Which lens in the 85-105mm range?

A

artears

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In a recent thread that I opened I found out that it would be very difficult to use an om lens of focal length 90mm on a leica body due to the discontinued rf coupled adapter and the limitations of it. So, I decided to get another suitable lens in that range. I don't want to spend too much, since I am not sure of that focal length regarding its easiness of focusing. Followings are the three lenses that I picked:

1. Konica M-hexanon 90mm f/2.8
2. Nikkor 85mm f/2
3. Nikkor 105mm f/2.5

I have a nikkor lens and the appropriate adapter already, so the cheapest option will be to get the nikkor lenses in nikon-s mount I guess. However, I also want the lens to be sharp wide open and have nice bokeh. Which one do you recommend? A comparison will be nice too.. I have seen pictures from Konica and Nikkor 105mm, but I could not find any from nikkor 85mm. If you have some example pictures taken wide open, I will appreciate if you could post them.
 
If I could get a Leica 90/2 ASPH for $300 I would grab it. That is what my Nikkor 8.5cm F2 and Nikkor 10.5cm F2.5 cost. My non-Asph Leica 90/2 was $200, I grabbed it.

Nikkor 8.5cm F2, wide-open on the M8

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100% crop
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Wide-Open
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At F4:
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I use the 8.5cm f2 with the 75mm framelines on the M8: perfect, and the 10.5cm F2.5 with the 90mm framelines on the M8: perfect.

I use a 1.25x magnifier, bought here on RFF for under $50.
 
On a budget, the leica 90 Elmarit 2.8 is generally reasonably priced and I personally think that it is sharper than the non aspherical 90 Summicron. Also nice and light.

Best wishes

Richard
 
I have a 90/2.8 Tele-Elmarit too, need to pop it onto the M8. It is quite sharp. It's very good on the M8.

The interesting thing: framing the 10.5cm F2.5 with the M8's 90mm framelines is more accurate than framing a 90mm lens with the 90mm framelines.

So many lenses, so little time.
 
Brian, thank you very much for this detailed and informative reply. Which nikkor do you think performs better and sharper wide open? I liked the transition of the in focus areas to oof ones with nikkor lenses. It looks really good. I might go for one the nikkors. With M8, I always found that it captures a bit more than the framelines regardless of the lens, so what you say makes perfect sense for me. The problem with 10.5cm is, either I need to find a ltm mount or get another amedeo adapter to trigger 90mm framelines to have accurate framing. If 8.5cm is perfect with 75mm framelines, then maybe I need to look for it, this is also another thought... Also, do you prefer elmarit or nikkors on M8?

@Richard & Brian: What is the market for an Elmarit, do you know?

Thanks to everyone again for the valuable info...
 
I once I got a 105/2.5 in LTM my 90 'Cron (mid 90's) sat unused. The 85/2 is a world class lens but in Chrome it's a bit heavy to carry everywhere. The black version is harder to find (read more expensive) but much easier to carry. From memory the 105/2.5 felt lighter than the 85/2 chrome I had but I do not remember specifics. I used the 90mm frame lines of M6 and M4-P for the 105 and it worked great. You can pick up LTM versions much cheaper than S versions as you need to an expensive adapter. On the other than that adapter will open up to you using the 50/1.4 Millennium which is one of the top two or three 50mm lenses EVER made.

You will not make a mistake with either of the Nikkors. I have not owned or used the Konica.

B2 (;->
 
Bill, thank you for the comments. I already have amedeo adapter and it is glued to my nikkor 50mm f/1.4 millenium :) It is an amazing lens and probably I will never part from it. The lens looks kind of funny on M8 with the silver adapter, silver uv/ir filter and some black hood that I got from ebay, but the pictures from the lens are very serious :))... The adapter I have triggers 50/75 framelines. Of course I can assume that I will be getting a tighter frame and use the lens like that. That will work, but I rather have correct framing... No big deal though...

I am still not sure about which nikkor will be best. I can get another adapter for contax from amedeo and get nikkor 8.5cm. More expensive initiallly, but opens new possibilities, both contax and nikkor mounts will be available, I can get any lens in that case... However the question remains about which nikkor being optically better...

Thanks again...
 
Interesting approach. I saw an 85/2 black in Contax mount sitting on EvilBay somewhere a while back. I don't think it ever sold. Too bad EvilBay takes old listings off so quickly these days.

The vented metal hood I had for my Millennium took a 52mm snap on lens cap on the front which was very hand (and matching Nikon).

B2 (;->
 
All three are great lenses. I did use the 105, but today, from your list, only keep Nikkor 85 and M-Hexanon (next to Summicron 90/2 and Summilux 75/1.4 - I'm a tele fan). The Nikkor 105 is really large and heavy. It has min. focus of 5 feet. The 85 is much smaller, with the chrome one being heavier than the black one (harder to find). 3.5 feet min. focus.

The Hexanon 90/2.8 has more contrast, but pics otherwise don't look too different.

Other small alternatives in your price range are the Tele Elmarit 90/2.8 and the CV Heliar 75/2.5, both tiny and excellent in signature.

Roland.
 
A thin tele-elmarit is a great choice. They can be had for not too much money, probably in your price range if you look. They're really light and small... and work very well on the M8.
 
@Bill: I have a similar metal vented hood with snap on cap. The cap is just plain black though. The contax lenses seem to be cheaper than other mounts. A black 85 would have been interesting...

@Roland: I wonder if you are still using nikkor 85mm considering that you own 75 summilux. I am asking just because I am curious. Also, if you are interested in letting your 90mm hexanon go, please let me know :)...

BTW, I found this and the other links on the left quite informative. Please ignore if it has been posted elsewhere: http://imaging.nikon.com/products/imaging/technology/nikkor/n36_e.htm
 
I have had all of them and now have Hex 90 and Nikkor 10.5cm. All superb lenses. Sold Nikkor 8.5cm as it was a chrome one and a heavy one at that with a loooong focus throw. I find Hex 90 with Nikkor 10.5cm and Canon 100/3.5 is a good set to chose from for different occasions.
 
With the 1.3x crop factor of the M8, I would go with the Nikkor 8.5cm F2 in LTM. Use a 50/75 LTM to M adapter with it. The chrome lenses are much less expensive and more plentiful than the Black version. If you get a later chrome lens, SN above 300,000, it shed some of the weight of the earlier lenses. Having used it and the 10.5cm F2.5 the same day on the M8, really not much difference in weight. The Hood of the 8.5cm F2 lens does not protrude into the viewfinder as much as the 10.5cm. For wide-open shooting, the 1.25x finder is a big help and makes the 75mm framelines much easier to work with.

More with the 8.5cm Nikkor:
http://ziforums.com/album.php?albumid=228

And the 10.5cm Nikkor.

http://ziforums.com/album.php?albumid=219

Not definitive: but the focus shift on the 10.5cm lens seemed more than the older lens. Going from F2.5 to F4 seemed to throw my focus off. I had no problems with the lens at F2.5. F4 was an Issue. I used the 8.5cm lens at F2 and F4, did not seem to be as big of a shift.
 
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artears said:
Brian, thank you very much for this detailed and informative reply. Which nikkor do you think performs better and sharper wide open? I liked the transition of the in focus areas to oof ones with nikkor lenses. It looks really good. I might go for one the nikkors. With M8, I always found that it captures a bit more than the framelines regardless of the lens, so what you say makes perfect sense for me. The problem with 10.5cm is, either I need to find a ltm mount or get another amedeo adapter to trigger 90mm framelines to have accurate framing. If 8.5cm is perfect with 75mm framelines, then maybe I need to look for it, this is also another thought... Also, do you prefer elmarit or nikkors on M8?

@Richard & Brian: What is the market for an Elmarit, do you know?

Thanks to everyone again for the valuable info...
Click to expand...
The Market for a 90 2.8 has always been pretty reasonable in the UK (sorry not sure nwhere you are based). Normally between £450 to £550 from a UK dealer for the most recent version which is very sharp. Earlier versions a bit less. It is a difficult one at the moment though as the ripples from M9 sales and new M8 owners may have pushed up these prices. Personally I found the focus area on the M8 a bit small and went down to 75mm still not happy ended up with a 50 lux again. Ultinately I did not rate the small advantage of the lux on my M8 over a 50 'cron. It just seemed too harsh and ended up again with a current version 'cron. I really could not be happier! The tele lenses alow you to get a little further away but do not really fill the frame with much more head shots whilst at the same time you loose out on slowest shutter speed and also focusing acuracy at the longer focal length. Also the closest distance you can focus is not as tight as with a 50. It is highly personal but for my style I was happiest at 50mm on my M8. There are loads of used 50 'cron out there and any of the last three versions (1970's onwards) will do fine. I know you want a 90 but thats my 2 penneth!

Best wishes and good luck

Richard
 
how the Elmarit 90mm compares to the Nikkor 8.5cm

how the Elmarit 90mm compares to the Nikkor 8.5cm

Brian: glad you brought this up. As you know, I'm also looking into affordable (read: not summicron) 85/90mm options.

Not to hijack this thread, but I wonder how the Elmarit 90mm compares to the Nikkor 8.5cm. I have looked at photos taken with each lens, but am wondering if anyone has used both and can provide a detailed comparison.
 
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