[Fenwoodian]

I meant: did you try to take other pictures with your 80mm?
For the bokeh, the elmarit 135 wide open (f2.8) really deserves to be examined... I will then talk about lenses that I do not have (still ) based on all my studies : the Apo-Summicron-R 90mm f/2 Asph is a sweet and expensive dream .... as well as the entire summilux series (35mm and 50mm). The apo Telyt 180mm f3.4, apparently made for a military purpose, is also a curiosity ... the 28mm of Teiki is also very high quality. A good party of the R lenses are bluffing, certainly expensive but whose adaptation to the K-1 matches beyond all expectations

Thanks Gedeon!

Right now, it's snow storm after snow storm. Not much chance to get out and shoot with my new 80 summilux.

After the holidays, disposable money is low, but I do think I'll buy a Leica 135/2.8 R in the next few months.

Dave

[Fenwoodian]

.
This morning on Ebay I purchased the below Leitz 135/2.8 lens. It was CLA'ed by one of the top Leica repair professionals in the USA. Also ordered another Leitax adapter for it. I'll be sure to post some photos I take with it in a few weeks after I receive both items and get it converted.

Based on its' serial number, it would appear that this lens was made in Canada in 1974. It's the second version of this lens. From what I was able to read, the optics in the second version (series) were improved from what was in the older first version lenses.

It was about $1,300 USD cheaper than what I paid for my Leica 80mm Summilux. What a bargain!

[Gedeon]

a very good choice and a great deal Dave ! You will not be disappointed by this lens, it is considered by the pure "leicaists" in France, as an amazing value for money and very representative of the leica / Walter Mandler quality ... below, some examples that I took with this 135mm : you will notice beautifuls colors and bokeh

[Fenwoodian]

Gedeon, I love the 2 photos that you linked to. Lovely colors, skin tones are so realistic!

Thank you for posting the photos, and thank you so much for recommending this lens to me.

Regards,
Dave

[teiki arii]

Hi Dave & Gedeon,
Leica Elmarit-R 135/2.8 is very nice although CA is noticeable wide opened. It's a Walter Mandler design with 3D rendering. Mitakon 135/2.8 is very similar... But I prefer Leica for smooth focus.

[Fenwoodian]

Hi Dave & Gedeon,
Leica Elmarit-R 135/2.8 is very nice although CA is noticeable wide opened. It's a Walter Mandler design with 3D rendering. Mitakon 135/2.8 is very similar... But I prefer Leica for smooth focus.

I also have a Samyang 135mm f/2 in K mount, and an older CZJ 135mm M42 lens. I plan to compare these two lenses to my new Leics 135/2.8 lens. I'll be sure to post the side by side photos here for you both to see.

Dave

[Fenwoodian]

.
Shot this today out of the window of a moving car that was traveling 65mph over a bridge. I used my Leica 80/1.4 Summilux on my K1.

[IMG][/IMG]

[Fenwoodian]

.
Here's another photo I took today with my Leica 80/1.4 R Summilux on my K1.

Lots of snow here lately. This car is located just 2 or 3 blocks from my home. I took the shot because I wanted to see how the Leica would do with the blue car color.

[IMG][/IMG]

[Fenwoodian]

I just received my "new to me" Leica 135m f/2.8 R lens today. I bought it from one of the biggest Leica lens sellers in the USA. Before buying it the ebay ad said the lens had recently been CLA'd by a famous Leica repairman.

Upon receiving the lens, I inspected it. The aperture was clean and oil free. The focus was very smooth - indicating a recent CLA job. However the glass was very disappointing. The glass at one time must have had a lot of haze in it. The CLA job got rid of much of it, but about 10% remained and looked like someone had tried to clean it off but was only successfull in smearing it around.

Here is the answer this Leica expert sent to me about this matter. "This lens was cleaned "as well as possible". Lots of older R-lenses have a PROBLEM with their glass and this is becoming common knowledge about older Leica R glass."

Not having much experience with Leica R glass I find myself believing this Leica expert. My only other Leica lens is a 80/1.4 R Summilux. It has a little dust and a light haze inside that I was thinking of cleaning out myself in my lens shop. But given the comment I received today from this USA Leica expert, I believe that I will not attempt to do a CLA on my 80 lux lens myself for fear of making it worse.

Have you heard of others saying that Leica R glass elements are a problem and are hard to clean?

[teiki arii]

I just received my "new to me" Leica 135m f/2.8 R lens today. I bought it from one of the biggest Leica lens sellers in the USA. Before buying it the ebay ad said the lens had recently been CLA'd by a famous Leica repairman.

Upon receiving the lens, I inspected it. The aperture was clean and oil free. The focus was very smooth - indicating a recent CLA job. However the glass was very disappointing. The glass at one time must have had a lot of haze in it. The CLA job got rid of much of it, but about 10% remained and looked like someone had tried to clean it off but was only successfull in smearing it around.

Here is the answer this Leica expert sent to me about this matter. "This lens was cleaned "as well as possible". Lots of older R-lenses have a PROBLEM with their glass and this is becoming common knowledge about older Leica R glass."

Not having much experience with Leica R glass I find myself believing this Leica expert. My only other Leica lens is a 80/1.4 R Summilux. It has a little dust and a light haze inside that I was thinking of cleaning out myself in my lens shop. But given the comment I received today from this USA Leica expert, I believe that I will not attempt to do a CLA on my 80 lux lens myself for fear of making it worse.

Have you heard of others saying that Leica R glass elements are a problem and are hard to clean?

Hello Dave,
I think this is a shocking display of ineptitude, ignorance and callous indifference to your legitim request. Each time I had to make a glass cleaned, I have never been disappointed. But actually, true repairs are becoming increasingly rare.
I bought a Leica Elmarit-R 135/2.8 on eBêê at a "great" German shop for an "excellent as new" lens for 500€. Actually, the lens have had been opened and "cleaned" like a nasty goblin! On the photos, we couldn't see anything but when I received and looked at it in real life, I noticed everything. I was succesly refunded by eBêê. At last, I bought an excellent and a dirt cheap (last version) copy with his box just near to me. My oldest lens is from 1974, I have nothing to complain about it. I had 17 Leica-R lenses (resold 4 of them including 80/1.4), and none has disappointed me about haze or anything...
Best regards.

PS: I had Leica Apo-Telyt-R 180/3.4, the last Leica Apo-Elmarit-R 180/2.8 that I sold for the Leica (non-Apo but pre-Apo) Elmarit-R 180/2.8 (ver.II) that I love... If you can, don't get the last Leica Apo-Asph-Summicron-R 90/2 (that I possess) but go for the Leica (non-Apo) Summicron-R 90/2 (last version)...


here is a scan thanks to Pentax K-1 (PS on RawTherapee with Sigma 50 macro) of a picture made with my Leica R8, Leica Macro-Elmarit-R 60/2.8 on TriX @ ISO400 (developped according to method Jules Steinmetz) in July 2008


Cambodia, Leica Macro-Elmarit-R 60/2.8 on TriX @ ISO400 scan with Pentax K-1.

[Fenwoodian]

Teiki, glad to hear that that ebay seller was wrong when he said that Leica R lenses are difficult to clean and have "problem" glass.

Having owned 17 Leica R lenses, I would love to hear which ones are your favorite Leica R lenses.

[teiki arii]

Having owned 17 Leica R lenses, I would love to hear which ones are your favorite Leica R lenses.

Hi Dave,
well, it's a tough question. What do you mean by "favourite"? Favourite about quality, about use?
About quality, I would say: Leica APO-Telyt-R Modular 280/2.8. I never found an equivalent product in other brands (Nikon, Canon). But I never tried the last versions... Still very good with Leica Apo-Extender-R 1.4x to make a Leica APO-Telyt-R Modular 400/4. But it weighs nearly 4kgs without a camera on. I made some photos at 1/15s handheld some years ago, but not sure I could perform the same way today...
About use, it depends of the focus length you need. I work a lot with the Leica Elmarit-R 28/2.8 (ver.II), it's my favourite focal length. And the lens in despite of a noticeable distortion is very very good, between the effect of Walter Mandler rendering and skills of new wave lenses (very contrasted). But I can work with all of them. I rarely work with focal length more than 100mm. But the bokeh of the Leica Elmarit-R (non Apo ver.II) 180/2.8 is fantastic in the same vein of he best Walter Mandler Leica lenses. And you can join it to Leica Apo-Extender-R 1.4x to make an excellent Leica 250/4 without CA at all...A must have but unloved because unknown...
The Leica Summicron-R 35/2 is the weakest lens of Leica-R in terms of resolution in the edges, that's right. But it's also a Walter Mandler with a great grey scale...
I had three versions of the Leica Macro-Elmarit-R 60/2.8. The photos of Cambodia made in 2008 are of the 1976's lens (that I sold and re-bought it last year): single coated (the last versions are three times coated and contrast is different), less contrasted, sensible to flare, but I love it. I should show you some typical examples (on tri-X) when digitalized with Pentax K-1 later, if you don't mind I post some...
I like very much the Leica Summicron-R 50/2 as well. Very small compared to Sigma Art 50/1.4, but I prefer the Leica lens for his perfect smooth focus ring, his light weight, and the quality is nearly as good as Sigma Art lens after f:2.8 in terms of resolution. In terms of grey scale, I prefer the Leica one...
The Leica Apo-Asph-Summicron-R 90/2 is excellent in terms of contrast, resolution but CA is obvious wide opened in contre-jours, and the bokeh is not as nice as the non-Apo (Walter Mandler) version. Nevertheless, I like it very much for his superb handling, his light weight and his focus ring... In terms of everything, for this range of focal length, the Leica Apo-Macro-Elmrit-R 100/2.8 is fantastic: excellent resolution, outstanding CA control, magnificent bokeh but the focus ring is little bit hard to operate, the focus course is long, the lens is heavy, the aperture mini value is low (I would prefer f:2) and it's very difficult to Leitax it. So I never converted it... In this range without Macro skills, I would go for the last SIGMA ART 85 MM F/1.4 DG HSM or a Carl Zeiss one (I have been told that Carl Zeiss 100mm f/2 Makro is a must).
You know the Leica Summilux-R 80/1.4 now, so I have nothing to tell you about it... It's not the best one in terms of resolution but it's THE typical Walter Mandler rendering.

[Fenwoodian]

Hi Dave,
well, it's a tough question. What do you mean by "favourite"? Favourite about quality, about use?
About quality, I would say: Leica APO-Telyt-R Modular 280/2.8. I never found an equivalent product in other brands (Nikon, Canon). But I never tried the last versions... Still very good with Leica Apo-Extender-R 1.4x to make a Leica APO-Telyt-R Modular 400/4. But it weighs nearly 4kgs without a camera on. I made some photos at 1/15s handheld some years ago, but not sure I could perform the same way today...
About use, it depends of the focus length you need. I work a lot with the Leica Elmarit-R 28/2.8 (ver.II), it's my favourite focal length. And the lens in despite of a noticeable distortion is very very good, between the effect of Walter Mandler rendering and skills of new wave lenses (very contrasted). But I can work with all of them. I rarely work with focal length more than 100mm. But the bokeh of the Leica Elmarit-R (non Apo ver.II) 180/2.8 is fantastic in the same vein of he best Walter Mandler Leica lenses. And you can join it to Leica Apo-Extender-R 1.4x to make an excellent Leica 250/4 without CA at all...A must have but unloved because unknown...
The Leica Summicron-R 35/2 is the weakest lens of Leica-R in terms of resolution in the edges, that's right. But it's also a Walter Mandler with a great grey scale...
I had three versions of the Leica Macro-Elmarit-R 60/2.8. The photos of Cambodia made in 2008 are of the 1976's lens (that I sold and re-bought it last year): single coated (the last versions are three times coated and contrast is different), less contrasted, sensible to flare, but I love it. I should show you some typical examples (on tri-X) when digitalized with Pentax K-1 later, if you don't mind I post some...
I like very much the Leica Summicron-R 50/2 as well. Very small compared to Sigma Art 50/1.4, but I prefer the Leica lens for his perfect smooth focus ring, his light weight, and the quality is nearly as good as Sigma Art lens after f:2.8 in terms of resolution. In terms of grey scale, I prefer the Leica one...
The Leica Apo-Asph-Summicron-R 90/2 is excellent in terms of contrast, resolution but CA is obvious wide opened in contre-jours, and the bokeh is not as nice as the non-Apo (Walter Mandler) version. Nevertheless, I like it very much for his superb handling, his light weight and his focus ring... In terms of everything, for this range of focal length, the Leica Apo-Macro-Elmrit-R 100/2.8 is fantastic: excellent resolution, outstanding CA control, magnificent bokeh but the focus ring is little bit hard to operate, the focus course is long, the lens is heavy, the aperture mini value is low (I would prefer f:2) and it's very difficult to Leitax it. So I never converted it... In this range without Macro skills, I would go for the last SIGMA ART 85 MM F/1.4 DG HSM or a Carl Zeiss one (I have been told that Carl Zeiss 100mm f/2 Makro is a must).
You know the Leica Summilux-R 80/1.4 now, so I have nothing to tell you about it... It's not the best one in terms of resolution but it's THE typical Walter Mandler rendering.

Teiki, thank you much for taking the time to share in such great detail your views on Leica R lenses! You certainly are an expert on them.

I have expensive Zeiss lenses that cover my wide angle needs (25/2, 35/1.4), so while the 28mm and 35mm Leica R's sound interesting, I believe that I will not buy them.

Likewise, I own the Zeiss Milvus 50/1.4, but maybe one day I will have to buy the Leica R 50/2 lens.

For the short telephotos I'm pretty set now with the Leica R 80/1.4, Zeiss Milvus 85/1.4, and Zeiss Makro-Planar 100/2 (I've owned 4 copies of this lens - one of my favorites).

However, I do need a longer telephoto that has great bokeh, and the Leica R 180/2.8 that you suggested is one that I will buy. I've got my eye on one on Ebay and hope to buy it.

[teiki arii]

I have expensive Zeiss lenses that cover my wide angle needs (25/2, 35/1.4), so while the 28mm and 35mm Leica R's sound interesting, I believe that I will not buy them.

That's a wise decision.

Likewise, I own the Zeiss Milvus 50/1.4, but maybe one day I will have to buy the Leica R 50/2 lens.

The Zeiss one should be enough. But actually, you should go for the Leica Summilux-R 50/1.4 in stead of 50/2. The last version (E60 version) may not fit on Pentax because of the protrusion of the rear element of the lens. The E55 version (pre last one), is very good and bokeh is very nice...

For the short telephotos I'm pretty set now with the Leica R 80/1.4, Zeiss Milvus 85/1.4, and Zeiss Makro-Planar 100/2 (I've owned 4 copies of this lens - one of my favorites).

You have the best registry of that focal length lenses...

However, I do need a longer telephoto that has great bokeh, and the Leica R 180/2.8 that you suggested is one that I will buy. I've got my eye on one on Ebay and hope to buy it.

Take care, there are two versions. Go for the version II, the last one, the pre Apo one...

[teiki arii]

Hello,


Cambodia, Leica Summicron-R 50/2 @ 2.8, 1/15s with Leica R6, Tri-X @ ISO400 digitalized with Pentax K-1.