Which 90mm lens for travel do you recommend?

[Turtle]

lots of reccs for the 75 CV but it is not a 90mm....

Putz puts the cv 90 3.5 as right next to the current elmarit M in terms of performance, albeit a touch slower. It si supposed to be superbly sharp even wide open. Small and light. Sean Reid also rates it very highly indeed. Used they are cheap. Prob $150+ cheaper than a used Hexanon.

 

[wallace]

What about the famous Canon 100/3.5 ?

 

[tomasis]

CV is good choice as first 90mm 😛

 

[NatashaV]

OK! My 2 choices right now are these:

1. $299 Elmar-C 90/4, Used, "Excellent Condition" (Adorama)
2. $309 Color Heliar 75mm f/2.5 Telephoto + $55 M mount adapter, New, (Adorama or eBay)

I am going to India in 3 weeks, so I don't have too much time to look for 90/2.8 M Hexanon (which seems to have the most fans).

Any suggestions? What would be your choice? Thank you!!!

 

[FPjohn]

75 with brightline finder

75 with brightline finder

Hello:

you have arrived at a sweet spot for your choice. IMHO.

If I may add my two cents - I've been happier using a 75 on a M6 with a brightline add on finder, the CV 75.

yours
FPJ

 

[tbarker13]

Get the CV.
I've used the 90 elmar in the past. It is, indeed, a nice performer. But the 75 is just as nice and you get f/2.5 instead of f/4.0.
It could be nice to have that extra reach in terms of light.

 

[oscroft]

I have both the M-Rokkor 90/4 (same as the Elmar-C) and the CV 75/2.5, and if I had to choose only one it would be the CV.

India is a fantastic place for photography (there are some shots from India on my site, linked below) - hope you have a great time there.

 

[Cron]

if I would have the choice between these two lenses I would buy the CV 2,5/75 Heliar. Great lens, some pictures on my Flickr-site

 

[35mmdelux]

A second hand 2/90 Cron pre-ASPH. Fantastic glass, can be found for around 1000 US (or could when I bought one last year).

for me, 90 pre-asph cron -- too expensive and too heavy for travel.

The Leica 2.8 "thin" or Minolta-c are among the lightest and possibly the best for travel IMHO. $300-450, small small form factor.

If you want top quality/price ration I would go for (which I have ) the 2.8 Elmarit-M (latest) -- considered by many to be as good as the much more expensive Leica 90mm/2.0 ASPH. I paid $650 for mint copy, including box, sweet smelling leather case, warranty, etc.

 

[raid]

I took one photo with my 90mm lens in my last trip. One photo out of twenty 36 exposure rolls of film.

 

[Nick De Marco]

I like the weight of my Elmarit 90 f2.8, but was never that impressed with the quality.
I picked up a nice used cron at a good price. It's heavy for travel but I think I will take it to Cuba as I won't use it much if I don't.

I'm having a few days in Italy from tomorrow and borrowing n 85mm f2 or f2.8 (not sure which) Jupiter from my Dad to see how that works on the M* so I will let you know - as it is obviously a bargain lens and I expect much lighter than my cron.

 

[pfoto]

For travel the "thin" Tele-Elmarit or Hexanon-M are probably the best. I have both and prefer the handling/ergonomics of the TE. I took a 75 rather than a 90 on my last trip and I could really have done with the 90. It depends on the shooting situations - not always predictable but I don't think I'll be travelling without a 90 again.

 

[Ken Ford]

My vote: Elmar-C.

 

[Nokton48]

I like my -speedy- lenses, and I do use them all. I've been using the 85mm f2 Jupiter-9 from Fedka (which I really enjoy) and now, a 90mm f2 Summicron V2 chrome, which I am just starting to work with. But I had one twenty years years, in black, used it quite a bit, actually.

Both great lenses, IMO.

 

[topoxforddoc]

As a travel lens, I would take the tele-elmarit. I've had both the TE and the Minolta Rokkor 90/4 CLE. I kept the TE, but the rokkor wasn't half bad.

Charlie

 

[35mmdelux]

I took one photo with my 90mm lens in my last trip. One photo out of twenty 36 exposure rolls of film.

Earlier someone wrote they were not particularly impressed with 90/2.8 Elmarit-M. That is not my experience. The latest Elmarit-M IMHO is fantastic..

 

[Berliner]

I don't. I'd choose a 75 to pair with your 35...a natural 2nd lens choice. Espically if you want the lighest most compact way to 'approach' (28)-35-(50)-75-(90)- kit-like coverage in a travel kit. Just a few steps, & a couple degrees anyway (with good technique it can be done) This is my entire (travel) kit. I'm into minimalism though, and can live with the compromise.

 

[drewbarb]

I really like my Elmarit-M (see example below- shot nearly wide-open, with an M3 on Tri-X...). For what it's worth, the Hexanon-M and the Elmarit-M are very similar lenses. The optical formulas are not identical, but the results are similar at most apertures, and the size, weight, handling and ergonomics of these two lenses are nearly identical. They are both excellent lenses; and while not especially heavy (even in RF terms) I'd still love something even smaller and lighter for a minimalist travel kit, if I could get acceptable performance cheaply. I'd sacrifice speed for size here.

If I had the budget for a new lens, I might look hard at the Summarit-M- it intrigues me. I've seen a few prints from this lens, and they looked great- and the reviews have been very good. Being (if only a little bit) smaller, lighter, faster, and cheaper than the Elmarit-M, (both new...) it would be tempting- if I had the budget.

Realistically, in your situation, see what you can find in the way of a lens you can get in your time-frame. Many lenses mentioned here will fill the bill nicely as great performers and excellent travel companions- the Elmar-C and the CV APO Lanthar also especially come to mind as good, small, and affordable 90mm lenses. See what sort of a deal you can get in your buget and on time for your trip. Good luck, and have fun!

 

[amateriat]

From my count, that makes me #5 in favor of the 90 f/2.8 M-Hexanon, with the caveat that this lens, as well as the rest of the M-Hexanons, are by now something of a known quantity (and quality). Still worth a search.


- Barrett

 

[Travelbug]

I try to keep my equipment for travels as small as possible. So my lineup for backpacking is a Minolta CLE with the 28/40/90 M-Rokkor lenses and a 15mm Heliar. Very compact and the same Filter thread (40.5) for the Rokkor's means only one set of filters (I hate fiddling around with adapters). For my M2 I'm about to decide to sell my Elmarit 90 (latest) for an Elmarit 90 (first) because of the nice vintage lineup (Summicron 35/50 + Elmarit 90) and also the same filter thread (E39). The heavy latest Elmarit also makes holes in my pockets. Other priorities than pure performance maybe but I'll run a test before the final decision. Just got the vintage Elmarit last week and sent it for a CLA.