90mm lens for Sony A7?

[JulianLuttrell]

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Hi all,

 

I am looking for an 85-90mm lens for my Sony A7. My experience with Leica lenses so far has been so good that I want to stay with Leica if possible.

 

First thoughts have narrowed my choice down to Summarit M 90mm or Elmarit M 90mm - I might consider the Summicron 90mm, but it is a bit large. The cron is also a bit pricey for my family budget:(

 

Does anybody have any strong experiences one way or the other with these two lenses?

 

Julian

[FlashGordonPhotography]

I've used the Summarit 90 on both my A7 and A7r. No issues at all. It's very sharp with the same slightly classic look it has on the M. I'm keen to try a Summicron APO as I think that would be stellar. Also the APO135 is fantastic on the A7 as well.

 

Gordon

[Shac]

Julian - I use a 90 Elmarit on the A7. Used to have the 90 AA as well but various negative factors made me sell it including handling, size/weight and wide-open performance. That might be heretical to some but ....

The Elmarit is beautifully made and fits the A7 well IMO

good luck

[paulsydaus]

I'd go for the new macro 90 to keep things compact and gain macro ability.

[JulianLuttrell]

Sadly the Macro-Elmar is out of my price range:(

 

I have been reading some opinion online that is disparaging about the build quality of the Summarit - is there any justification in this? It certainly _looks_ a bit different - gone is the Leica font!!!

 

This is hard to decide - does anybody know of any comparative pictures online that show how the Summarit and Elmarit perform?

 

Julian

[towa]

I am very happy with the Elmarit M 90 on the Sony a7, sharp, nice bokeh wide open. The Summicron M 90 is big and heavy.

 

I also use the Summarit M 75. Very sharp too, small and light, ideal for travel. I prefer this focal length for portrait and architecture / landscape, as with 90 mm very often I feel 'too close' (have a restricted view). The quality of the Summarit 90 is told to be similar to the 75. But you should consider, that the Summarits have separate lens hoods (very uncomfortable for me), instead of the integrated (telescopic) lens hood in the Elmarit M 90.

 

Kind regards

towa

[jimmielx]

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Sadly the Macro-Elmar is out of my price range:(

 

I have been reading some opinion online that is disparaging about the build quality of the Summarit - is there any justification in this? It certainly _looks_ a bit different - gone is the Leica font!!!

 

Julian

 

I own a 90mm Summarit and a 75mm Cron AA. Personally I don't see any difference in build quality beyond the 'rubber' focus grip on the Summarit. In use I don't see that as better or worse, just different. Certainly the Summarit is beautifully made, and I find it a fantastic lens, though I'm not able to compare it with any other 90s.

[JulianLuttrell]

Thanks for the replies - it's a tricky decision. I have decided on the Elmarit, for now; it should arrive in a couple of days.

[uhoh7]

I tried the hex, the elmarit and the summarit.

 

The summarit is my favorite of the three both on M9 and A7

DSC07460 by unoh7, on Flickr

 

DSC07495 by unoh7, on Flickr

 

for this shoot I used M9 + 28 cron and A7 + 90/2.5, which was a great combo.