Elmar 90/4 M who's run into one?

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Leica Photography : One Thread

Hi there,

I've been using an M6 for about 6 months and have 35/2 & 50/2 Summicrons. I use 35 asph most of the time for street and general work and 50 is great for some portrait work but I want some tighter shots while limiting DoF.

I have been using my Nikon FE2 & Nikkor 105/2.5 (great combo)for this but it would be handy to only carry arount 1 body (M6).

This is the lens that I would use least (like, less than 5%) so I don't want to spend large. I've looked at all the modern 90/2s & 90/2.8s but they're not $ viable for <5% usage.

What can you tell me about the old Elmar 90/4s - there are a few in a shop near me for NZ$650 ~ US$300ish? Would this be the way to go?

Or maybe just get a 2x teleconverter! ;o)

Thanks guys, Angus

-- Angus Macniven (angus_macniven@hotmail.com), April 15, 2002

Answers

The Elmar 90/4 is quite an old design, but working fine nonetheless. They seem to sell here in Germany for about $150. But you might also try out the Elmar-C for the CL and the 90mm Rokkor for the CLE, they should also work on the M6 and are both much better performers than the standard Elmar. Though you might try the Elmar-C first for focussing problems (which some people say does not fit); I've never had those myself before. A nice used Elmar-C/Rokkor will cost you about $200, so ths is the one to go for in my eyes.

-- Kai Blanke (kai.blanke@iname.com), April 15, 2002.

I got the M-Rokkor 90f4 and found it to be a nice lens small, light OK sharp, the focus cam is a normal "M". I have now also a SAA90 but bought this mainly to get a faster lens. (also the reason I did not consider the 2.8) But I will keep the 90f4 to be used when weight is an isssue and max sharpnes / fastness is not priority 1. The Rokkor can be bought in the 3-400$ range and can be recomended.

-- Kaj Froling (kf@draupnir.dk), April 15, 2002.

I've used the rokkor. It seemed very sharp to me at f4 with good flatness of field.

-- Steve Jones (stephenjjones@btopenworld.com), April 15, 2002.

Long ago I had a 90/4M from the fifties. Unlike others I've seen since, mine had a satin-chrome name-plate ring, and the filter threads were chrome also. It suffered terribly from flare anytime there was any kind of backlight. I traded it after a couple of months.

-- Mark Sampson (MSampson45@aol.com), April 15, 2002.

Unless you consider the 90/4 as a collectors item I would buy the 90/2,8. I made this swap 2 years ago and am very happy with the change.

-- Andre Bosmans (a.bosmans@pandora.be), April 15, 2002.


I have seen many marvellous pictures taken with the 4 element Elmar from the 60s. The three element is even better, but expensive. I think if you get a later one which has no fogging then you will appreciate it. On paper it is not as good as the later designs, but the shots are wonderful - a classic Leica look.

-- Robin Smith (smith_robin@hotmail.com), April 15, 2002.

I have a couple of collapsible 90/4 Elmars from the 1950s (BTW, 1 is for sale) & they're fine performers (here's an example of a shot where I've cropped away 50% of the negative) based on the classic Tessar design, I think. However, as Mark Sampson points out, they can be much more susceptible to flare than modern lenses, so don't forget to use a lens hood if you end up buying 1.

-- Chris Chen (Wash., DC) (furcafe@NOSPAMcris.com), April 15, 2002.

Hi Angus,

Why don't you give a look at the Cosina-Voigtländer 90 mm Leica screw mount wiht M adaptor? I have one and it's real nice and sharp. Not too fast (1:3.5) but do you need faster? The kit should set you back around 350$ (I bought mine in Montreal.) Good luck and happy shooting.

Olivier

-- Olivier Reichenbach (olreiche@videotron.ca), April 15, 2002.


Thanks for all your experience and advice. No easy answers are there! In the meantime, maybe I'll just move a little closer if I don't have the 105mm with me - probably wouldn't do my photography any harm either! ;o) Cheers,

-- Angus Macniven (angus_macniven@hotmail.com), April 16, 2002.

Angus - just to clarify, there are TWo generations of Elmar f/4 lenses- at least for the M.

1) the 1955-65 Elmar f/4 (many of which were collapsible)

2) the 1974-81 Leitz/Rokkor compact lenses for the CL/CLE cameras

They are very different items except for the coincidence of focal length and aperture.

The 2) lenses are much smaller and are cosmetically similar to modern Leica lenses. They are probably slightly better designs (given 10-20 years advances in optical design). There is some question about whether the Leica 90 will focus perfectly with an M body - the cam setup was different in the CL. The Rokkor version is 'more' compatable.

The 1) lenses are heavy Leica chrome construction, but except for very late lenses with a 3-element redesign they are essentially the same lens designed for the screw-mount cameras in the 1930's, albeit with better coatings and external build.

-- Andy Piper (apidens@denver.infi.net), April 16, 2002.



Moderation questions? read the FAQ