maximilianm3 Posted December 28, 2015 Share #1 Â Posted December 28, 2015 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi, Â I'd like to add a 90mm lens to my M3 and narrowed it down to three options. First is the 'fat' tele elmarit, second the Elmar 'triplet' and third the elmarit C 90. Since i'd use the lens only for travel, size and weight are an issue (which is why I exclude the similarly priced big Summicron). I have no experience with this focal lenght or the performance of any of these lenses. How do they differ in performance and which one should i get? My budget is 650 euro so I know that I wont find one in collector condition. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted December 28, 2015 Posted December 28, 2015 Hi maximilianm3, Take a look here Which 90mm?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
asiafish Posted December 28, 2015 Share #2 Â Posted December 28, 2015 The "Thin" tele-elmarit, if you find one without the glue issues, is a fantastic lens and is about as small as it gets for 90mm. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
spydrxx Posted December 28, 2015 Share #3  Posted December 28, 2015 Any would work fine. Your choices suggest you using the lens with a Visoflex is a low priority, as this requires the head to be removed from the focusing mount; note you can do that with Elmar triplet, which was designed to have good close-up optical performance with very little distortion, as well as long distance contrast and resolution, especially at smaller apertures. Some people have experienced slight focusing errors with C mount lenses, as they were designed to work with the Leica CL, which has a slightly different focusing curve. I've never used the fat, only the thin tele-elmarit, and I agree with Asiafishe's assessment. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hendriphile Posted December 28, 2015 Share #4 Â Posted December 28, 2015 The "Thin" tele-elmarit, if you find one without the glue issues, is a fantastic lens and is about as small as it gets for 90mm. 1+ Â Â It's smaller than some 50's, takes great portraits wide open, & is very sharp at mid-apertures. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wda Posted December 28, 2015 Share #5 Â Posted December 28, 2015 The Elmar is a stop slower than the TE, a lens I used for years with my M3. Digital showed it up slightly, but it was excellent for portraits. I would think it is also heavier than the Elmar if weight-saving is important to you.Why not try a good clean Elmar at a dealer? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomB_tx Posted December 28, 2015 Share #6  Posted December 28, 2015 I've had the fat TE since 1968, and got the Elmar C a couple years ago. I also have Elmars in M and LTM versions. On the M9 the Elmar C is my favorite  - seems like more contrast and at least equally sharp. High value for the money. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schrödinger's cat Posted December 29, 2015 Share #7  Posted December 29, 2015 Advertisement (gone after registration) Although not on your list, the 90mm f4 Macro-Elmar M is my personal travel favorite, which I selected specifically for it's compact size and high IQ,but it ain't happening for 650.  For my personal travel choices limited to f4, I would put the 90mm f4 Minolta M-Rokkor second, the Leica 90mm f4 Elmar C third.  Those are the only 90's I have used, and note that my opinion is based on only one example of each lens.  YMMV Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
asiafish Posted December 29, 2015 Share #8  Posted December 29, 2015 Any would work fine. Your choices suggest you using the lens with a Visoflex is a low priority, as this requires the head to be removed from the focusing mount; note you can do that with Elmar triplet, which was designed to have good close-up optical performance with very little distortion, as well as long distance contrast and resolution, especially at smaller apertures. Some people have experienced slight focusing errors with C mount lenses, as they were designed to work with the Leica CL, which has a slightly different focusing curve. I've never used the fat, only the thin tele-elmarit, and I agree with Asiafishe's assessment.   Agreed on the "any" comment.  Has Leica ever made a bad 90mm?  My current 90 of choice is a late 60s/early 70s 90mm Elmarit (not tele).  Its bigger than the fat TE, heavier, simpler, quite ugly with its leatherette covered ring at the back and was dirt cheap ($400).  It is also less sharp than the TE or any of the modern 90s, which is what I like about it.  On the MM and M-E it is simply gorgeous, with lovely softness and low contrast wide-open that really makes people look nice.  Women over 40 particularly love it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayek Posted December 29, 2015 Share #9  Posted December 29, 2015 Heresy, of course, but the Voigtländer 3,5/90 runs with many of the Leicas mentioned herein. Erwin Puts thinks it the equal of the last 90 Elmarit. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
maximilianm3 Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share #10 Â Posted January 4, 2016 thanks for the answers. I'll be looking out for the Elmar C then.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schrödinger's cat Posted January 4, 2016 Share #11  Posted January 4, 2016 thanks for the answers. I'll be looking out for the Elmar C then.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schrödinger's cat Posted January 4, 2016 Share #12  Posted January 4, 2016 Bare in mind the Elmar C has an uncommpn filter thread. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
richfx Posted January 5, 2016 Share #13 Â Posted January 5, 2016 1+ Â Â It's smaller than some 50's, takes great portraits wide open, & is very sharp at mid-apertures. Â The thin 90mm Tele-Elmarit is, quite simply, amazing in its tiny size, speed and IQ. I love mine. Rich Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
asiafish Posted January 5, 2016 Share #14  Posted January 5, 2016 The thin 90mm Tele-Elmarit is, quite simply, amazing in its tiny size, speed and IQ. I love mine. Rich  It is, in fact, the same size as the Elmar C. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmahto Posted January 5, 2016 Share #15 Â Posted January 5, 2016 The thin 90mm Tele-Elmarit is, quite simply, amazing in its tiny size, speed and IQ. I love mine. Rich I love mine too. See pic below from thin 90 TE (shot @ f/4). I use it around house for people etc where sharpness across frame is not needed. https://flic.kr/p/qi8i5u The only issue is that I am spoiled by macro-elmar-M (which is compact, light, clinically sharper at all apertures and no CA with contrasty subject wide open). This is part of my hiking two lens kit. In the pic below, I can pixel peep the animals and recognize them with the features. https://flic.kr/p/wgkimC https://flic.kr/p/wiqqeQ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
richfx Posted January 9, 2016 Share #16 Â Posted January 9, 2016 It is, in fact, the same size as the Elmar C. Â The 90mm Elmar C is an f/4 and is 20 grams heavier than the 90mm thin Tele-Elmarit. Rich Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
indergaard Posted January 9, 2016 Share #17  Posted January 9, 2016 I tried the thin Tele-Elmarit, and wanted to love it. Although it was OK on film, it never impressed me on the M240, especially not the sharpness at f/2.8. I then tried a 90mm Elmarit-M f/2.8 with the built-in hood. What a great lens to handle. Heavy, and somewhat big, but a very good quality build. It consistently backfocused on all the cameras I tried it on.  I then tried a Summarit-M 90mm f/2.5. It's a little longer than a Summilux 50mm ASPH, and weighs about the same without the hood. It performs noticeably better than the Elmarit wide open, and, the Tele-Elmarit can never catch up with it, regardless of aperture. I also got the Summarit for $250 less than the Elmarit (used, but mint, for a total of $800). The Summarit also included the hood, which was a nice bonus. The Summarit also shares the same filter thread as my other lenses, which is very convenient.  If you're only gonna use the 90mm on your M3 (and never consider moving to digital) then the T-E is fine, although be aware, the Tele-Elmarit flares a lot, all the time, even in situations that you wouldn't think it could flare. So get a quality hood for it. The Elmarit-M is a very nice lens, but it's rather big and heavy. The Summarit is a wonderful lens that's relatively light-weight and compact to the Elmarit's and Summicron's, but with the same optical performance. And for some reason the Summarit's are also cheaper than many of the Elmarit's out there... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
otho Posted January 10, 2016 Share #18 Â Posted January 10, 2016 Hello to all. My personal experience: even on my Sony A7r ("the old ones" - MK I) the 90 Summarit 2.5 give me a truly spectacular results. Today I have new APO Summicron-M 90 asph. and on A7r (via Novoflex) is a stunning lens: very, very sharp in almost all apertures with great DOF. I think, that Zeiss Batis 85 is worse - and maybe Zeiss Otus 85 is equal in terms of sharpness, resolution and IQ factor with Leica APO 90 asph. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
105012 Posted January 10, 2016 Share #19  Posted January 10, 2016 I tried the thin Tele-Elmarit, and wanted to love it. Although it was OK on film, it never impressed me on the M240, especially not the sharpness at f/2.8.  ...  If you're only gonna use the 90mm on your M3 (and never consider moving to digital) then the T-E is fine, although be aware, the Tele-Elmarit flares a lot, all the time, even in situations that you wouldn't think it could flare. ...   I quite like Kirk Tuck's thoughts on sharpness and flare  :  http://visualsciencelab.blogspot.com.au/2016/01/can-you-imagine-following-conversation.html  I do have the 11250 hood on my TE thin and have not yet encountered much flare, maybe I should leave the hood folded and see if I can get a bit more? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiggiGun Posted January 11, 2016 Share #20  Posted January 11, 2016 The anwser to your questions depends on what is your goal: portrait, travel, landscape etc.  I started with le Elmarit, changed to the Apo-Summicron (excellent but havy) and owned also a Macro-Elmar. So I travel with the Macro-Elmar. This lens is outstanding. For Lanscape, Architecture and travel, sometimes Street. For Landscape, Nature or portraits I prefer the Apo-Summicron with 1.4 Magnifier. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.