Looking for a 90mm R f2 lens

[kenghor]

I'm thinking of getting a 90mm r lens to be used on my EOS digicam.

As there are many versions of this lens, please advise which version should I be getting. I

understand that the latest APO version is very sharp but is also the most expensive. How

about the earlier versions and how do they compare with the APO? And what kind of price

should I be paying?

[canfred]

Hi Wee Keng ,The better choice and far more versatile is the 100mm Apo Macro Elmarit.

a little slower f2.8 but you make up for it I think. Once you try it at close range you will be sold.The lens does perform at infinity too.

[kajf]

I use an older 90 Elmarit f2,8 on my 1DM2 and love it - plenty sharp and with a plesant "Bokeh" (at least to my eyes)

 

See http://www.photo.net/photo/3344978 for an exampel

[claude_batmanghelidj]

Well, you could get the second version elmarit, or the original version summicron, which is what I have, or you could get the new apo cron, which is the creme de la cheese. My 90 cron is thirty five years old and I bought it in almost new condition here in Tokyo for $350. It is all steel construction. Even the focus crip is serrated steel. I have never in my life seen any lens as solidly built. It is heavy though. But if you want fast, cheap and solid you could not do better than the old cron. Another good point is that it focuses to 0.7m, closer than any of the competition I have seen, including EOS and Olympus.

 

I just developed my slides from the lens, and they are classic Leica images, rich reds and blacks. I am also using it on an EOS, the EOS 7 which meters fine with this lens.

[wgpinc]

I have used the 90mm Elmarit, 85mm 1.8 EOs and 100mm 2.0 EOS lenses on my 300D and 20D EOS DSLR. I would go with one of the EOS lenses because they are close to the Leica lens, very very good and they focus much better with the teeny viewfinders because of the USM AF, and have all the auto EOS features built in (and they are a lot cheaper). Two of the best lenses and bargains in the EOS line. Why try to carry a load with the wheelbarrow wheel off the ground? That said, a good version of the pre asph E55 90 Summicron-R would be my choice if I wanted a 2.0 90mm Leica R lens, in the $400 plus or minus range. Good luck.

[stuart_richardson]

If you are interested in a portrait type lens, then the 90mm f/2 summicron pre-ASPH would

be a good bet. If you are interested in the sharpest performance, best color fidelity and so

on, the 100mm APO Macro is probably a better choice. It is an astonishing lens.

[claude_batmanghelidj]

Gil, do you really think the EOS 85 and 100 are as good? I have not tried either, but I am really hooked on Leica lenses. Having said that I have shot with the really cheap 50mm EOS and it is superb, almost unbelievably sharp. Hmmm. Well, I have the eos as a back up body for my Leica, so I guess I can fool around with some of those EOS lenses.

 

Anyway, Wee, you are lucky you have an EOS, because it gives you a wide array of choices of lenses. Nikon, EOS, Leica, Olympus, Contax, 42mm Pentax. That alone makes me wonder why anyone even bothers with Nikon digital SLRs. They cannot even meter with non-AF Nikkors, while a Canon gives you matrix metering with a Leica R lens!

 

Canon is the best! I have one of their digicams, the S45, and I have nothing but praise for it, a superb camera.

[ben z]

Wee, I have the 90 Summicron. There were two physical versions but one optical. It is a wonderfully useful lens. Pin-sharp and crisp across the board from f/2.8, a little lower contrast at f/2. It's said to be soft in the corners at f/2 also, but I can't remember any situations where I really needed extreme sharpness in the corners, and couldn't stop down to 2.8. I shot it next to my Cron on my wife's Canon Rebel just for my own curiosity. I couldn't detect any difference whatsoever, but I always say one should test lenses for themselves because everyone's eyes and opinions are different. I've got the M version which is said to be nearly identical, and I like it a lot.