Any suggestion as to buying used, the Summicron 90mmR or the 2nd version of the 2.8. I wonder if the latter is a good bit lighter and sharper. Thanks, Bob

-- Bob Haight (rhaigh5748@aol.com), December 20, 2001

Answers

The late version Elmarit-R is lighter and sharper. The Summicron-R has f/2 and is an excellent lens, one of my favorites. See 'em both at http://www.wildlightphoto.com/leica

-- Douglas Herr (telyt@earthlink.net), December 20, 2001.

Doug's reviews are usually spot on. it really depends on whether or not you will be using the 90 wide open at f2. i do not so the 2.8 made better sense to me since it is generally regarded as the better lens. the 2.8 is not my wife's favorite lens since she feels that at 40+ it reproduces the facial lines too acurately.

-- greg mason (gmason1661@aol.com), December 20, 2001.

Bob, I have owned both lenses and I can tell you that both are good performers. I probably used the Summicron more often because of the extra stop, which aided in focusing; plus I liked it at F2 - yes it is softer wide open. The size / weight difference was not that noticeable to me.

-- David (pagedt@chartertn.net), December 20, 2001.

They are both excellent. The Summicron: Less contrasty and slightly softer at full aperture down to f4, but nice focussing and handling on any R. Elmarit: A very good lens and a good deal lighter.

The Elmarit is a very good performer and almost up to APO-Macro Elmarit standard. I sold my Summicron to get the Elmarit and regretted it as I missed f2. The Elmarit is better, but not enough to make me think I made a wise choice. Rather than get another Summicron, I kept the Elmarit when I need to keep the weight down and need max performance and bought an 80mm Summilux for portraits and when weight does not matter. The Summilux is outstanding and even better than the Summicron, so I don't use the Elmarit much these days.

The 2nd version of the Elmarit is a little hard to find and usually costs as much as a Summicron. It all depends whether you want the extra stop.

-- Robin Smith (smith_robin@hotmail.com), December 20, 2001.

I own both lenses. The 90/2.8 is lighter weight and higher contrast and has better sharpness into the corners at the wider apertures and in the close-up range but by f/5.6 they pretty much even out. However since I purchased the 80-200/4 I tend to carry the 90/2 more, simply because it's easier to focus in dim light and has that extra stop. In those conditions the lower contrast is actually a help.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), December 20, 2001.

Thanks for the imput. As I thought not an easy choice, but I think the Summicron won out by a hair. Thanks again. Bob

-- Bob Haight (rhaigh5748@aol.com), December 21, 2001.