Elmar 90 F4 screwmont, ugly but budgetfriendly . . . .

[vha]

Had a walkabout in some 2nd hand stores in Buenos Aires on monday, me and Ernesto. Just stumbled over this in some store, was asking for what they had of Leica Glass, and after some thinking the storeowner came with this ; "if you are not picky . ."
For 25 USD as I´v got it for I´ll think it´s not that bad ?

Planning to get a adapter so i can use it on the M6, might bee some interesting portraits as well. A bit fog, scratches and well worn might sometimes be good.

vha

 

[sockdaddy]

wow - that's the ugliest lens that i've seen in a while.

when will you have a chance to test it out?

 

[vha]

wow - that's the ugliest lens that i've seen in a while.

when will you have a chance to test it out?

As soon as I can get my hands on a adapter i will give it a try, I´m quite curios my self, have an idea of taking a series with Ilford XP2 exposed as 12 iso, that should do it, just mid tones in the shots.

vha

 

[matu]

Worn lenses are ugly but for sure it must be a good performer.
Personally I own a similar 9cm Elmar pre-war black, and it looks like if it really had been at war.
Great deal you made, I like the soft bokeh of this lense, some don't like a blue casting it render on colour film.
Please post some images when you test it.

Matu

 

[GeneW]

That's a lens with character! I wonder what its story is.

Gene

 

[Kin Lau]

Hey.. somebody finally got one that looked worse than mine did 🙂

It's very easy to clean up. The entire front lense group just un-screws, so get some alcohol and lense wipes. You'll probably need to clean out the dried grease as well.

My pic in the Oct Tri-X project was shot with the 90/4. It's a little flare prone, but plenty sharp and very light and compact.

 

[Skinny McGee]

beauty is more than skin deep... can't wait to see the photos.. I love my prewar 90

 

[vha]

Finally (or almost) I have found a place were to buy the m39 to M mount.
Here in Argentina i haven´t seen anything at all, so I got it from Norway via some people who comes visiting some other friends.
Now it is about waiting for week 50. . . . ( and thinking of what next to buy ?), then 5 days of shooting before returning home, that means back to Norway and the 21-mm Biogon for my G2
(should have brought that instead of the 90 sonnar) 😉



btw : any ideas how old the lens might be ?

vha

 

[FPjohn]

serial no.

serial no.

Hello

Your Elmar F4 looks as if it is a later version of the third Elmar, 1949-1963. Serial numbers give approximate date of manufacture. If the serial is #756733 (standing on head on swivel chair), it is 1950 according to Hove list.

yours
Frank

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

The coatings and front element look intact. For $25, it looks a lot better than many 90 Elmars for five or seven times that with optics with fog and/or scratches. What matters is the functionality, not the looks. I think you got a superdeal; this is a nice, underrated lens. You'll be surprised. Very pleasant with either color or B&W.

Congrats.

 

[raid]

Excellent deal. Clean it up, as described aobe, and use it. I am looking forward to see some results.

 

[vha]

A not so nice turn . . 🙁

A not so nice turn . . 🙁

Latest news :

-The store which should provide the adapter did not get it on time
-A friend of mine dismantled the lens by accident (stiff iris) and it looks like the last element is missing . . .

So how bad can it be?, this lens IS 4 elements?, and in that case it´s bad.
if not something is a bit out of position.

End-line : not impossible that i´ll start looking for a 9-cm collapsable in M mount.

Moral : if something looks ugly but cheap, know your homework 🙂

vha.

 

[former member]

The 9cm Elmar is a 4 element lens. There were some 3-element 9cm F4 Elmars, but they are rare. If this lens has 4 elements, it is intact. They could be loose. The elements are all fairly far from the end of the lens: the Elmar is not a "telephoto" design, just a long focal length. The lenses are all forward in the mount.

 

[FPjohn]

Removable lens head...

Removable lens head...

Hello:

The lens head of an elmar screws out for possible mounting on a bellows. Did you mean it came away from the focusing mount when forced to turn, which is normal, or that the glass elements were removed?

Yours
Frank

 

[doubs43]

According to my reference book, that was the 733rd Leitz lens made in 1950 when production began at serial number 736,001.

Both the front and rear elements of the Elmar 90mm lens should be convex or curved like the surface of a ball. The third element from the front will be concave or like the inside of a shallow bowl. The two front elements are cemented together.

IF the lens elements are all there and not damaged, it's a very easy lens to disassemble and clean. A bit of care is all that's required to do it safely.

Walker

 

[je2a3]

FWIW, here's a link to how to dismantle an Elmar 90/4 by Huw Finney - http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00Bo8z&tag=

I hope it helps.

Happy Holidays to all!

 

[reagan]

vha ~ Interesting turn of events. The plot thickens... good luck. Thanks for the link je2a3. I'm sitting on the curb for the next two weeks waiting on a Elmar 90mm from hoot. Can't wait to try it. The link may come in handy one day.

 

[wlewisiii]

vha ~ Interesting turn of events. The plot thickens... good luck. Thanks for the link je2a3. I'm sitting on the curb for the next two weeks waiting on a Elmar 90mm from hoot. Can't wait to try it. The link may come in handy one day.

I hear you. I have a very similar Elmar coming to me from Rickey/Byuphoto in the next few days and I can't wait to try it either.

William

 

[reagan]

"I hear you..."

Great! I've shot nothing but normal and wides since getting the Zorkis. Looking forward to tring something else for a change. Maybe we'll post some pics on a "Elmar 90mm Thread" when we get 'em in hand.

 

[vha]

Thanks.

The link helped a bit, but it didn´t make it look better for my part, because since it happens to be a 4 element lens, there should be one lens element in the tube after dismantling the lens ?, and I don´t have one in the lens I have.
Just time to realise that i bought some junk which of course can be used as an excuse to buy something else, I mean been fooled and all this, you have to have some comfort, right ? 😀

vha

FWIW, here's a link to how to dismantle an Elmar 90/4 by Huw Finney - http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00Bo8z&tag=

I hope it helps.

Happy Holidays to all!