Leica LTM 90/4 Elmar

Leica M39 screw mount bodies/lenses
I have several 85mm~90mm lenses, but my two old Elmar lenses are favorites of mine for portraits beside a window. The vintage character of the lens comes through strongly with color film and it is even more beautiful with B&W film. The small size of the lens makes it also very useful for candids, compared to using the huge 90/2 Summicron. I find more differences between my tele lenses [in character] than between my 50mm lenses. I just packed up one of my pre-war time Elmar lenses to get it re-shimmed as the focusing is off. I have a chrome one and a black one. They have different apertures clicks. One goes to f 32 and the other to f 36. Both seem to be coated even though black pre-war-time Elmars typically are uncoated.

The posted images in this trhread show how great a lens the Elmar is.

I still wonder which lens hood is appropriate for an Elmar.

Raid
 
Doesn't work, Daniel. The more interested they are in what you're saying, the more they want to respond. I thought of carrying a placard saying "MONOLOGUE -- JUST LISTEN", but then decided that I didn't want pictures of faces screwed up in concentration or falling apart from boredom.

For my Steinheil 85, Raid, I searched high and low for a push-on hood. I finally found one which is a perfect fit and only needed the inside painted. From the size of it, it's clearly meant for a normal lens -- but I console myself with the thought that any damn hood is better than no hood.
 
edodo: Thanks. However, this lenshood costs EURO35 plus shipping. This could be half the cost of a users condition Elmar.

Raid
 
I thought the 20 euros was kind of a good price considering china ersatz are 15 euros including shipping! I do regret missing that bid...
 
Nice results from all these 90s; I never really get on with them myself...

So I have a FIKUS shade - that's the one that fits the 5cm or 9cm elmars (and the 13.5 whatever) I don't need. Free to anyone who's already posted on this thread; anyone?

Tom
 
One thing I havent heard (I read this in an old William Mortensen book) mentioned in awhile is that years ago "proper" portrait photography called for sharp focus from nose all the way back to the ears. A 90mm f4 lens gets close to this. Of course it's all up to you and what you like as well. But for me I like the size and lighter weight of the Elmars (in particular the 1930s LTM rather than the M mount ones) rather than bulking around with the heavy f2.8s... Oh and FWIW I use a non-coated one with the FIKUS hood...
 
Also excellent. I never tried a 9cm elmar - just the t-e, but I did quite like the 5. I've never got past diafine either, due to laziness, but maybe it's time I mixed some xtol and branched out a bit.
 
I took out my 4/90 Elmar for a walk in the spring sun. Here are some of the results. I got the Elmar cheap and the front lens shows terrible coating wear, but I'm pleased with the pictures. However, I sure need a hood...
 

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While talking about my crappy 4/90 Elmar, I noticed something at close distance with the lens wide open. The centre of the picture isn't as sharp as far left/right. You can see it clearly in the first book picture, the Moberg novel at the far left is sharp, as well as Harry Potter on the right, but James Joyce in the middle is far from sharp. Same thing with the second book picture, the Anglo-Saxon dictionary is sharp but not the Greek-English lexicon. However, the third picture (the roses), also wide open, is fairly sharp in centre.

Is this common for Elmars? I think mine is from 1956.
 

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This is a photo that I recently took with a 1946 coated Elmar;

874715-R1-11-11A.jpg
 
I have a 90/4 Elmar LTM that was recently cleaned by Focal Point. Yet I notice that with shots taken at the highest apertures (f/32 and f/22, f/16 to some extent) there is a noticeable haze in the center of the picture. It's gone at wider apertures, and in fact I get excellent results from the lens then. I'm guessing this is some sort of diffraction effect. Glass seems pretty clear, as far as I can tell. Have other Elmar owners here experienced this?
 
[It could be that your scanner is focusing on one plane and that the film is curved as it passes through. That would leave the bulging part out of focus.]

Yes, you can very well be right. The scanning is made by the local lab, since I don't have the facilities (yet). On the other hand, it seems this is a close range problem only.

Yes, Liddell and Scott is number one when it comes to classical greek. I got it at the local flea market for 50 SEK. I actually bargained it down from 70 SEK. 😛
 
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