Is there a „good“ and „cheap“ 75mm lens?

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Kolame

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I’m not good at using those forum search engines, so if this topic was discussed already, I’m sorry, just link me to that.
I’m looking for a nice 75mm ltm lens for my Bessa R at the moment. I already got a 35mm 2,5 pancake (and used it in my vacations in Sweden a lot) and a Industar-61 (52mm 2,8).
Since I bought my 35mm, people are telling me, that I should use it with a 75mm, as they would work together nicely. I’ve got the same feeling now. I almost only used the 35mm in Sweden, and the 52mm was lying in my bag. This is because the 35mm is definitely better, considering optical quality, but also because it’s very close to 50mm.
In Sweden I sometimes just switched the framelines to 75mm, to get a feeling for this perspective (I mostly do landscapes, but want to start portraiting now, there a 75mm would be nice), and I thought, having one of those would be nice.
I don’t want to put the 50mm away now (as I’m also using it, and it’s cheap and good), but I would like to know if there is a nice 75mm lens for say 150€...? Of course, I know, I won’t get a new one, but maybe a used one?

Tell me everything! There is the Jupiter-38, right? What can you say about it? Is there anything more? With some luck, may I be able to get the Color-Heliar from Voigtländer?

Thank you all!
 
Hi Kolame,

a couple of comments:

- in practical use, there is very little difference between 75 and 90mm, you can safely use a 35 with a 90 (or even 100) together as well. A great combo. The best bang for the buck in 90 LTM is either a classic clean Elmar (you will need a hood), or the CV Apo Lanthar. There is also the Canon 100/3.5, that is very good, usually cheap, and usable with your 90mm frame-lines. I myself find a short tele also very useful for landscapes.

- the CV 75/2.5 Heliar is an outstanding lens. You can still get it new, and occasionally used. Yesterday there was a used one in the RFF classifieds close to being in your budget. Adorama.com has it both new and used, BTW.

- I recommend to avoid Russian lenses. You can sometimes find a good sample, but you have to be very lucky. I feel strongly about this because I have tried more than a handful. In particular teles.

Best,

Roland.
 
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As noted, 90mm is not so far from 75mm. I recently picked up a clean 1st version Elmar 90 / 4 for $75, and couldn't be happier with the results -- underrated lens, in my opinion.
 
The 75/2.5 CV is very good.

The difference between 75mm and 90mm is far greater than I imagined it would be, which is why, since I got a 75mm a couple of years ago, it has received far more use than my 90 -- and I've been using 90s for decades. The field of view covered by a 90mm is about 2/3 of that covered by a 75, and I find the 75 a vastly more useful lens.

Cheers,

R.
 
The FSU Jupiter-9 85mm lens is excellent and often found in good condition for under $100.
Click to expand...

If you go with the Jupiter-9, make sure you buy it from someone who actually has used the lens. This lens is prone to bad copies. I've had two, one junk and the other a perfect gem.

- the CV 75/2.5 Heliar is an outstanding lens. You can still get it new, and occasionally used. Yesterday there was a used one in the RFF classifieds close to being in your budget. Adorama.com has it both new and used, BTW.
Click to expand...

I used this lens when my combo was 35mm and 75mm. An excellent and fast lens, unbeatable price. One thing to consider is minimal focusing distances. Can't remember the exact numbers, but the CV 75mm should focus closer than most 90mm lenses, thus almost equaling possible portrait coverage of negative.
 
I used this lens when my combo was 35mm and 75mm. An excellent and fast lens, unbeatable price. One thing to consider is minimal focusing distances. Can't remember the exact numbers, but the CV 75mm should focus closer than most 90mm lenses, thus almost equaling possible portrait coverage of negative.
Click to expand...

Sorry, scratch the remark regarding minimal focusing distance. Both the CV 75mm and CV 90mm have a minimal 1m focusing distance.
 
Well, I don’t care about the minimal focus-distance too much, I’ve got my alpha 300 for macro ;)
Thank you all for giving me advise (although I don’t mind getting more :rolleyes:)! I think I wouldn’t take a 90mm - 75mm or nothing.
I’m puristic here, I think spending into a 90mm right now, would be a waste of money for me. I will take up a 75mm for more money later on, if it’s to expensive for me at the moment. And if I had a 90mm then, I’d resell the 90mm, I don’t think, that this is a good solution. I want to buy once, but something I’ll keep longer. I made the mistake of buying two times to often now.
I’d make an exception, if I’ll find a really cheap and good 90 (85)mm lens. I’m a little bit in trouble now... We’ll see.

(Please go on posting :angel:)
 
Roger Hicks said:
The 75/2.5 CV is very good.
The difference between 75mm and 90mm is far greater than I imagined [...], and I find the 75 a vastly more useful lens.
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I'll second that and disagree with the other poster who said that 75 and 90 are very close. They are, numerically, yes. And yet: to me a 90 is a tele, but a 75 is a long normal, which goes Perfectly with my short normal (i.e 35 mm).

And the 75/2.5 CV is a gem. When I got my Zeiss Ikon, I did some test shots to determine which of my CV lenses would get to stay. The 75 was one of them.
 
Good pick, Kolame.

To the 75/85/90 similarity, that's the way I look at it: crop a 75 portrait shot to 8x10 and you have a 90 field of view.

At 0.7m focus, a 75mm lens has roughly the same FOV as an 85mm lens at infinity.

That's how close they are.


The late Al Kaplan used 35/85 as his preferred combo. And it made sense to me.
 
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I have a cv75. Nothing wrong with it at all. Good lens. Faultless from f/4, but still very decent before that.

My real problem with it is that I much preferred it on my M8. I think I need to swap it out for a 90mm. Close focus is 1m, which just does not seem to get me close enough for a tight head shot. So I often crop images from it to the same degree as the M8 crop factor.:(

Can't really fault it for the price though, and I liked it very much whilst I used it in the way I intended at purchase (i.e. as a 100/2.5 equivalent). I suppose it comes down to a matter of preferred focal length for portraits. I just much prefer the shots I took with it on the M8, even when I crop from the M9... I just don't seem to be able to connect with it any more at the time I take the portrait.

So I have to agree with the other comment that there is a massive difference between 75 and 90mm.
 
I'm using a Jupiter-9 85mm/F2 on my Bessa R3A right now ... running a test roll. I'll report back once I get the film developed.

The Jupiter-9's are very cheap, but again -- it's a crap shoot whether or not you get a good one.

I throw my vote in for the CV 75. Great quality lens, reasonable price.
 
If one is looking to economy, then any 75mm (or 85mm) lens that focuses properly on the given rangefinder is good. When you need speed, well perhaps you should move on to another subject or save up for a Summilux. Chances are that unless you are a time-pressured professional, you don't need the high-end Summilux.
 
No.

No.

For 75mm, it's the Summilux, or nothing.

Kolame said:
I’m not good at using those forum search engines, so if this topic was discussed already, I’m sorry, just link me to that.
I’m looking for a nice 75mm ltm lens for my Bessa R at the moment. I already got a 35mm 2,5 pancake (and used it in my vacations in Sweden a lot) and a Industar-61 (52mm 2,8).
Since I bought my 35mm, people are telling me, that I should use it with a 75mm, as they would work together nicely. I’ve got the same feeling now. I almost only used the 35mm in Sweden, and the 52mm was lying in my bag. This is because the 35mm is definitely better, considering optical quality, but also because it’s very close to 50mm.
In Sweden I sometimes just switched the framelines to 75mm, to get a feeling for this perspective (I mostly do landscapes, but want to start portraiting now, there a 75mm would be nice), and I thought, having one of those would be nice.
I don’t want to put the 50mm away now (as I’m also using it, and it’s cheap and good), but I would like to know if there is a nice 75mm lens for say 150€...? Of course, I know, I won’t get a new one, but maybe a used one?

Tell me everything! There is the Jupiter-38, right? What can you say about it? Is there anything more? With some luck, may I be able to get the Color-Heliar from Voigtländer?

Thank you all!
Click to expand...
 
The Steinheil Culminar 85mm f/2.8 is a good performer for the price. Excellent condition samples can be had for less than $200. The build quality is much better than the Jupiter.

Phil Forrest
 
There's always the Canon 85/1.9 which isn't 'that far' off in terms of focal length. You can pick up a copy for under your budget, thought it is a bigger (and heavier) lens, due to the f1.9. I had the 100/3.5 and sold it here just because it was too slow and I never used it due to that
 
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