raid
Dad Photographer
I love the Nikkor 105mm/2.5 and the Summicron V1. 90mm/2.0 and the Elmarit 90mm/2.8 and the Canon 85mm/1.9. Each of these lenses is great.
Good lens choice "around 90mm"
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I'm a Nikkor 85 and 105 fan, also, the 90/4 Elmar-C, the ultimate pocket tele.
Tom A
RFF Sponsor
The Nikkor 105f2.5 in LTM mount. Just dump that gym membership and get one of these. It is still one of the all time great portrait and street scape lenses!
Odd man out, but very good - the Elmar 90f4. The collapsible version is an engineering masterpiece and a good lens at 5.6 and beyond.
The 90mm f3.5 Apo Lanthar from CV. Small and compact (keep the gym membership) but sharp and nice contrast. Cheap too - at least until people find out how good it really is!
The later version of the early Summicron 90f2 (black anodized)- The Big Bertha is actually a very good lens. Clumsy to use, but great for portraits at f2 (just enough softening of the edges) and at 2.8 and beyond - good sharpness
Odd man out, but very good - the Elmar 90f4. The collapsible version is an engineering masterpiece and a good lens at 5.6 and beyond.
The 90mm f3.5 Apo Lanthar from CV. Small and compact (keep the gym membership) but sharp and nice contrast. Cheap too - at least until people find out how good it really is!
The later version of the early Summicron 90f2 (black anodized)- The Big Bertha is actually a very good lens. Clumsy to use, but great for portraits at f2 (just enough softening of the edges) and at 2.8 and beyond - good sharpness
infrequent
Well-known
is f4 wide enough for portraiture?
hans voralberg
Veteran
With the fall off to OOF that tele offer, more than enough
F
former member
Guest
The 9cm f4 Elmar collapsible is great for portraits. I'll have to post some examples. It's a lower contrast lens, and is not harsh. I used it quite a bit in Williamsburg, and found the portraits very pleasing. Some were indoors without artificial lighting, at F4 and 1/8th with ISO 200 film. It did quite well on the M3.
Krosya
Konicaze
Hard to find a better 90 than a 90/2.8 Hex. Superb lens.Actually, all Hexanons are superb from what I have seen.
noimmunity
scratch my niche
Between the M-Hex 90 and the Chrome Nikkor 85/2, I prefer the Hex for handling and the Nikkor for character of the final image.
if you need fast focusing and/or expect to be carrying the lens with other lenses, I'd recommend the Hex over the Nikkor. If you want an added ethereal dimension to portraits and don't mind the extra weight and long throw of the lens, I'd recommend the chrome Nikkor. (A black Nikkor would be even better, but twice the price).
The other lenses mentioned all sound nice. But I stick to what I've used and know (which isn't that much). My heart stirs over the Nikkor 105 and people really do some amazing things with it, but aside from the price (really not that bad compared to other lenses), there is also the added inconvenience of an external VF (depending on which body you use) and parallax on a long lens.
if you need fast focusing and/or expect to be carrying the lens with other lenses, I'd recommend the Hex over the Nikkor. If you want an added ethereal dimension to portraits and don't mind the extra weight and long throw of the lens, I'd recommend the chrome Nikkor. (A black Nikkor would be even better, but twice the price).
The other lenses mentioned all sound nice. But I stick to what I've used and know (which isn't that much). My heart stirs over the Nikkor 105 and people really do some amazing things with it, but aside from the price (really not that bad compared to other lenses), there is also the added inconvenience of an external VF (depending on which body you use) and parallax on a long lens.
infrequent
Well-known
although i had one eye on a m-hex 90/2.8, i ended up winning this 90/4 elmar-c on ebay.
http://tinyurl.com/4rmct2
anything special about this one? did i pay too much?
http://tinyurl.com/4rmct2
anything special about this one? did i pay too much?
F
former member
Guest
I believe that is a great price for one in that condition. I normally see them more at camera shows.
charjohncarter
Veteran
If you want small look at the 'old' Elmar 90 f4 (LTM):
dlove5
Established
I think
is worth having. Besides being small, it is cheap. You''ll still have money for a faster, sharper, but bigger 90. If I am traveling, I will take it over my other 90s.
shimo-kitasnap
everything is temporary..
elmar-c 90mm f4, or is that too slow?
even cheaper (I know you said you didn't want to go russian) I'd go with the Jupiter-9 85mm f2 black version (newer coatings.) You shouldn't have any problem with trial and error if you buy from Yuri at fedka.com. He's out of new york I think. A little pricier than the bay but he offers full refunds and it doesn't take a month for the mail to arrive.
even cheaper (I know you said you didn't want to go russian) I'd go with the Jupiter-9 85mm f2 black version (newer coatings.) You shouldn't have any problem with trial and error if you buy from Yuri at fedka.com. He's out of new york I think. A little pricier than the bay but he offers full refunds and it doesn't take a month for the mail to arrive.
infrequent
Well-known
will i need a hood for the elmar-c? how big an issue is flare with this lens? also what do you like about this particular 90mm lens?
tbarker13
shooter of stuff
I have been going through some of this same debate myself.
I recently sold my 90 summicron and will soon let my 75 lux go.
I really like the two hexanon lens I have now, so I want to try out the 90 hex - assuming I can ever find one.
I recently sold my 90 summicron and will soon let my 75 lux go.
I really like the two hexanon lens I have now, so I want to try out the 90 hex - assuming I can ever find one.
pfoto
Well-known
The "thin" TE is a great little lens but it does flare. The Hexanon is a terrific lens but increasingly difficult to find. I would hold out for a Hexanon.
vrgard
Well-known
Embarrasing to admit but I own many of the lenses discussed here (TE90, Hex 90, Rokkor 90, Elmar 90, Nikkor 85 and J9). Don't know how or why I ended up with so many. Regardless, the Hex 90 is the one that stays in my regular carry bag. Fast throw, great imaging, built in hood, almost flare proof, perfect match for my M6, it's just an absolutely great all around lens. Yeah, I enjoy the Nikkor 85 with my M3 when I have the time to deal with the slow focus throw (and man is it incredibly sharp). And the Rokkor 90 is a nice, low cost compliment to my CL travel kit (which is nice in that I don't have to worry about it when I'm traveling). And the Elmar 90 is just plain fun when I want to play old-school but it does need a hood since it's so flare prone. And my J9 even works well but is redundant with my Nikkor 85 since they're both Sonnar design lenses. The TE90 was my regular carry lens until I got the Hex 90 which is the one I'd keep if I could only keep one of them.
-Randy
-Randy
Last edited:
F
former member
Guest
Taken with the 1954 Collapsible 9cm F4 Elmar on my M3, wide-open at 1/8th. Fujicolor 200.
Hand-held, but braced against a post.
Hand-held, but braced against a post.
F
former member
Guest
Same lens, outdoors. Probably F5.6.
Note how the shadow detail is preserved with the lower-contrast of this lens.
Note how the shadow detail is preserved with the lower-contrast of this lens.
charjohncarter
Veteran
Brian, "shadow detail," one of my loves, I never thought of my older lenses that way. Thanks, I'm going to go back and look at some rolls with "old" and new lenses. If you are right, don't mention it again, every B&W photographer will be running the price up on these babies.
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