Request: Please post Photo's taken with the Steinheil Culminar 85/2.8

Brian Sweeney · 02-13-2011

I've had some inquiries about Short-Telephoto lenses, and the Steinheil Culminar comes to mind as a possible solution.

But, I do not currently have one. The one I picked up had a lot of coating damage, still delivered nice results.

So- if you have some photos with this lens, Please post them.

raid · 02-13-2011

Hi Brian,
I have a clean one,and it is an excellent lens overall. I will search for some images taken with it.

raid · 02-13-2011

At 2.8:

The lens used to be very cheap.

Brian Sweeney · 02-13-2011

Thanks Raid!

raid · 02-13-2011

At 8.0:

The lens testing comes in handy for such times! I found an old thread on tele lenses.

raid · 02-13-2011

At 2.8 in color:

This lens is not "warm".

raid · 02-13-2011

At 4.0:

raid · 02-13-2011

ebay offer for $249 or make offer: http://cgi.ebay.com/Steinheil-Leica-...item56426c0727

Such a lens would go for $50 or so in the past.

If someone is really desperate and unrealistic: http://cgi.ebay.com/Steinheil-f-Cont...item56426c0788

ONLY $689 ....

A cheaper option is to buy a 135mm 4.5 Steinheil ...make sure that the lens is in LTM and not in Exakta mount.

raid · 02-13-2011

For comparison purposes, this image was taken at 4.0 with a 90mm 2.8 Elmarit;

The lens is a little warmer than the Steinheil. It appears on the screen to be sharper ..maybe?

Elmarit at 8.0:

Brian Sweeney · 02-13-2011

It's amazing what some Ebay sellers want for these lenses. I picked up one for $15, was close to opaque inside. I cleaned it up, but an inner element looked like it had been cleaned with sand paper. Sold it cheap to a student.

This is a good lens if you can find it at a low price, but it is not as sharp or contrasty as the Tele-Elmarit. It should not cost near as much as a Tele-Elmarit. But- Ebay and Cosmic Rays seem to make prices go through the Stratosphere.

raid · 02-13-2011

I have the old version Elmarit (chrome), Brian. The Elmarit is certainly better built than the steinheil.

Brian Sweeney · 02-13-2011

The Elmarit looks sharper, I know the Tele-Elmarit is sharper and higher contrast. I tend to use the Nikkor 85/2 and the Elmar 90/4 most often for a short Telephoto. The 90/2.8 Tele-Elmarit is no bigger/heavier than the Elmar. The Steinheil, as I recall, was about the same size and weight as the Tele-Elmarit.

"One Day", I am going to make the 90/4 Schneider Arton into a Leica mount lens. I love the look that lens delivers.

f16sunshine · 02-13-2011

There is a Braun Paxellete (spelling?) version as well. The threads are also 39mm but the lens will not focus on LTM or M mount cameras.

raid · 02-13-2011

Hi Andy,
Yes, we always caution to make sure that the Steinheil lens is LTM and for Exacta or for Paxette. Brian modified a non-RF Luxon 50/2 lens meant for the Paxette into a RF coupled LTM lens!

f16sunshine · 02-13-2011

Interesting conversion. I've not even heard of that lens. I have a couple exacts lenses that I've used on my canon dslr. Nice iq overall. Not the sharpest always but very pretty rendering And medium contrast for portraits. I warn on the Paxette lens as it looks like it is a ltm. 39mm thread that screws into Leica, a cam pusher of brass that moves with focus. Very easy to assume it's for Leica. One give away maybe is that it is a very small lens for an 85. The true LTM version is larger I think.

raid · 02-13-2011

There exist some lenses made for LTM,and they have a letter L beside the lens name.

foggie · 02-14-2011

my culminar 85mm f2.8 has fungus and is filled with scratches but it takes pictures that are fine for me

icemanh · 02-16-2011

I should have one in my cabinet for a long time, and I didn't take any picture with it except a few test shots. Let me try it out in coming time.

David Murphy · 02-16-2011

I used to own one, but never had a chance to use it. I thought it was well-made however - a nice looking lens and compact.