photolady
photolady
Just got the Leica 135 F4 lens from the 1970's instead of the new 135 F3.4 lens. And love it. It is small, compact, easy to use and inexpensive. Compared to over $3,000. the $450 or so I paid for it was a bargain. Anyone else have this experience??
furcafe
Veteran
Not a surprise. Telephoto (or rather long-focus) lenses are relatively easy to make (compared to wide-angles, for example). I think the only real advances since the '70s have been better coatings & improved color correction (apochromatic/APO).
Warren T.
Well-known
The 135mm Tele-Elmar f4 is a real gem and a true bargain 
. I got mine for < $300 from a fellow Rff'er and I'm very pleased with its performance, especially wide open. I use the lens mainly on my M3, and also occasionally on my Lumix M4/3 cameras.
. I got mine for < $300 from a fellow Rff'er and I'm very pleased with its performance, especially wide open. I use the lens mainly on my M3, and also occasionally on my Lumix M4/3 cameras.
sepiareverb
genius and moron
Ben Z
Veteran
The 135 APO-Telyt was one of the new-generation lenses I sold because the incremental performance advantage wasn't worth the cost to me. My only regret is that I sold all of those newfangled lenses before the prices went ballistic :bang: I got my Tele-Elmar for $265 in "Bargain" grade from KEH, and even a conservative grader like myself would rate it mint minus. Best buck bang in my Leica assortment. Another huge advantage to the lens is that the optical cell unscrews and fits on a short focusing mount for the Visoflex. That coupled with an M-Visoflex to Leica R adapter and an R to EOS adapter lets me use it on my Canon DSLR's too.
SteveM(PA)
Poser
The 135mm Tele-Elmar f4 is a real gem and a true bargain
Hey Warren, glad it's going well ... agree, great lens, I miss it!
kbg32
neo-romanticist
I have both the Tele Elmarit with eyes and the more compact Canon Serenar 135/3.5. Both excellent lenses. I would love to add the Tele-Elmar. Someday...
Ben Z
Veteran
Roger Hicks
Veteran
The Russian (all right, Ukrainian) 135mm, a copy of a pre-WW2 Zeiss design, is astonishingly good. As Furcafe says, long, slow lenses ain't hard to make.
Cheers,
R.
Cheers,
R.