Sean Reid tests 90mm RF lenses

[thomasw_]

Roland:

Are you planning to buy one of these ZM 85/2s to use on the extended base length of a M3? Do you do a lot of portrait shots, e.g., of your pets and people, etc?

Thomas

 

[ferider]

Roland:

Are you planning to buy one of these ZM 85/2s to use on the extended base length of a M3? Do you do a lot of portrait shots, e.g., of your pets and people, etc?

Thomas

I'm fascinated by the M3 with short teles, Thomas. Whether the new
Sonnar is in the budget will require some negotiations at home ....

Roland.

 

[thomasw_]

"negotiations." ah, i understand this.

 

[Leicabug]

... his 90/2.8 Elmarit was quite impressive....

I always believe that 90/2.8 Elmarit (both M and R) is one of the best Leica lens.

 

[harmsr]

I'm just about to go read Sean's review now.

In my own shots from various 90 mm lenses, I decided on the current 90 / 2.8 Elmarit. I had the opportunity to shoot all three of Leica's current 90s and decided that the Elmarit is what worked for me.

The macro when extended is just not any real size savings compared to the Elmarit, and you also have to carry an add-on hood. The macro was also a little too contrasty for my tastes and limited by the f 4.0 aperture. Macro work really belongs on an SLR.

The 90 APO Summicron was too large and slower to snap into focus than the Elmarit, due to its different gearing on focus. The difference between a 2.0 and 2.8 in a 90 mm focal length was not a big deal to me, as the 2.0 DOF was just too narrow for my normal use.

The Elmarit is great handling and size. It was the easier of the group for me to focus and it has a very nice way of rendering that is very sharp, but with a great blend of contrast and transitions.

Just my $.02, but I really like the Elmarit.

Best,

Ray

 

[jlw]

One area in which I'd suggest treading cautiously is Sean's endorsement of the old, gigantic, 90mm f/2 Summicron, the one with the built-in tripod socket. This is the only non-current lens he tests in the review, presumably because one of his sources made it available.

I had one of these and found it almost useless because when photographing bright objects against dark backgrounds, it produced a very pronounced double image of the highlight. Sean's subjective test scenarios don't include a situation that would provoke this, and maybe your photography doesn't, either, but beware if it does.

I eventually ditched my old-style Summicron in favor of an LTM 105/2.5 Nikkor, which was dramatically better in every way, and later replaced that with a 100/2 Canon, which delivers both quality and speed. But I guess none of those were available to Sean as loaners...

 

[Gary Sandhu]

I have a 90 APO and Elmarit. I just listed my Elmarit but it didn't sell for the reserve, only going up to $500 USD. The only difference I note shooting hand held with both lenses is that the APO has an extra stop! I think I'd have to use my tripod to get at the extra quality of the APO. Can the M8 (which I have) even resolve the difference between the two? When I have time I guess I'll have to spend an afternoon testing the two on the M8 and with Velvia.

 

[trittium]

I alway test MY lenses. You never know the diffences that may occure.

 

[Ara Ghajanian]

It is probably sharp but focus is just shifted.

Also, wrt Puts' review, please have a look at

http://www.imx.nl/photo/canon/state_of_the_art_of_medium_.html

scroll down about half the page where he compares bokeh of the 85/2 to
the Summicron 90/2, obviously at different apertures !

Cheers,

Roland.

Wow, his model is hot!

 

[retow]

Wow, his model is hot!

Puts always seems to get the hot models. Maybe we should start writing about Leica gear.......
😀

 

[FanMan]

Wow, his model is hot!

and more pretty than the brick wall you see, when scrolling down further 😀

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

so I am sceptical, and so is Mr Reid. But if he has a Zeiss lemon, I can boast a Leica lemon, so we better get them both fixed...

I'd be sceptical if I had an expensive lemon, too; how crappy is that!

I'm often skeptical of lens tests; they often reveal sample variations and one alone is not sufficient to make a good value judgement; putting different people's lens tests together then the art of comparison begins.

 

[Palaeoboy]

I dont get alot from Sean tests purely because he only shoots with the 2 Digital rangefinders that both have crop facters. If your a film user you really should look further afield for someone who has tested them full frame.

 

[jtm]

Roland:

Are you planning to buy one of these ZM 85/2s to use on the extended base length of a M3? Do you do a lot of portrait shots, e.g., of your pets and people, etc?

Thomas

Roland already has that lovely black Nikkor. Why would he need a monstrous new ZM lens?

 

[back alley]

I dont get alot from Sean tests purely because he only shoots with the 2 Digital rangefinders that both have crop facters. If your a film user you really should look further afield for someone who has tested them full frame.

this is my complaint/concern as well.

each lens review comes with a mini m8 review as well.

 

[35mmdelux]

My chrome 90mm Elmarit-M latest is very consistent with my 50mm/1.4 Zeiss Planar. I’d call them spectacular based on my own testing of clarity, sharpness (yes), and bokeh.

 

[35mmdelux]

I dont get alot from Sean tests purely because he only shoots with the 2 Digital rangefinders that both have crop facters. If your a film user you really should look further afield for someone who has tested them full frame.

I'd have to agree with your premise because as you well know crop factors only use the sweet part of the lens no matter what aperture setting. Its like saying the woman is very beautiful judged only by her eyes. Caution advised;-)

 

[x-ray]

I don't know how Puts can evaluatye anything from the extremely poor scans he posted. Over sharpened to the point of artifactacts and double lines on the edges. I would hid my face in shame if I made a presentation like this.

This is one of my arguments about his tests. If he doesn't care any more than this about the quality of his presentation how do we know he's taking any care at all in the evaluation. I'm not bashing him but this only shows he doesn't care or he doesn't have the skill or knowledge to do things right.

 

[Bavaricus]

I dont get alot from Sean tests purely because he only shoots with the 2 Digital rangefinders that both have crop facters. If your a film user you really should look further afield for someone who has tested them full frame.

Yes, maybe, but which RF has a FF Sensor?? Real life tests are sometimes more significant than MTFs which we can download from a manufacturers site.

 

[mfunnell]

Yes, maybe, but which RF has a FF Sensor?? Real life tests are sometimes more significant than MTFs which we can download from a manufacturers site.

All my rangefinder cameras capture on full 35mm frames, because they all use 35mm film.

While I understand that "cropped" tests don't tell the full story for those using the lenses with film cameras, the part of the story they do tell is still useful input. You just have to be aware of the things that aren't covered if they're likely to matter a lot to you (vignetting being an obvious example).

...Mike