Tele Elmarit on r-d1?

[Pinphot]

Hello,
does anybody here have any experience of putting a 90mm elmarit or tele elmarit on an r-d1. I'm in the market for a 90mm. I wasn't going to go to anything above a 50 in my r-d1 kit, but I managed to find a second hand 135mm leitz brightline finder, (a shooc), which gives an absolutely gorgeous view, and makes me think that a 135 lens, (35mm equivalent), is eminently usable assuming there are no focusing issues. My obvious choice would be the cv 90/3.5, but it's getting a bit slow and a 90 Summicron, (used), is bigger than I want and rather more than I want to pay, considering I have fairly fast and image stabilised 135 equivalents in my canon slr kit if I need it.
I have come across, (and missed), several good users at dealers in the uk at fairly reasonable prices around the £250-£300, ($500-$600), mark so it seems that there plenty around at decent prices if I bide my time.
Firstly, how does the Elmarit compare to the tele Elmarit in terms of image quality? and secondly are there any focusing issues, (apart from rangefinder baselength), that members have any problems with, ie back or front focusing. Ideally, I'd like to go with the TE as it's a compact lens and I'm trying to put together a working rangefinder kit to rival my slr kit, (including small flashguns for small scale lit portraiture), only as compact as possible.

Thanks

Mark

http://www.thebppa.com/Mark-Pinder
http://www.unp.co.uk/photographers/photographer.php?title=mark_pinder

 

[Xmas]

I can tell you have not inquired but...

The 2.8/135mm with goggles wont work with your camera. A 90mm f/2 may be difficult to focus with the R-D1.

The image quality may need a sturdy tripod, unless you are good at bracing the camera.

Noel

 

[Flinor]

I don't use them a whole lot but I have used an M-Rokkor 90 and an Elmar 90 on my RD-1 with an old Canon brightline finder with some success. It's dodgy to try to focus closeup but at longer distances I've had no problems. Of course, I'm talking F4 wide open, but the focal length works.

 

[LCT]

The Tele-Elmarit is a 90mm lens.
Not a 135 like the Tele-Elmar 135/4 or the Elmarit 135/2.8 with goggles.
There have been 2 versions of the Tele-Elmarit, the 'fat' and the 'thin' one if i recall correctly.
I own the 'thin' TE personally.
It's a tiny and light lens, with good sharpness at f/5.6, 8 and 11.
At f/4 it is a little soft but remains more than acceptable IMHO.
The lens is prone to flare though so that a good shade like the original rubber one is mandatory.
The Tele-Elmarit works well at f/4 on the R-D1 but at wider apertures the base length of the rangefinder is not long enough to focus accurately.
Did not try it with the 1.3x magnifier though.

 

[Philip Whiteman]

I've been using a 90 mm Summicron with my R-D1: there's some inconsistency with focussing – but then I've found that with my old Leicas too! Seems to work well enough at f2.8 and close up (around 1 metre) to generate confidence. Nice to find a use for my old Tewe finder too…

 

[Honus]

I have the 90 tele-elmarit and R-D1. I would echo what LCT said. At wider apertures it is a bit problematic to focus. Stopped down and at infinity it does fine. Having a good 135mm finder would help. I prefer normal focal lengths, so I usually don't go longer than a 50 (for an effective 75). If you like the 135mm effective focal length, it is a nice, compact combination.