R - Telephoto lenses

[chris_tribble]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Well, to me all the characters of the lettering on your microwave oven seem to be better defined in the Leica shot, despite the Nikkor lens having a considerable advantage due to its higher magnification factor.

 

Andy

 

Andy - agreed - but I was guessing the focus (this was the best from a series of bracketed shots) using the M9 + the Apo-Telyt 135 is reckoned to be one of the best lenses leica used, while the Nikkor 300 was produced in around 1979! I'll hold on to it until I can test it properly... It's not going to be a bread and butter lens, just fun to be able to use this FL easily on an M body. I'm still not selling the Canon 300 f2.8 L

[k-hawinkler]

Focus APO-Telyt-R 280/4 on M9 with NEX-5N http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/digital-forum/256040-focus-apo-telyt-r-280-4-a.html

 

Seems to work well.

[chris_tribble]

K-H - looking at these it makes me want to post a couple of further tests with the Nikkor 300 4.5 on the M9 - I think I'll be able to do better with focus peaking on the M 420 - but these aren't bad... One of the things that I really appreciate with this lens is its contrast and rendering of colour. The brickwork here is spot on! Again - shooting fully open.

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!

[wlaidlaw]

Chris,

 

The contrast is very high. This is the sort of thing I used to get from a Contax CX/Y Tele-Tessar 300/f4 and a country mile higher contrast than my series 3 Telyt 280/f4.8V let alone my series 2.

 

Wilson

[wlaidlaw]

Amusingly I was looking at 300/f4 Tele Tessar prices, now you can get a Rayqual CX/Y to M adapter. I noticed that the earlier German made lenses fetch more than the slightly re-computed later Japanese built models. Isn't snobbery a wonderful thing!

 

Wilson

[wildlightphoto]

The sample photos look a bit soft. Will be interesting to see how much improvement there is with focus peaking.

[chris_tribble]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

The sample photos look a bit soft. Will be interesting to see how much improvement there is with focus peaking.

 

Agreed!

 

I'm going to stop messing around now and wait until the M 240 is with us. If the Nikkor doesn't work it won't be the end of the world as it's a lens I can sell easily enough - and the experiment passes the time in the meantime :-)

 

If the sun comes out in London one day, and I have a moment, I'll give it another go

[chris_tribble]

Amusingly I was looking at 300/f4 Tele Tessar prices, now you can get a Rayqual CX/Y to M adapter. I noticed that the earlier German made lenses fetch more than the slightly re-computed later Japanese built models. Isn't snobbery a wonderful thing!

 

Wilson

 

I'd looked at this lens, and there are some very inexpensive ones on offer out there. I was slightly put off by this review: Carl Zeiss Tessar T* 300mm f/4 (C/Y) Lens Review

 

But hey - who to trust these days!

[wlaidlaw]

I'd looked at this lens, and there are some very inexpensive ones on offer out there. I was slightly put off by this review: Carl Zeiss Tessar T* 300mm f/4 (C/Y) Lens Review

 

But hey - who to trust these days!

 

Chris,

 

From the appearance of the print on the front of that lens, he think he was testing an early German made lens. This means it is around 40 years old. I suspect if he had tested the later Japanese MM spec lens, with the improved coating (Green T* rather than white T*), he might have got better results. This lens was noted for high contrast, like virtually all modern Zeiss lenses right up to the present, so I was a bit surprised at his comments. Maybe it did not suit his high quality testing camera (Canon Rebel - cough cough). I do agree that the focus is very slow with loads of twisting but that applies to most manual focus lenses of that length/era.

 

If I decide to get a 300mm and I suspect I will just put up with the 280 Telyt, I personally would still go for the Canon FD300 f4 L. I have been keeping an eye on various for sale on Fleabay and otherwise. I have seen them as low as £500.

 

Wilson

[chris_tribble]

Wilson - glad to see you're up bright and early!

Point taken on the Zeiss. re the Canon, I see loads of NON L Canon 300 f4/s out there, but only one of the L series - converted for Ariflex! I'll keep on hunting. If you do see one and decide not to go for it, maybe pm me?

Lucky you with the 280 Telyt. NOT a bad choice

[philipus]

I had a look again at the list of lenses mentioned as working with the M according to the brochure. I hope this is not every supported R lens, though it does say "all" (p. 20, emphasis added):

 

At a glance – all R-Lenses supported in the menu of the Leica M:

Super-elmarit-r 15mm f/2.8; elmarit-r 19mm f/2.8; elmarit-r 28mm f/2.8; Summilux-r 35mm f/1.4; Summicron-r 35mm f/2; Summicron-r 50mm f/2; Summilux-r 50mm f/1.4; macro-elmarit-r 60mm f/2.8; Summilux-r 80mm f/1.4; Summicron-r 90mm f/2; apo-macro-elmarit-r 100mm f/2.8; apo-Telyt-r 180mm f/3.4; apo-elmarit-r 180mm f/2.8; apo-Summicron-r 180mm f/2; apo-Telyt-r 280mm f/4; Vario-elmar-r 21–35mm f/3.5-4; Vario-elmar-r 28–70mm f/3.5-4.5; Vario-elmar-r 35–70mm f/4; Vario-elmarit-r 28–90mm f/2.8-4.5; Vario-apo-elmarit-r 70–180mm f/2.8; Vario-elmar-r 80–200mm f/4

 

Anyway, what I wanted to know is how the 180mm Elmarit-R v.1 is - dog or bargain? Is it a lens one should at all consider for the M (provided it will work with the adapter naturally)?

 

It is fairly light (1300g) and doesn't seem very big. The one thread linked to in the Wiki predominantly concerns a comparison between Version 2 and the 180 3.4 APO, however it is said that v.1 and v.2 are optically the same or at least similar, if I read the posts correctly.

 

Any thoughts on this?

[wlaidlaw]

Philip,

 

Some info here Leica Camera AG - Downloads

 

Wilson

[Bobitybob]

Anyway, what I wanted to know is how the 180mm Elmarit-R v.1 is - dog or bargain? Is it a lens one should at all consider for the M (provided it will work with the adapter naturally)?

 

It is fairly light (1300g) and doesn't seem very big. The one thread linked to in the Wiki predominantly concerns a comparison between Version 2 and the 180 3.4 APO, however it is said that v.1 and v.2 are optically the same or at least similar, if I read the posts correctly.

 

Any thoughts on this?

 

I have one of these, obviously not as sharp as the APO version but it produces a nice image, especially if stopped down to f4 or so. It's heavy though and thus difficult to hand hold. The second version is half the weight and apparently optically as good, if slightly more expensive (wish i'd have spent a little extra now ). I predominantly use an Elmar-R 1:4/180, which is light weight and small, with the improved sensor/ISO on the new M the smaller aperture shouldn't be a great issue.

 

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!

 

Lumix L1 Elmarit-R 1:2.8/180

[robsteve]

This thread was a long read so far. Back to the original poster's question, if you want a 400mm, I would suggest the 400mm f6.8 as Doug suggested or one of the APO-Telyts.

 

With the new M using some sort of edge contrast detection to give visual focus confirmation with R lenses, a lens with higher contrast would probably work best. In that case, I would suggest Doug's 280mm f4 APO or probably the lens with the most contrast when focusing, the 180mm APO Summicron. Keep in mind with the 180mm APO Summicron, but the 1.4x and 2x extenders were designed for f2.8 lenses, so you need to stop down the APO Summicron to avoid vignetting with the extenders.

[masjah]

This thread was a long read so far. Back to the original poster's question, if you want a 400mm, I would suggest the 400mm f6.8 as Doug suggested or one of the APO-Telyts.

 

With the new M using some sort of edge contrast detection to give visual focus confirmation with R lenses, a lens with higher contrast would probably work best. In that case, I would suggest Doug's 280mm f4 APO or probably the lens with the most contrast when focusing, the 180mm APO Summicron. Keep in mind with the 180mm APO Summicron, but the 1.4x and 2x extenders were designed for f2.8 lenses, so you need to stop down the APO Summicron to avoid vignetting with the extenders.

 

Robert, just a small point. If the instruction booklet for my 2X Apo Extender is correct, it's OK for lenses at f/2 and above - it's just any f/1.4 lenses that need stopping down (as well as exposure correction).

[robsteve]

Robert, just a small point. If the instruction booklet for my 2X Apo Extender is correct, it's OK for lenses at f/2 and above - it's just any f/1.4 lenses that need stopping down (as well as exposure correction).

 

John:

 

I think I maybe should have said faster than f2.8 telephotos. If is in the directions some where, maybe just in the 180mm APO Summicron directions.

[rick_dykstra]

Ah ... the 180 Cron. Current Ebay price €3,990 (eBay | Leica R 1:2/180mm Apo-Summicron-R 3CAM 11271). Good value in some senses, a step too far in others!

 

I used a 180 Summicron to photograph a concert - my 7 YO daughter's class singing a folk song in the school hall. The look on the other Dads' faces said it was a step too far.

[chris_tribble]