Canon LTM Canon Serenar 85 mm f2 lens

[aoresteen]

I had a Canon 85 f/2 around 1981/82 that I used on an M3. Yes, it's heavy. But I've never had any issues with the image quality.

I was in Salzburg Austria in June 1982 and the M3 neck strap broke and the M3 with the Canon 85mm f/2 went down onto some lovely old Salzburg cobblestones. The lens was a total loss but I was very surprised to learn that the M3 was fine. I thought that the M3 lens mount would have been knocked out of alignment but the repair shop said it was fine. As was the M3 rangefinder.

My insurance company paid for the loss so I got the very light Canon 100mm Serenar f/4 in place of the 85mm. A nice lens but I sold it in 1988 or so.

Right now I am looking for a Canon 85mm f/2 to use again. If you have one that you want to get rid of send me a PM.

 

[lxmike]

I do not mind a bit of weight if l am carrying just one lens and body but in a bag with a few lenses well l'm now in my fifties and weight is a concern, (both me and the cameras l carry)

enjoy your new lens

 

[aoresteen]

I had a Canon 85 f/2 around 1981/82 that I used on an M3. Yes, it's heavy. But I've never had any issues with the image quality.

I was in Salzburg Austria in June 1982 and the M3 neck strap broke and the M3 with the Canon 85mm f/2 went down onto some lovely old Salzburg cobblestones. The lens was a total loss but I was very surprised to learn that the M3 was fine. I thought that the M3 lens mount would have been knocked out of alignment but the repair shop said it was fine. As was the M3 rangefinder.

My insurance company paid for the loss so I got the very light Canon 100mm Serenar f/4 in place of the 85mm. A nice lens but I sold it in 1988 or so.

Right now I am looking for a Canon 85mm f/2 to use again. If you have one that you want to get rid of send me a PM.

A very nice chrome 85mm f/2 came up on ebay. I could not resist and I won the auction - $192 :

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Can...5Dye1SXmnX201ETHXZ10Y%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

Even though the seller says it's mint (how can it be? It's a 1951 or 64 years old). I think that there is a bit of haze inside. No matter - as soon as I get it it's going to Don Goldberg for a cleaning and check-up with a CV 90mm M adapter on it. I plan on using it with my M3.

Early 90mm 'crons are way high as are 85mm f/2 Nikkors in LTM. So even with a CLA by DAG I'm still no where near what the 'crons & Nikkors are selling for and they would need a CLA as well. I hope it's as good as the one I had in 1982.

Oh, I will check my strap this time 😀 !

 

[aoresteen]

The 85mm f/2 Serenar is off to Don Goldberg for a CLA along with the Canon 28mm f/3.5 Serenar that I just won on eBay.

I can't wait to get them back and shoot some film with them!

 

[bmattock]

I had the Canon 85mm f/1.9 II from 1958 in all chrome, and the Canon 85mm f/1.9 in black from 1961. I preferred the chrome model, although it was quite heavy, as noted. I found it very easy to use on my Bessa R.

I tended to use my A. Schacht Ulm Travenar 90mm f/2.8, however. Slower, but lighter and faster to get into use, I found. And I really liked the portraits it rendered. I no longer have any of them, however.

 

[aoresteen]

My 85mm f/2 Serenar weighs 586g without caps,shade or filter. It is heavy. But I like the it rendered portraits when I used one back in 1983. This one dates to about Oct-Nov 1951.

It will be interesting to compare it to my 90mm f/2.8 Tele-Elmarit from 1976.

 

[View Range]

The comparison needs to be with the 90mm Summicron, but even that is a bit unfair because the Summicron is a few years newer design. I'll break the suspense. The Summicron blows that Canon 85mm away if you are most interested in sharpness. Canon eventually matched or bettered the Summicron with the 85mm f1.8 and 100mm f2 lenses. That would be a good comparison to the Tele-Elmarit.

 

[aoresteen]

The comparison is fair as they are the two 85/90mm telephotos that I have. It's good to know the difference in the lenses you have so you can choose which lens from your bag to use.

Now if I had a 90mm Summicron I would compare it to the Canon 85mm f/2. But I don't. My Olympus OM 85mm f/2 Zuiko will 'blow it away' and if it's just sharpness I want I'll use it.

I spent quite a bit of time looking at the negatives I took using a Serenar 85mm f/2 back in 1982-1983 and decided to get another one. Why? Because I like the way it renders a picture on B&W film.