Nice and Cheap 85 or 90

[manojd]

What would be a good performing and cheap 85 or 90 mm on the RD1? And how would it work with the viefinder? Are there any coupled lenses in this range? I do not want to spend too much on such a lens, but am looking for one in case I need the extra zoom.

Thank you.

 

[Wimpler]

I use a steinheil culminar 85mm f2.8 (LTM) on my fed2 and it has been great. Elmar 90mm f4 lenses are not expensive either. You could find one for <$100.

 

[Kim Coxon]

I would stay away from the J9 on the RD-1. The focus issue is a problem on film bodies and worse with the crop factor. The Canon's are good lenses and relatively cheap.

Kim

 

[FrankS]

There's the Elmar 90 f4, and the Canon 85 f2.

 

[Adam-T]

New there`s the CV 90mm F3.5 APO Lanthar which is Stunning wide open though can be tricky to focus like all 90s and longer due to the short Rangefinder base on the R-D1 - it`s beautifully made, doesn`t vig and is tack sharp at all apertures..... Doesn`t break the bank either..
The non collapsible Leica Elmar F4 mentioned above could be a good buy used so long as you can find an example which hasn`t gone milky at the right price and of course the black M mount version for the Leica CL (dunno how they focus though).. I compared the old Elmar to the CV 90 on thursday and the CV won, especially at the edges but samples do vary due to optical contamination, balsam separation etc.
Then there`s the above mentioned Jupiter-9, the cheapest option (though prices are rising fast - it`s not a £5 lens like the 50mm Jupiter-8) ..

I`d say that a new CV 90mm Lanthar is the safest bet, though not the cheapest.

 

[Simon Larbalestier]

A friend of mine uses a 90/4 Elmar C (the one made for the Leica CL)
I used it for a few shots on my MP and found it excellent even at F4.

 

[Terao]

I have a Jupiter 9. Its coupled and I have no focus issues with it, either on the R-D1 or the Bessa T. Not the easiest thing to focus but that's true of any long lens on the R-D1. Grab a Russian turret finder if you want a degree of framing accuracy (set it to 135mm to compensate for the crop) or get used to using the central section of the built-in finder (set the frame lines to 50 and estimate from there).

The other option is the 75mm Heliar - remember because of the crop the field of view is equivalent to a ~112mm lens. The issue with that lens is finding a finder so its probably best to use the central section of the camera finder...

 

[CDT]

Can a 90mm f2 be reliably focused on the R-D1?
I owned the 90mm lanthar (sold it when I went digital a few years a go) and loved it but frequently wished for more speed. Personally I'm leaning towards an old elmarit since they are cheap and a little faster.