much ligher tele-elmarit. (that's sort of like saying a sedan isn't that much lighter than an SUV when compared to a compact.) pardon the comment, but it's seems like an odd argument. second, the rendering and handle of the elmarit is dramatically different from the pre-asph cron, so i'm not sure how we can say that the pre-asph cron is like the elmarit plus an extra stop. actually, it seems that the pre-asph cron and elmarit are really different animals in regards to size, rendering, handling, sharpness, aperature, etc.

 

Your statement which I put in bold type is where we disagree completely, and that therefore ascends through the rest of it. Having owned and used the Elmarit-M (e46) along with the pre-ASPH Cron (e55) considerably, I found them remarkably indistinguishable from f/2.8 (other than, as I said, in the near range where the Cron needs a bit more stopping down for best corner performance). Given the similarity in performance in my experience, the Elmarit is tantamount to a Cron minus the widest stop. If it were substantially smaller and lighter..as, for example the Tele-Elmarit, it would be a trade-off I could have lived with.