Leica R8 glass

[Hanson Leatherby]

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Hi all!

I am about to Buy an R8 and am overwhelmed with confusion about lens choice

 

I want a zoom lens or prime tele lens, maybe with macro.

 

I was wondering if anyone could tell me if any of the following lenses I am looking at are good or bad. I am aware that the build quality and optic design change, perhaps due to people such as Minolta and other companies being involved.

 

I have a budget of around 250-400 pounds so I am pretty limited I think. I want to buy primary something that has the Leica look and build quality and I felt that some of the lenses I picked up felt not so well made as others.

 

Any help or pointers would be greatly appreciated.

 

I have been looking at the following:

 

Leitz Telyt 250mm f4

3 cam 1972 Canada

 

 

Leitz macro elmar 100 f4

& 1:1 adaptor 3-cam year 1980

 

 

Leitz Elmar 180 mm f4

3-cam 1977. production era 1976-1996

 

 

Leitz Telyt-R 250mm f4

3 cam 8 blade 1973 production era 1970-79

designer Walter Mandler

 

 

Leitz 70-210mm f4

Vario Elmar R 3 cam 70's

 

 

Leica 135mm

Elmarit f2.8 R 3 cam year 1979 Designer Walter Mandler production 1968-98

 

 

Leitz 75-200 f4.5

vario elmar R era 1979 production era 1978-84 manufacturer Minolta

 

 

Leitz 80-200mm f4.5

vario elmar R3 cam year 1976 Minolta

 

Thanks again for any advice

[cbretteville]

Fist thing you need to sort out for yourself is what are you going to photograph. Most of the lenses you list are longer focals and that is ok if you plan to work from a distance. But a pain if you're shooting the kids at home. Personally I'd start with a prime in the normal or moderate wide angle area like a 50 or a 35.

 

Had a look at reddot cameras listing of R-glass and they have a wide selection, including zooms like the 28-70 and 35-70. I suggest you go and talk to them. Like you they're in London.

Carl

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[tobey bilek]

You do not have the cash to move into Leica. The lenses listed are well down the desirability list and priced accordingly. The best is the 250 4.0 second version with the rectangular foot rotating tripod socket. The one with the round fixed foot is almost as good optically, it is a beast to handle. The other with a Leica shoulder stock handles in a superb manner.

 

100 4.0 is a more than decent macro, terrible at distance. 100 2.8 Apo is a superb lens, any distance.

 

I have the 70/200 4.0 which is pretty nice as is the Minolta copy 35/70. I replaced it with the 35/70 4.0. sad but they languish in my cabinet.

 

The original 50 2.0 with a ser 6 filter installed is typical of the era, 1960, You need the filter to make 2.0 work decently.

 

35 2.8 are ok

 

original 90 2.8 is very very nice. Goes to 1:3 with proper Elpro, do not adapt wrong ones as they kill performance. The spacing goes off.

 

135 2.8 are ok, but not great optics.

 

60 2.8 macro is better than average lens and remains viable today.

 

none of the cheap zooms are really good.

 

These are what you buy on a budget.

[earleygallery]

You do not have the cash to move into Leica.

 

Pardon? £400 will buy him a Leica R lens in the range that he's looking for.

 

Take a trip to a few dealers and see what they have. As you're not after a specific lens, and you're buying s/h of course, see what you can find in good condition for a bargain price!

 

If you wait until you have your R8 body, take it with you loaded with film and try some test shots before making a final decision.

[stunsworth]

I've used the 250mm with non-rotating collar and it was a very good lens. I'm sure the later lenses are better, but personally I didn't have any issues with it.

 

However it's a heavy lens, and personally I found the shorter 180mm f4 lens to be much easier to use, and far lighter.

 

I've never used the Minolta based zooms, but they seemed to suffer in comparison to the Leica prime lenses - as would most zoom lenses from that period.

 

If you want a shorter lens you can't really go wrong with a 50mm Summicron. I had a third cam one and it produced excellent results.

[Hanson Leatherby]

Thanks for the replies!

 

The reason I want zoom or longer focal length with an R8 is because I have an M3 and an M9p with a seletion of lenses ranging from 15mm to 90 mm with new and old leica glass and a couple of modern zeiss lenses. I realise that the M cameras are limited with focal lengths longer than 90. The m3 is great with 90 but the m9p is rubbish, with the incomplete and inaccurate framelines.

 

I have a budget as I was hoping to buy a nice Rolleiflex too but I may put that on hold and invest in a decent lens for the r8.

 

I was wondering about the Leitz 80- 200mm F4.5 Vario Elmar R 3 cam and the same lens but rom and later. The Later one is budget busting, is it worth the extra £300?

[Hanson Leatherby]

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I do like the idea of taking my R8 in loaded and testing a few lenses. Thanks for that tip.

I get a bit frustrated when shop assistants dont really want to explain the products they are selling or simply dont know anything about the difference in quality of the lenses. I have spent probably around 15 grand on Leica equipment over the past year yet I rarely get customer satisfaction. Its pretty tough working out what lens is good or bad and I dont like the idea that cheaper lenses are all rubbish and only the very latest most expensive lenses are worth using. Theres more to it than that I think.

[dave_d]

I have the 135mm Elmarit and like the lens and focal length very much and use it often for portraits. Some tend to think this lens is not as good as other Leica lenses but I have no complaints. One nice thing about the lens is it can be found at a reasonable price compared to some of the others you have listed.

[Hanson Leatherby]

Thanks for the feedback

I am looking towards a 180mm f2.8 rom or an 80-200 f4 rom or something similiar. I guess my price bracket is going to be around 6-700?

Id really like something german made and with a nice bokeh and good not blinding sharpness.

Anyone have any more lenses they recommend?

Thanks all

[wildlightphoto]

I was wondering about the Leitz 80- 200mm F4.5 Vario Elmar R 3 cam and the same lens but rom and later. The Later one is budget busting, is it worth the extra £300?

 

If the ROM lens is the 80-200mm f/4 (not f/4.5) then yes it's worth the extra expense. It's one of the great bargains among Leica-R lenses. Not German made, but it was a Leica design built by Kyocera to Leica specs and IMHO is fully Leica quality.

 

I have the 135mm Elmarit and like the lens and focal length very much and use it often for portraits. Some tend to think this lens is not as good as other Leica lenses but I have no complaints. One nice thing about the lens is it can be found at a reasonable price compared to some of the others you have listed.

 

It's a not-blinding-sharpness-and-nice-bokeh lens. It's also quite heavy, has a relatively long minimum focus distance and the German version I used tends to flare readily.

Edited January 18, 2012 by wildlightphoto

[andybarton]

I have a 28 Elmarit-R, a 60 Macro-Elmarit-R, a 90 Summicron and a 250 f4 Tele

 

The 28 is my standard lens, followed by the others in length order. The 60 Macro is outstanding and the 90, made in the 70s is an exceptionally sharp lens.

 

The only lens which cost me "serious" (in R terms) money was the 28, which was £950. All the others were £500 or less.

 

In Leica terms, any non-zoom R-lens is a real bargain. If you want a zoom lens, make sure it's made in Germany, not Japan.

[Hanson Leatherby]

Excellent! Thanks for the clear advice. Very helpful!

[wildlightphoto]

If you want a zoom lens, make sure it's made in Germany, not Japan.

 

I'd make an exception for the 35-70mm f/4 and the 80-200mm f/4. Both made in Japan, both excellent quality.

[masjah]

I'd make an exception for the 35-70mm f/4 and the 80-200mm f/4. Both made in Japan, both excellent quality.

 

Agreed. And the 35-70/4 can focus down to around 10 inches, which gives it some sort of macro capability (1:2.8 I think).

[andybarton]

Trouble is that there are several different Leica zooms around the same focal length. Knowing which one to buy is not as easy as it might be.

[Hanson Leatherby]

How about these two lenses:

 

 

Leica 180mm f/2.8 Elmarit - R Lens Version 2, ROM

 

 

Leica 180/3.4 APO-Telyt-R

 

Anyone use any of the 180 mm 2.8 lenses for around £700 and find it of good quality?

[andybarton]

You won't be disappointed with either of the, I'm sure.

[Hanson Leatherby]

Hey there!

I ended up buying two lenses.

 

A 28 f2.8 elmarit r made in germany built 1970 so this is the first version i believe.

 

Also a 135 elmarit r f2.8 made in canada build 1977 so i think this is version two of the 135 f2.8 range.

 

I bought these two for £590 so I thought it was a good price and that it would allow me to play with the R8 a bit more than just having one lens

 

I have shot a roll of ektar 100 as my first test roll with the camera and I got some reasonable results. Everything was perfectly exposed but the look of the images are just ok. Im not an expert at determining the quality aspects, but I haven't had a wow shot out of any frames particularly.

Ill try a few more rolls before I decide but I may sell both and get one better lens.

[Hanson Leatherby]

Sometimes I love Ektar sometimes I think it looks odd... I should try some slide film and portra. Do people think I bought some crummy lenses?

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[andybarton]

There are practically no crummy lenses with Leica written on the front. Some are better than others, but there are very few clunkers.

 

You have done very well with those two, especially at that price. My first R lens was a 28 V1 and I sold it for a V2 when I bought my DMR and I still use that on my Nikon D700.

 

Try some Portra and some Provia slide film.

 

Have fun.