90mm Lens for Portraits

[Krosya]

I'd go for speed, too -- but more of it. A lot depends on your style of portraiture, too.

The 85/2 Jupiter is a great portrait lens at giveaway money IF you aren't looking for super sharpness. (Cue howls of agony and rage from those who say it's as sharp as the latest aspherics...)

For maximum sharpness at minimum cost, 90/3.5 Apo Lanthar. For more money, more speed and more sharpness, the 90/2.5 Summarit.

There are lots more choices but those are the extremes.

Cheers,

R.

I'm sure Roger was talkng about me as one of the say that Jupiter is sharp. While I do NOT say that it is as sharp as some ASPH lenses, if you get a good J-9, it will give many lenses a run for their money. Check out my thread here:
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88444

and tell me that it's not sharp or has nice bokeh.
For about $100 you can have a superb lens that is f2.

M-Hexanon 90/2.8 is another, and just a little slower superb lens. Have this one too and like it a lot.

 

[hipsterdufus]

I'll second the recommendation of the 90mm f4 Elmar. I get plenty of separation from the background with f4, at least for my tastes. Plus it's tiny and lightweight. Not that the other recommendations are bad, but I think the Elmar has great bang for the buck.

 

[kzphoto]

I currently own a 90 summicron which I consider fantastic for portraits. Slightly soft wide open and up close. It draws really well and has a great background separation.

I owned and sold a 90 m-hex as well. That was a better lens, I think. Wide open it was razor sharp it also provided enough depth of field to keep the eyes and nose in focus. The summicron doesn't.

I've always wanted to try the 75 lux on the M, or the 80 lux converted for the Nikon. Mmmmm f/1.4.

 

[Phil_F_NM]

I'd say the best is the 10.5cm f/2.5 Nikkor in LTM. Aside from my DR summicron, it's my favorite lens and simply amazing.

Phil Forrest

 

[dof]

Ah, the 90. I've taken a long road to find the 90mm lens that suits me best. Along the way I've shot with both the Rokkor and the Elmarit. Of the two, the Elmarit comes out on top with a winning combination of ergonomics (size, weight and handling), rendering (high, but not excessive contrast. even performance across all apertures and focus distances), and due to its moderately large maximum aperture - versatility.

Considering the price difference, the Minolta is a very good lens, not great but very good. In use, I found the maximum aperture of f4.0 of the Rokkor to be a handicap not only for separation of subject from background, but also for sharpness with hand-held shooting. Few lenses can better it for its small size, but the Elmarit is not so much larger that it becomes a burden relative to the Minolta.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

I end up with the Nikkor-P 8.5cm F2 in LTM on my cameras most of the time. I have a Canon 85/2 in LTM, collapsible 90/4 Elmar, uncoated Elmar 90/4, 90/2.8 Tele-Elmarit, 90/2 Summicron, and 10.5cm F2.8 Nikkor-P in LTM.

I need to modify the 90/4 Tele-Arton for LTM. Jupiter-9 in LTM, cannot make it focus properly, but will use it on the EP2.

 

[tbarker13]

Just took delivery of a 90/2.8 m-hexanon. I have high hopes for the lens and portraits.

 

[stompyq]

Something I found out not too long ago. I can use my Ver 1 90 Summicron on my D700 with the visoflex adapter and another Leica to Nikon adapter. The setup is tight and the images from it are excellent. The D700 focus confirmation works just fine. Awesome Leica glass on a D700 ...and the M3 of course.

You have to post some pics from THAT setup. Please.....

 

[raid]

I sold the Canon 85/1.9.
I favor the Elmarit 90/2.8 as a fast travel lens. Canon 100/3.5 is next in line.

 

[charjohncarter]

I'm not sure I agree with the posters that say go for speed (because of background separation). My 90mm Elmar at f4 is about 6 inches (150mm) at 5 feet (head shot distance), that is certainly enough to separate the background. And even at 8 feet at f4 it is about a foot (300mm). Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[tj01]

I'm not sure I agree with the posters that say go for speed (because of background separation). My 90mm Elmar at f4 is about 6 inches (150mm) at 5 feet (head shot distance), that is certainly enough to separate the background. And even at 8 feet at f4 it is about a foot (300mm). Correct me if I'm wrong.

I can't agree with you more.

 

[kshapero]

I get kind of sick of polls that ask you the best place you ever visited and then when you go to enter your vote it says,"Paris or Rio". Eh there are other fine 90mm's out there.

 

[drew.saunders]

I have the "fat" 90/2.8 tele-elmarit from 1973 that is less desirable than the later 3-element version, and I've been happy with the results. It'll cost less than just about any other 90/2.8 from Leica.

 

[Ron (Netherlands)]

for portrait I would get as close as to f 2, so you would probably end up with a nice summicron (the 2nd version is relatively cheap).

 

[kanzlr]

hm. I want my portraits to be 100% sharp, and I really don't like brown sauce bokeh background that is so popular nowadays. If a photographer lacks the skill to include the background in his composition (and thus loses all the context of the photograph), they just blur away everything. Did that for years until I discovered that portraits with 50ies or even 35mm lenses can be interesting and flattering and are way less run of the mill.

that being said, I'd get a lens that is very sharp at f4, is in the 60 to 90mm range if you want a tele look and one that has a pleasant way to draw the (still somewhat recognizble) background

I'd go with an APO Lanthar or an Elmarit. Tried the Heliar and it was a bit meh, but the Elmarit is great. Sharp at f2.8 already it almost makes the subject grow out of the slightly unsharp area behind it at f4. Thats the best thing about this lens. The way it graduates from sharp to oof.

 

[bwcolor]

I like the M-Hex for most portrait type work, but sometimes I like the ultra sharp eyes and narrow depth of focus of the Leica 90mm APO Asph. @ f/2.0.

 

[Brian Puccio]

Just picked up a Contax G Sonnar 90mm f/2.8 converted to M mount just before I left for vacation, we'll see how it looks when the film gets back from Samy's next week.

 

[peterm1]

While I have a variety of lenses in short tele ranges (A 90mm f4 Elmar; a 90mm F2.8 Elmarit; a 90mm f2.8 tele elmarit; a (new and as yet untried) 75mm f1.8 Heliar and a 90mm f2 Jupiter 9) it is the last of these that gives me most fun right now. It is a fast lens, has aperture blades that produce a perfectly round aperture and lovely bokeh and has the lovely "soft sharpness" that is produced only by Sonanr designs. It is a classic portrait 90.

 

[Mister E]

I just picked up a Nikkor 8.5cm LTM. It's small and short.

 

[umboody]

From what I've heard and seen, as well as my experiences with an Elmar 90/4, it really isn't worth spending money on an f4 when you can save up for the Tele-Elmarit. That's what I'm currently doing...