90mm Elmar on Bessa?

[Mohan]

Has anyone any experience with the Leica 90 mm screw mount elmar on a bessa? (or anything else), they seem to be considerably cheaper than other Leitz lenses. I presume there low price is due to teles not being ideal on rangefinders?

 

[je2a3]

Has anyone any experience with the Leica 90 mm screw mount elmar on a bessa? (or anything else), they seem to be considerably cheaper than other Leitz lenses. I presume there low price is due to teles not being ideal on rangefinders?

It works well on my Bessa-R. They tend to be cheap because they are slow [f4 max] but great for outdoor shooting and quite compact. I acquired my user quality mount with good glass for less than $100 in the late 90s. If you want a faster 85/2lens in this price range with equivalent quality try the Jupiter 9. Just beware of QC issues with near focus which has been discussed here in previous threads. Maybe I was lucky on my first purchase.

Joseph

 

[ray_g]

I have been very happy with mine. It's a great inexpensive, lightweight travel lens. Last October, I walked around Barcelona with just the Bessa R + Canon 35/2, and the Elmar in my pocket.

Here is a sample taken with that combo:

 

[Mohan]

It seems like i have some shopping to do 🙂

 

[laptoprob]

I have an Elmar 90 collapsible. That is, fully collapsible on my M2, less collapsible but fully functional on a Bessa. Great lens!


Rob

 

[pvdhaar]

Has anyone any experience with the Leica 90 mm screw mount elmar on a bessa? (or anything else), they seem to be considerably cheaper than other Leitz lenses. I presume there low price is due to teles not being ideal on rangefinders?

The low price is due to the longer focal lengths with moderate aperture being easier to manufacture. They've alway been cheaper than the wides or the very fast teles, and hence more have been sold..

 

[MCTuomey]

I have been able to focus both the CV 75/2.5 and the Tele-Elmarit 90/2.8 on my R2A without problems, despite my aging eyes. I hunt a bit wide open and close-up once in awhile, but I attribute this to myself not the camera. I tried a new 90 Elmar inside a local shop and it seemed to focus fine. I can't say the same for a new 90 Summicron that I tried at the same place, which involved a lot of hunting and uncertainty. Close and wide open, those extra 2 stops seem to pose an problem. I think you'll be fine with the Elmar.

 

[John Robertson]

Watch when buying an 90mm Elmar f4, they seem to be very prone to cloudiness inside the lens, I've had four over the years, all had the same problem. If you can get one with nice clean optics they are excellent.

 

[Cloudy]

another off topic suggestion, you can try the Bessa APO 90mm, cheap but wonderful!

 

[John Robertson]

I'll second that! the 90mm Apo-Lanthar is outstanding.

 

[pvdhaar]

Let me be the second to second that.. (Hmmm... or should I be the first to third that? 😛

The CV90 Apo-Lanthar is indeed very nice.

 

[newspaperguy]

FWIW- I regularly use a Nikkor 85/2 on my Bessa R.

No focusing problems, but it is a heavy b****.

(I'd like to find a nice light Elmar 90/4.)

Rick