[Leica] 75-90mm lenses - Opinions

[nickbroberts at yahoo.co.uk (Nick Roberts)]

You're absolutely right, Marc - one size does not fit all. For me, 
rangefinders aren't my first choice most of the time, and when I do go for 
the Leica, I mainly look to it for wideangles. So the only tele I have that 
fits is the C/V 90mm - a lovely compact lens that made economic sense for 
occasional use. I do have both 85mm f2 and 135mm f4 Jupiters for my 
Contax/Kiev outfit, and indeed the 85mm is more or less permanently attached 
to my IIIa, but I use it rarely. However, for SLR use, I love my Zeiss 85mm 
f1.4 and 135mm f2.8, and Canon 100mm f2.8 Macro, 200mm f2.8 and 300mm f4 - 
for me, SLRs are the tools of choice for tele work, rangefinders for 
wideangle. But that's me, and why should that apply to anyone else?
 
Nick

----- Original Message ----
From: Marc James Small <msmall@aya.yale.edu>
To: Leica Users Group <lug@leica-users.org>
Sent: Wednesday, 10 May, 2006 5:56:51 AM
Subject: Re: [Leica] 75-90mm lenses - Opinions


There has been a fair amount of pontificating on this subject but it is
important to bear in mind that our photography is our own vision, and that
one size just does not fit all.  My basic Leica M kit consists of:

M6 Wetzlar body or late M3 DS
4.5/21 CZ Biogon converted to Leica M
1/4/35 Summilux ASPH
1.4/50 Summilux (pre-ASPH)
2/50 DR Summicron
1.4/75 Summilux-M
2/90 Summilux ASPH
3.4/135 Telyt APO ASPH

This is what I normally haul about with me when I am out shooting and
shucking.  When I have a need for a longer reach, as I often do, I'll bring
along a Visoflex III in an ammo can together with a 4/200 and 4.8/280
Telyt.  When I am getting serious, I'll haul out the 4/300 Kilfitt
Pan-Tele-Kilar, a real sweetheart of a lens, or my 5/40cm Telyt, second
type.  I even use my Leicas on occasion with my telescopes, especially a
3.5 Quartz Questar, which, with a Barlow, allows me to reach 2500mm at f/26
or somesuch.  

I have a slew of other lenses I've acquired over the years, most in LTM.  I
have one of the World's Largest Collections of 105mm Trinol lenses (two
examples) thanks to our own Jem Kime.  I have a 105mm PAM Britar.  I have a
slew of Carl Zeiss Jena lenses in LTM, including that elusive 1.5/7.5cm
Biotar T.  And Russian lenses from the 5.6/20 Russar MR-2 to the 4/135
Jupiter-11.  All work well on my LTM cameras, of course, and work well also
on my M's with the appropriate adapters.  (I am also awash in auxiliar
viewfinders, though I commonly use an immediately Postwar Carl Zeiss Jena
436/70 which came with my very first Leica, a IIIc, all those many years 
ago.)

I am not really enamored of wide-angle lenses and have never understood
their fascination with so many of you folks, though I really admire the
results you get.  I prefer the gentile approach of sitting back aways and
shooting my pictures far from the fray.  It helps to have some cheese and
crackers and maybe a gentle white wine on hand to make the total experience
a most enjoyable one.  During the Caracas Riots in 1959, several
photo-journalists were on hand with Rolleiflex 2.8F's with the pistol grip
and the prism assembly:  they managed to use the cameras as clubs to get
themselves out of danger while occasionally pausing to shoot some film.  A
bit risky for my taste, but, then, I am no John Steed.

For street shooting, it will always be a 50mm lens as that is just how I
see the picture.  That 21mm Biogon was great when I was in Alaska, as was
the 35mm Summilux, but I took more pictures with the 75mm and 90mm lenses
than with the wide-angles.  And, when I was in Ireland five years back, the
only spot I visited where the 21mm Biogon worked well was that vista north
of the Bridge at Mull.  THAT was made for a wide-angle lens.

Myt principal point in posting this is to suggest that while most of us
seem to regard the 50mm lens as a mild long-focus lens <he grins>, there is
an alternate approach which holds longer focal lengths in great respect.
The Leica M's RF is certainly adequate to handle a 135mm lens even at f/3.4
and I have gotten away with using my Ukrainian 2x Tele-Converter with a
2/8.5cm CZJ Sonnar T -- effectively, an f/4 17cm lens -- with a Leica,
though GREAT caution is mandated.  

I have owned every version of the Leitz/Leica 9cm or 90mm lens line over
the years and the ones I have kept are the 2/90 Summicron-M ASPH and a
4/9cm collapsible Elmar.  I tote that 1.4/75 Summilux-M around with me
frequently and it is a useful lens, especially when shooting Jazz
performers in dusky venues in the shank of the night.  Those of you with a
liking for lenses wider than 50mm probably should go for the 1.4/75 as it
does balance well on the M body and it does everything it is supposed to
do, and does it with panache, grace, and grand elegance.  Shop around:  I
bought mine for $500 or so through patience.  (If I wait long enough and
keep chanting the mantra, "I do not need this lens", one will, sooner or
later, appear out of nowhere at a reasonable price.  I have not had such
luck to date with a Noctilux but, what the hey, tomorrow is another day!
It only took me a decade or so to score the 75mm Summilux.)  

My favirute niderate long-focus lens is that 2/8.5cm CZJ Sonnar T.  Mine
was a long-time lens of Peter Dechert, and I was glad to get it from him.
It has seen extensive use and it is a grand lens with a really solid
footprint on the film.  And it worked well for years as a medium-format
enlarging lens until I picked up an APO-Rodagon when the bottom fell out of
the enlarger market.

Your style is your own.   Figure out what you are doing, and then do it.
The camera is only a tool for expression, and the focal length is, in the
end, just another item in our toolkit.  As Ted keeps reminding us, the TYPE
of lens or TYPE of camera matters less than the quality of our craft and
that a good photographer can take good pictures with mediocre gear.  Me?  I
can muck up anything and I often take lousy pictures with great gear.

Soory to have pontificated at such a length!  <he grins again>

Marc

msmall@aya.yale.edu 
Cha robh b?s fir gun ghr?s fir!




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