Best 90 mm lens for Leica-M

[ramosa]

this is a great stream, quite educational for me (as I, too, am looking into 90mm lenses.) i have one follow-up question. of the uncoded 90mm lenses, which ones require coding (for actual use on an M8)?

 

[maggieo]

Hi Ramosa! You know I'm going to give my Canadian Tele-Elmarit a plug! It's coded, without actually being coded! (The M8 recognizes it, even with nothing painted on the mount.) Some pix:

Quine Telecaster Switches And Knobs, January, 2010


Dad, September, 2009


1983 '62RI Fender Stratocaster, January, 2010


Grackle Fledgling, May, 2009

 

[ferider]

i saw this photo of yours on flickr today and left a supportive comment. small world: seeing it on your photostream and then here in one day. great capture.

Thanks, Ramosa !

 

[ramosa]

maggie:

i really like that one of your dad. 🙂

the tele-elmarit is on my list.

R

 

[HenningW]

I've used nearly all of Leica's 90's at some time except the macro-Elmar, and the Thambar only for a couple of weeks. All are useable for something.

The 90AA was very sharp at longer distances and easily 'outperformed' my last non-ASPH Summicron, but in the end I was never that happy with the images it produced so I sold it (after about 6 years). The lens that I keep coming back to, but which does not test well is the thin T-E. I seem to be able to produce more keepers with that one than any other 90 or 85 from anyone. Strange.

So right now I have the T-E (second one; I sold the first one because I compared the performance to some other 90 and it didn't do well - a mistake) and a late Elmarit for the technically sharper shots.

I also have the 75's; the Summicron is fantastic on the M8 and also satisfies me on film while the Summilux has such a wonderful character that I could never do without it. All in all, I wish Leica had a couple of 90's that were as 'good' as the 75's. But I would still keep the T-E. It's definitely the 'worst' Leica lens I have out of about 30, but it produces keepers for me. This time I'm not selling it.

YMMV.

Henning

 

[maggieo]

maggie:

i really like that one of your dad. 🙂

the tele-elmarit is on my list.

R

Thanks, Ramosa! 🙂🙂

 

[Phil_F_NM]

Any 90mm with the word "Elmarit" on it.

 

[Vincenzo Maielli]

If yoy like the classic Leitz rendition, the best are the Tele Elmarit 90/2.8 "Short" or Summicron 90/2 "Unscrewable Head" (my personal choice). If you like the actual ultra razor sharp lenses, choice the Summicron 90 APO ASPH, the 90/2.8 ELmarit (46 mm filter size) or the Summarit 90/2.5.
Ciao.
Vincenzo

 

[ableforensics]

Elmarit 90 2.8 M

Elmarit 90 2.8 M

The Elmarit 90 2.8 a bit smaller that the Summicron 90 but with resolution nearly an equal.

 

[LeicaFoReVer]

My new favorite: elmar 9cm f4 (I bought it for 150$). I agree what payasam says. It is really safe to have f4 as minimum so it limits me and prevents me to make DOF mistakes at this distance...

 

[Nando]

I'm very satisfied with the latest 90mm Elmarit-M. I have tried many lenses in the 85/90/105mm range and the Elmarit-M is, by far, my favourite. I've yet to try the APO Summicron though.

 

[Jeff Day]

Leica 90/2.8 Elmarit

Leica 90/2.8 Elmarit

I don't know about best, but I really like the way the Leica 90/2.8 Elmarit draws the images. I found a NOS Leica 90/2.8 Elmarit after looking around a bit (from Ken Hansen), and I've found it to be an excellent performer. It also cost about the same as the 90/2.5 Summarit, which was nice for conserving the budget.

Kind regards,

Jeff

 

[ableforensics]

I also recently purchased my Silver Elmarit 90 (pictured above) from Ken Hansen. I ooked for quite a while, in all the usual places, to find one. Seems Ken Hansen is the place to go for a nice 90 Elmarit.

 

[MCTuomey]

hex 90/2.8 for me. sonnarific.

 

[kbg32]

I love my 90/4 Elmar-C! Small, light, and sharp.

 

[Green_Blue]

Sorry to revive an old thread, but I am looking at getting a 90 lens for my m2, and was just wondering which one is the most compact lens. Since I intend to bring this lens with the daily travel kit I think size and weight are very important factors for me (so I actually end up trying to use this focal length!). I also wouldn't mind f4 because I am wary of making dof errors with a lens of this length. Also are the rumours that the elmar-c has compatibility issues with m cameras true?

 

[Damaso]

The 90mm Summarit is a good lens at a good price and not too big.

Of course the summicron is a great lens if you have the money

 

[Damaso]

The tele-elmarit is small and cheap and pretty fast at f2.8 but it flares (a lot) and is not the sharpest lens ever...

Sorry to revive an old thread, but I am looking at getting a 90 lens for my m2, and was just wondering which one is the most compact lens. Since I intend to bring this lens with the daily travel kit I think size and weight are very important factors for me (so I actually end up trying to use this focal length!). I also wouldn't mind f4 because I am wary of making dof errors with a lens of this length. Also are the rumours that the elmar-c has compatibility issues with m cameras true?

 

[varjag]

I disagree, mine is quite sharp and I have yet to catch a flare (not saying it's impossible though).

 

[Ronald M]

Best all round lens is 90 macro collapsible. The fastest lens is 90 F2, but they soften slightly under six feet as does the the pre asph version.

CV90 3.5 APO is very nice.

Like everything, there are trade off with size/weight, near far correction, speed or price.

The question is like what is the best car? The answer is for what.