90mm portrait lens - what to get?

[Tonkatsu-Dog]

Hello,

I am thinking of getting a 90mm lens to my M240 mainly for portraits. Currently I've looked at second hand Elmarit as per link. Any thoughts on this one and how it renders?

https://www.mapcamera.com/item/3000009514833

Any other suggestions out there? It doesn't have to be a Leica lens and I prefer something that doesn't break the bank...(relatively speaking)

Thanks in advance

 

[Timmyjoe]

I like the Leica 90mm lenses for portraits. Used to have a pre-ASPH Summicron, but I didn't get on well with it unless it was stopped down to about f4. Sold that and picked up an Elmarit M. It's sharp even wide open at f2.8, and a bit smaller and lighter than the Summicron. I've heard fantastic things about the ASPH Summicron 90mm, but have never shot with one.

 

[Robert Lai]

How "portrait" do you want to be? The reason i ask if that if you want a lens with a soft, pleasant rendition which is forgiving of small skin blemishes, then look no further than the old Elmar 90mm f/4. These started in the 1930s as an uncoated optic. Later ones from the 60s are coated. You should be able to pick up one of these in LTM for about $100. Just make sure that there is no haze in the optic, or factor in a lens cleaning.

If you only want to shoot babies or women with perfect skin, then the latest Elmarit M (with pull out hood) is about as sharp as the Summicron, but much less expensive. They used to sell for about $1400, but I'm not sure what the market price is these days.

For non-Leica, the latest Cosina Voigtlander 90mm f/3.5 Apo-Lanthar is very tiny and sharp. I don't know if they're still in production, however.

Still available, and relatively unsung is the 75mm f/2.5 CV lens. This lens is great for portraits. It is very sharp, and yet few people ever talk about it. I often find 90 too close, and 50 too far. The 75 is the right distance for me, most of the time. This lens is about the size of a typical 50mm lens.

Then there is a host of Canon and Nikon lenses in LTM mount. I have experience with the 85mm f/1.9 Canon. It is very nice, with a pleasant but not killer sharp rendition wide open. Also, in brass and chrome it is ungodly heavy and really should have had a tripod mount.

These are the lenses that I've had experience with.

 

[Tonkatsu-Dog]

Thanks, this is all really useful. Will check them out.

How portrait do I want to be? - A lot I'd say, I don't mind pleasant softness! Is the Elmar LTM the collapsible one or not? I hear thats a bit risky to use with a digital M?

Looks like I will have to do a round to all the second hand shops I know here in Tokyo. Although a quick look on-line seemed to indicate quite a bit over $100 in Japan unfortunately.

 

[Robert Lai]

The original uncoated lenses from the 1930s are not collapsible. Later ones from the 1950s onwards came in the collapsible mount. Same 4 element Elmar formula, just coated on the later ones. The early vintage lenses give nice glow when shot in backlighting situations. Really early lenses have the earlier European aperture series with f/6.3, etc.

 

[Jockos]

Hello,

I am thinking of getting a 90mm lens to my M240 mainly for portraits. Currently I've looked at second hand Elmarit as per link. Any thoughts on this one and how it renders?

https://www.mapcamera.com/item/3000009514833

Any other suggestions out there? It doesn't have to be a Leica lens and I prefer something that doesn't break the bank...(relatively speaking)

Thanks in advance

I have the first version (the one in your link) and the last version Elmarit, and I think both are equally good for portraits. The ver1. has a rounder aperture, but is more prone to flare. Also the 39mm colored filters can be difficult to find, but that's less of an issue with a digital camera.
This one was with the ver.1, handheld in a dimly lit room. Even if there's a bit of motion blur, and the scanner is kind of crappy, it's sharp enough to draw the hair wide open, how much sharper do you need for a portrait?
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/rffgallery/showphoto.php?photoid=237188

If you want a digital test shot with a APS-C sensor on a tripod, I can make it for you



Elmarit v1 and Elmarit-M comparison:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4N57_M6hPQBemtDQW1FZWdyY1E/view?usp=sharing

(RAW files, ~60MB download)

Camera used: NEX3

 

[Charlie Lemay]

The "fat" Elmarit is a special portrait lens, light and not too expensive in the black version. I owned the one you show in the past and it did not have the same look as the earlier "fat" version. For 75mm the current CV f1.8 is also a very capable and affordable choice. sharper than I thought it would be, with lovely out of focus rendering.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Biggest bargains: 90/4 Elmar, preferably uncoated, 85/2 Jupiter. The latter of course has the advantage of being f/2. It's the pre-war Zeiss Sonnar design.

Most impressive and idiosyncratic (and expensive $3000-$5000): 90/2.2 Thambar

Sharp and cheap: 90/3.5 Apo-Lanthar.

Cheers,

R.

 

[jamin-b]

The Canon LTM 100mm 3.5 is also a special lens and can be had for bargain prices.

 

[teddy]

If you are patient and look around, you may be able to find a beat up 90/2.8 Elmarit (V.1) from $200 to $300 for something more nice. I used to have one. Compared to the 90 Summicron (v.2) it has less curvature of field (which I like), and this can be nice too for landscapes. But for portraiture, the Elmarit has great tonality and is not ultra sharp and high contrast - I find this is a negative for portraits. Sharpness is to harsh and clinical on a face. This is why I have the Summicron, is is sharp wide open, but not ultra-sharp and the curvature of field adds a charming effect to the image rendition. You may have to give up $400-$600 for one though...

 

[NickTrop]

Always loved the Jupiter 9 85/f2 for portraits... (Yeah, it's an 85 -- close enough for government work...) Sonnar design, I think it has something like 15 aperture blades... And I think the delimiter ring is an excellent design once you get used to it.

 

[agoglanian]

I've been quite happy with my 90mm f/2.8 M-Hexanon lens since picking it up last month. I'm still acclimating to 90mm lenses on the M240 but with the EVF it's a cinch to focus, if a bit slow, really beautiful rendering though.

I picked it up from Adorama for under $500.

 

[porktaco]

nikkor 85/2 LTM.

 

[Dektol Dan]

Best Options from My Experience

Best Options from My Experience

Although, I made shots of the couple here with the old 90 Elmar, I'm not posting any because I didn't think it stellar, (though capable).
At around $100 it's cheap. For the same money you can buy an Elmar 135 which is a damn fine portrait lens.

For around $500 you can land a later 90mm Elmarit, any version is fine, but I don't think you would want to shoot it wide open, even if the goal is to soften things up.

Which one do you think is the best bang for the buck?

First the Elmar 135, then the Elmarit 90 on a Mono.

 

[Texsport]

How about:

A portrait lens with macro capabilities also?

Vivitar S1 90/2.5 Bokina

Olympus Zuiko 90/2

Texsport

 

[Shac]

I've had/have most of Leica M 90 (Elmarit V1 and V2, T-E, M-E, AA, just pre-Asph 90 not tried). You can't go wrong with any of them IMO but the one I liked least was the 90 AA but YMMV.

 

[kshapero]

Just picked up a 60's Elmar 90mm f4 m mount. Works fine on my M9.

 

[maddoc]

If it doesn`t have to be 90mm and since the OP seems to be located in Tokyo, how about the Nikkor 105/2.5 LTM?

201305-06-M4P-400PR-40ROK-02 copy by maddoc2003jp, on Flickr

 

[porktaco]

value lens is elmar-c 90/4 (the one made for the CL). tiny, sharp as heck, renders well.

 

[Tonkatsu-Dog]

This is great - thanks all for the responses and the wonderful pictures! Seems there are many options out there. In the end I think it boils down to which ones of these I stumble across in second hand shops here. I could get them at ebay I guess but ideally I'd like to actually hold it in the hand before buying.

In summary what I am thinking right now:

What I'll look for:
- Elamar 90 f4 or 135 - good option, but a bit slow
- Nikkor 85/2 LTM I had this from the seventies in SLR mount - loved it
- Nikkor 105/2.5 LTM

Nice but maybe not:
- Jupiter 85/2 - I actually had this (or something similar) in Nikkon SLR mount. I liked it but from some threads on this forum there seems to be focusing issues on Leicas which I can't deal with

Maybe:
- Elmarit / sumicron etc - if I get a good deal. But seems to be a bit more expensive and I don't want to sharp or harsh for portraits
- Other lens ppl where kind enough to suggest, let's see whats out there!

As pointed out - I am in Tokyo so I guess its likely I'll stumble across a Nikkor/Cannon.

Maddoc - speaking of Tokyo. Any shops you recommend? I know a few in Ginza/Shinjuku from Japan camera hunter guide but anyone in particular thats good for this? ( I got my stuff from Map camera). 😛

Anyhow, it will take me a couple of weeks in-between work and family to actually find and buy anything. I hope I can post some pictures with whatever I end up getting. In the mean time please share if there are any other ideas or suggestions out there!