Ernst Leitz Wetzlar Thambar 90/2.2

[Arthur]

Roger Hicks...

I''m waiting...

 

[x-ray]

The Thambar wasn't designed to be sharp. It was designed to be a soft focus portrait / pictorial lens with the center filter. This was a very popular look at the time it was made. If you're looking for sharp buy a modern lens.

 

[Arthur]

You missed the point...

 

[Ronald M]

Love soft focus lenses, Imagons etc. Have a 120 mm Imagon and 125 Hector. Used to have a 250 Imagon for 4x5.

Both are better than than the Thamber samples I have seen on line. Check out Summilux.net. Probably would have bought one if it came with the viso adapter which I have never seen.

 

[Roger Hicks]

oooh?

******

.....you might consider expressing less arrogance...

Dear Arthur,

Eh? What the hell is arrogant about that? I currently have an exhibition at the local tourist office. There is ONE Thambar shot in it, hung away from the rest of the exhibition, because the "look" of a Thambar pic is so different from the others that it's very hard to integrate.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Roger Hicks]

How many Leitz Thambar 90/2.2 might still be in existence?

Dear Arthur,

Repetition doesn't make a meaningless question any more meaningful. Which bit of "meaningless" don't you understand?

Unless we know exactly what happened to every single Thambar ever made, we can't know how many survive. We MIGHT be able to get a very rough number for those in collections or in use in the English-speaking world, but even then, there are quite likely to be many Thambar owners who don't want to advertise the fact that they own one, or consider that it's no-one else's damn' business. There might even be those who say they have a Thambar when they haven't.

Now consider (for example) the ones that might be in the back of a cupboard in (say) Japan or Brazil, the property of expired photographers, or the ones that people use because they're quite fun but don't realize how rare they are, or the ones where the lens head and focusing mount have been separated and one or the other lost, or the ones that are broken, or scratched to the point of uselessness.

Do you genuinely not understand why it is a meaningless question?

Cheers,

R.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Love soft focus lenses, Imagons etc. Have a 120 mm Imagon and 125 Hector. Used to have a 250 Imagon for 4x5.

Both are better than than the Thamber samples I have seen on line. Check out Summilux.net. Probably would have bought one if it came with the viso adapter which I have never seen.

Dear Ronald,

But, of course, "better" is a somewhat slippery concept with soft focus lenses. Softer? Sharper? You prefer the bokeh? I have about half a dozen soft focus lenses for various formats, and have had three or four others. Most have their "sweet spots", but even then, the "sweet spot" is going to vary from photographer to photographer.

And, as far as I recall, the Hektor was never RF coupled, whereas the Thambar is -- which matters to me. My other soft focus lenses are or have been for Nikon or for larger formats. On top of all this, I find that the 90mm of the Thambar is a more convenient focal length than 120-125mm.

Cheers,

R.

 

[twhittle]

Are any of you or anyone reading this thread thinking of getting the new one?

It looks to me that if you find an old 90mm elmer screw mount which has internal haze you could get very similar results. It would save yourself £5000 as well!