Xavi Posted May 3 Share #1 Posted May 3 Advertisement (gone after registration) I'm thinking about a secondhand 135mm because I'll have that lens to look after the few times I can go out to shoot landscapes, which is when I think I might need it. Which would you recommend? Would I use it on an M11 Telyt 135 APO? Telyt 135 f/4? Which do you think would be the smartest to buy? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted May 3 Posted May 3 Hi Xavi, Take a look here Which 135 to buy?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
wda Posted May 3 Share #2 Posted May 3 I don't have experience of the lenses you cite, but you might be interested in how I faced a similar challenge. It starts here https://www.davidaskham.com/a-gem-from-the-past and continues on a further embedded link. Although I upgraded the lens, I could never part from my 'gem from the past'. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
darylgo Posted May 3 Share #3 Posted May 3 The 135/4. If it doesn't work well sell it and move to the 135 Apo. The f4 is very close image quality to the APO that a rep said he didn't recommend trading for the APO. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted May 3 Share #4 Posted May 3 Both lenses work well on the M11. The 135/3.4 is a bit sharper at f/4 and is 6-bit coded, but it suffers from flare when strong light sources are outside the frame and it can show some color fringing in high contrast situations. The 135/4 has less of those flaws and is a bit softer at f/4. I would not hesitate to choose the 135/4 if you're on a budget. 1st snap below with the 135/3.4 @ f/3.4, 2nd snap with the 135/4 @ f/5.6, both on the M11. https://photos.smugmug.com/Diverse/n-QFBj4/Leica-M11-Leica-13534-apo/i-zXdTKRG/0/Lzcn6SrQdr9m6ZjfpgDTc5zznTmTRtkJvrXKBMwXC/X4/M1000190ps-X4.jpg https://photos.smugmug.com/Diverse/n-QFBj4/Leica-M11-Leica-1354/i-sM4LJrv/0/NM7VPqPnz4tLnGGght6z4TDphPNgbxs43sjPMJWBf/X4/M1004925_sips-X4.jpg 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xavi Posted May 3 Author Share #5 Posted May 3 Well, the truth is that the 3.4 caught my attention because of the 6-bit encoding, but there are complaints when I shoot sunrises with the sun in front of me. I'd also heard great things about the Elmarit 135 F/4 telephoto lens, even telling me it was better than the Elmarit 135. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceRH Posted May 3 Share #6 Posted May 3 After reading a lot of thoughts and reviews, I decided on the Tele-Elmar 135/4. It is not a focal length that I use a lot and this choice seemed to fit what I want. I have to say, I am more than pleased with my choice. I use it on an M11-P and an SL2-S. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted May 3 Share #7 Posted May 3 Advertisement (gone after registration) 34 minutes ago, Xavi said: Well, the truth is that the 3.4 caught my attention because of the 6-bit encoding, but there are complaints when I shoot sunrises with the sun in front of me. I'd also heard great things about the Elmarit 135 F/4 telephoto lens, even telling me it was better than the Elmarit 135. Only Elmarit 135 is a 135/2.8 lens with goggles (or a 135/2.8 in R mount). Very good lens indeed but hardly better than the Tele-Elmar 135/4 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
UliWer Posted May 3 Share #8 Posted May 3 31 minutes ago, Xavi said: I'd also heard great things about the Elmarit 135 F/4 telephoto lens, even telling me it was better than the Elmarit 135. I think you mean the 1:4/135mm Elmar (without Tele-) and the 1:2.8/135mm Elmarit. The first comes in silver chrome and though it is still a rather good lens you have to expect more chromatical aberrations than with the Tele-Elmar or of course the Apo-Telyt. The 1:2.8/135mm Elmarit is the one with "goggles" which triggers the camera's 90mm frame but with the exact field of view for 135mm. It is heavier than all the others but certainly the "goggles" assure that you can focus it more precisely than all the others. It is perhaps a bit softer than the Tele-Elmar. I shouldn't say it is worse than the Elmar (without Tele-). Focussing fully open is not easy with the f/4 and especially the f/3.4 lenses. Leica themselves say that you should use f/5.6 or smaller to focus precisely as the rangefinder is beyond its limits with 135mm (if you don't use an M3 with the large magnification). If you can use Live View this is of course a totally different story: Live View will become interesting at this focal length. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
UliWer Posted May 3 Share #9 Posted May 3 Btw.: there is a long thread with examples from the Apo-Telyt: There you'll find many examples with view against the sun, and I don't see much flare. I was never able to cause this lens to flare. There are rumors that the lens was discontinued recently. I am not sure if this is true, though it is presently not on offer in Leica Stores online. Since the lens design is more than 25 years old it is not improbable that we might see a new version, perhaps with close focus mechanics (and if the rumors about an M with EVF only are true, this might be the very lens to show the capabilies of the new camera - while short focus lenses are not so interesting with EVF). Though I admit that there is a lot of assumption in this. You'll ceratinly find the Apo-Telyt second hand though much more expensive than all the others mentioned which are the cheapest (though certainly not the worst) lenses with the Leica brand. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephan54 Posted May 3 Share #10 Posted May 3 I have the 135 apo and I like shooting with it. When it is in specs with the camera even RF is not too difficult. Use it for landscapes but also in cities after having done the round with a shorter lens. In cities it helps with not coming home with the similar pictures, e.g. visiting a few cities with timbered houses in a row. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xavi Posted May 3 Author Share #11 Posted May 3 From what I see you commented at the end, I think I should choose between the Tele-Elmar or the Apo Telyt Thank you very much for all the opinions and explanations 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wda Posted May 4 Share #12 Posted May 4 Whatever you choose, in a few months time I would guess it will be languishing on a shelf, not on a camera. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
satijntje Posted May 4 Share #13 Posted May 4 vor 2 Minuten schrieb wda: Whatever you choose, in a few months time I would guess it will be languishing on a shelf, not on a camera. Disagree, I use my Apo-Telyt-m 135 a lot. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mole73 Posted May 4 Share #14 Posted May 4 Picture was taken with M9-P and Elmarit 135 I can highly recommend the Elmarit 135 because of the vintage bokeh (in my eyes). Yes it is heavy but I think it is one of the most underrated lenses in the M universe. The focussing with goggles is very easy and for my personal taste much easier than with the Apo-Telyt. Robert 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! 1 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/420970-which-135-to-buy/?do=findComment&comment=5796436'>More sharing options...
mole73 Posted May 4 Share #15 Posted May 4 M9-P with Elmarit 135 (I posted this picture in another thread) 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! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/420970-which-135-to-buy/?do=findComment&comment=5796437'>More sharing options...
lct Posted May 4 Share #16 Posted May 4 The Elmarit 135/2.8 was the only 135 i could focus with the M8.2 (link) but its bulk is not an incentive to use it on FF bodies. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wda Posted May 4 Share #17 Posted May 4 23 minutes ago, mole73 said: Picture was taken with M9-P and Elmarit 135 I can highly recommend the Elmarit 135 because of the vintage bokeh (in my eyes). Yes it is heavy but I think it is one of the most underrated lenses in the M universe. The focussing with goggles is very easy and for my personal taste much easier than with the Apo-Telyt. Robert 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! Robert, you might be an exception. Have you filtered your collection of Leica focal lengths and compared them? Very easy to do in Lightroom Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsolomon Posted May 4 Share #18 Posted May 4 Had the same debate with myself, went with the 135 APO version ….. absolute best thing for you to do if possible….. go try each on your camera…. In the end I found a great price on a demo APO… it’s GORGEOUS and FUN Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgk Posted May 4 Share #19 Posted May 4 The thing is that a 135mm lens is not the easiest to focus using the rangefinder. So the first question is whether you intend to use it and focus using the rangefinder or whether you are happy to use the EVF? If you want it primarily for use with the rangefinder thn I would suggest that the difference betwee the APO f/3.4 and f/4 versions is somewhat academic as they sit right at the edge of the rangefinder's ability to focus under anything other than ideal high contrast conditions, and any optical improvement might be negated by marginal misfocus. That said, I have owned several incantations of the 135/4 and still own and use the last 11861 ('Tele-Elmar-M') E46 version. This is in my experience the best of the 135/4s mechanically (designwise) and will give accurate focus on modern cameras using the rangefinder. Some earlier copies would not as, again, in my experience, they were different mechanically and could be difficult to get set up to guarantee absolutely accurate focus (not so much of a problem with an EVF of course). I've considered 'upgrading' to the APO 135/3.4 but to be perfectly honest I'm not sure that the improvement would be significant enough to make it worthwhile (it is a little lighter though)e. My E46 135/4 is a very good lens! You will pay a premium for this version over the earlier versions, but its still a cheaper option than the APO. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mole73 Posted May 4 Share #20 Posted May 4 vor 2 Stunden schrieb wda: Robert, you might be an exception. Have you filtered your collection of Leica focal lengths and compared them? Very easy to do in Lightroom No, but i can say that I use the 135mm focal lengh maximum 5% of all my M lenses. Yes it is because of it‘s size and weight but also because of the limitation of the 135mm. I‘m more a fan of the 90mm. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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