New Toy: Leica 90/2 Summicron

T

Todd.Hanz

Guest
I was visiting my local camera repair guru today to see if he thought my 50/2 summicron had fungus growing inside (small spot) when I noticed he had gotten some more lenses in ($cha-ching$). I saw what I thought was an "R" lens, a 90mm/2 Summicron, this thing was freakin' huge and it turns out it was an "M" mount. I had never seen a 90/2 before, talk about a piece of glass, this thing was a beauty with only a small amount of brassing around the focusing collar. I made a big mistake by mounting it on my M6, you know just to see how it looked and felt and smelled and purred when you went through the apetures and how velvety the focus ring felt as I rolled it from one meter to infinity. Yeah, I got it! Traded an old friend, a Contax IIA with 50mm 1.5 sonnar, I hadn't fired that camera in 5-6 months and was hoping to get a Ziess/Leica adapter for the lens to go on my M6 but they are waaaaaay to expensive! I'll miss it but it was meant for a collector which I'm not and this deal was way too sweet to pass on, checked ebay and this lens goes for 4 times what I had in it, it was a nice day for shopping.
The lens is big, over 600 grams heavy brass n' glass, the true Leicaphiles probably would say it ruins the cameras lines/compactness, I say so what, it's an f2!

Todd
 
I had a couple frames left in the camera I took with the 90/2:
 
Damn! That's the next lens for my M3!

I've been stalking a chrome one but starting to look at the black ones as well. Seems like you got a really good deal as well - a Contax IIa with the sonnar should be about 300 or so - this is a 600 dollar minimum lens. How do you do it? :)

The photos you posted are also very, very good...doesn't make me want one any less at all... Congratulations - beautiful lens and great performer!!

precious....preeeciioouusss.....
 
Down Smeegle,
thanks Richard, as far as how do I do it, just lucky I guess. He also had a 90/2.8 black for $400, great glass but well used exterior. This lens seems to lend itself to the infamous "3D effect" better than others I have used. I think my kit is about complete, just gotta find that 21/28mm.........

Todd
 
Just don't bite off my finger,
I read up on this lens and you might be interested to know that the earlier models 1957-1958 have 6 elements in 5 groups where the newer ones are 5 elements in 4 groups, until '98 when they made the APO-smaller and went to 5 elements in 5 groups. I don't know if it matters, mine is an early model (1958), but it seems to isolate the subject well.

Todd

P.S. you were wondering about close focus (in the gallery), the lens focuses to 1 meter which should be plenty for portraits, see this one as an example, nothing dranatic but it should give you an idea:
 
very nice!
it must have been time for that trade to happen.
i'm a firm believer in timing and that we have little say as to that timing.
it looks great and it sure seems to shoot nice too.
congrats!

joe
 
Great shot - again.

I'm gunning for something from the mid-60's to make it 'fit' as well as possible with my M3. We'll see.
 
Great shots! Is that you're boy?

Todd, that sounds like a sweet deal you got. And you're right when you say that your shots display that elusive 3D effect; it was what I noticed immediately and reminded me of my first shot with the Rokkor 40/2.

Now that I've seen these 90mm shots I feel like taking out my Jupiter 85/2.
I recently got a two screw-on hoods for it, a short and a long one, turning it into 1 very long hood. Without the hood it flared like mad. Now I should see how it performs with the hood(s).
 
My goodness those are nice shots. Congratulations. You have a bag of Zeiss glass still right. Without the IIa they may become that Leica 24 or 28 or 21.
 
Well this will push me over the edge. As Richard knows, the 90mm framelines in the M3 cry to be filled. I am using the old Elmar F4, but I always have a need for speed.

You got a great deal. The Contax and Sonnar are a great camera and lens; but that little viewfinder! I modified a Nikon S2 to use with the Contax 52.3mm Standard.

Richard, you better let me know which ones oin EBay you are bidding on so that we do not get caught in the cross-fire.
 
Beautiful lens, Todd! And nice work with it. This one is going to become one of your favs, I can tell.

The first extra lens I picked up for my CL was a VC 90/3.5 APO Lanthar. Not Leica glass, but another fine performer for anyone on a budget.

Swap?? :cool:

Gene
 
Todd, congratulations on a great deal! Just out of curiosity... is this 'cron the one with a tripod mount on the barrel? Just wondering...
 
Thanks, yes it has the tripod mount on the barrel. I am going to use the mount today for a portrait shoot. I'll let you know how it works.

Todd
 
Nice work, Todd: I have a feeling I'll be looking for a 90 Summicron as well.
 
I gave into my Nikon-itis and bought a 105mm F2.5 Nikkor in LTM CHEAP. Cheap, because the 39mm threads are damaged. If I can't get them straight, I will mount an LTM to M adapter onto it. I have almost every version of the 105 F2.5. This one is Ugly (VG-), but it was cheap enough not to blow my 90mm Summicron fund. So now I have the Nikkor 5cm, 8.5cm, 10.5cm, and 13.5cm in LTM. Good thing I do not use wide-angle lenses. Those are a fortune!
 
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