90mm Elmarit, Summicron or Summarit?

[bherman]

All;

I currently have an M9, along with a 28mm F/2.8 Elmarit-M ASPH, and a 50mmF2 Summicron, so I was looking for a good 90mm to give me a nice, 3-lens kit.

As far as I'm aware, I only have two options if I want a new lens, which is a 90mm F/2.5 Summarit, or a very hard to find (and expensive) 90mm F2 Summicron APO ASPH. Alternately, I could also get a nice, used 90mm F/2.8 Elmarit-M.

It probably won't be my most used lens, but would obviously like a great quality lens. I'm leaning towards the 90mm Summicron or the 90mm Elmarit, but the Summicron is at least $2k more. I understand that the Summicron is awesome wide open, and is a bit higher contrast (which gives the appearance of a sharper image), but the 90mm Elmarit is no slouch either.

Any comments?

Thanks,

-Brad

[whitecat]

I would have to go for the 90mm F2 Summicron APO ASPH even if it is more. The quality is outstanding. You only live once!

[Pastor Chris]

I can only provide my two cents, I have a Elmarit 2.8 90mm and it is very impressive. I suppose much of it comes done to money.

[DwF]

I would recommend that you look at the last version of the Pre-Asph Summicron. It is E55 and has a built-in hood. I find images made with it a bit more classic Leica look than the newer "improved" design.

I did eventually sell mine because I prefer the smaller/lighter (if also slower) 90 Elmarit lenses. I have also owned the Elmarit M with built-in hood but again preferred a lighter lens for travel, keeping the "thin" tele. I find it optically very good from f3.5 and it is light and compact.

[hausen]

The last model of the Elmarit 90/2.8 was amazing. Which I had never sold mine. My Summicron is no slouch but there was something I loved about the ELmarit.

[Livesteamer]

I have the 90 Summicron apo asph as well as the old fat Summicron. The new one is wonderful but in the few years I've had it I have not used it much. The old Summicron 90 is a good performer and it has a tripod socket on the bottom which is often handy if I really need that f 2.0 Unless you are very demanding I'll bet you would be happy with a used, older, non asph Summicron. Joe

[Mark T]

The summicron is big and I don't think it is available new. I believe Leica have stopped making it, although a Floating Element design will probably appear before long.

The Elmarit is quite pricey since it is an Internet favourite, but it is probably over valued as a second hand lens. Since Ken Rockwell says the Summarit is no good, nobody wants one pushing up Elmarit prices. However, the Summarit has an extra lens element when compared to the Elmarit which should make it the better corrected lens. Erwin Puts suggests that this is the case in his Summarit review.

A new Leica lens vs a second hand one at about the same price... It's a no-brainier as far as I am concerned. Especially if you are shooting digitally and will benefit from automatic lens corrections.

[Dralowid]

The Elmarit-M is really a great lens, although I know nothing of current prices, but beware, the chrome version is heavy.

Michael

[ooze]

I'm using the 90mm macro-elmar myself. As expected, it's amazingly sharp and focuses down to 85cm on its own, so you can easily fit a human head into the frame. It's also very compact because of the collapsible design. The downside (apart from the price) is the max aperture of f4. FWIW, you can find a sample portrait taken with this lens here: http://www.geldurkal.blogspot.com/20...-arif-bey.html

[sazerac]

I recently evaluated the Elmarit-M against the APO Summicron. I'll post some images later. Although the extra stop is useful and the images at f2 are beautiful, I felt that it wasn't worth the extra $2k. I like the ergonomics of the Elmarit-M and feel that it is a nice compliment to my current version 50mm Summicron.

[sazerac]

The 5 images below are with the 90 APO at f2, f2.8 & f4 then the Elmarit-M at f4 & f2.8. Although the extra stop does come in handy, I liked the feel of shooting with the Elmarit-M better.

I reckon that the Summarit would do just as good based on the reviews I saw on-line.

[Richard G]

I really like the Elmarit M. Mine is always in the bag, and I don't think I need anything more compact or lighter. I like the idea of the Macro Elmar M but the price will prevent me getting that I suspect. I find it hard to take a shot I don't like with the Emarit M. It is not just the sharpness, the separation of subject is beautiful. I haven't used it much on the M9 yet. I can understand how people like the latest Summicron, but the Elmarit M is a hell of a lens for the price. I've seen some wonderful threads here with it. One shot of Venice stands out in memory of the last thread I looked at. There is a certain refined character of this lens which only a good photograph and not my words can illustrate. It is one of the best Leica lenses. For something special at other focal lengths my first preferences are all Zeiss.

[mmradman]

I am happy user of 90mm AA but believe all current and recent 90mm are good. It all depends if you must have f2 or not. Slower lens are optically not inferior to faster ones, just cheaper.

Regardless of finer points of image quality, which is difficult to judge on computer screen, images #4 and #5 are pictorially more attractive than first three - to do with hand on/off the mouth IMHO, lovely smile.

Originally Posted by sazerac

The 5 images below are with the 90 APO at f2, f2.8 & f4 then the Elmarit-M at f4 & f2.8. Although the extra stop does come in handy, I liked the feel of shooting with the Elmarit-M better.

I reckon that the Summarit would do just as good based on the reviews I saw on-line.

[rocheung]

I am using the Elmar c. , very convenient. The cheapest red dot

[dogberryjr]

I bought an Elmarit M when they were unpopular and fairly inexpensive and I can say that I'd be tempted to pay current prices for one now that I know what a gem it is. I'm sure the Summarit and Summicron are very nice too, but I can recommend the Elmarit.

[MCTuomey]

I use 90s infrequently, so don't want to be too spendy. From Leica I would use the latest Elmarit-M or the older E-55 Summicron (both have sliding hoods). Both are very fine imagers and aren't too pricey by Leica standards. I found an Elmarit-M last year for a good price. Up til then I was very happy with the M-Hexanon 90. Have also happily used the thin Tele-Elmarit 90. There are lot of good 90s, I think.

[DominikDUK]

You forgot the macro elmar-m 4/90 a very expensive lens it seems, but I do like the images it creates. The elmar-c is not bad either and can be had quiet cheap. Otherwise get the Elmarit great lens at a good price.

Dominik

[John Lawrence]

Originally Posted by whitecat

I would have to go for the 90mm F2 Summicron APO ASPH even if it is more. The quality is outstanding. You only live once!

+1.

John

[Damaso]

I am a big fan to the 90mm Summarit. A great value for the money..

[sazerac]

Originally Posted by mmradman

I am happy user of 90mm AA but believe all current and recent 90mm are good. It all depends if you must have f2 or not. Slower lens are optically not inferior to faster ones, just cheaper.

Regardless of finer points of image quality, which is difficult to judge on computer screen, images #4 and #5 are pictorially more attractive than first three - to do with hand on/off the mouth IMHO, lovely smile.

I have a theory on this. I think that subjects are more comfortable looking into glass that is smaller. I have noticed this when shooting with the APO vs the Elmarit-M and the Nokton 1.2 vs the skopar 2.5. Less intimidating, I suppose.

[ramosa]

I have the Elmarit-M 90 and have no complaints. I don't need a faster lens at that focal length--and surely don't want a heavier or more expensive one. As I have noted before on RFF, I don't know why Leica discontinued this lens. It has a fine rendering--what I'd call part classic, part modern. The price on this lens in mint condition varies quite a bit, sometimes up to $1,800. But, after watching the prices for many months, I got lucky and found a mint one for $1300 earlier this year.

[semordnilap]

It's all about whether you want the extra stop or not, right? The Elmarit-M is an excellent lens, really... no complaints whatsoever. But I think you'll be happy with any of the current or reasonably current Leica offerings. And if you want super small, as in a really nice travel kit, find a clean Tele-Elmarit–with a hood it's excellent, and just tiny.