I know this might be a no-brainer, but I'm thinking of getting a 90 summicron but it needs to be as sharp as my 50 summicron (current model) at f/2.

In other words, I'm kind of hoping that the next-to-last 90 summicron is sharp at f/2 since it's cheaper than the current.

Anyway, all other posts about comparisons among 90 summicrons talk about the lens for portrait use, so most discussions are limited to f/4. Plus people keep talking about softness or Leica glow and I don't want my lens to have that at f/2.

Thanks.

-- victor (danzfotog@yahoo.com), March 21, 2002

Answers

Victor:

I think you'll find the immediate pre-APO 90 Summicron is almost as sharp as your 50 'Cron wide open in the center of the image. But, at f2, my pre-APO 90 was quite soft at the edges. FWIW, the 90APO is sharper than the 50 'Cron everywhere in the image and at every f stop; though the practical difference is not significant from f4 and up.

Cheers,

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), March 21, 2002.

I guess this is another "all tings being equal this vs that" type questions; they're going on in my head too. But, remember: if you use a 90 hand held you're not going to exploit either lens' full capability. Value for money would point to older lenses, as many were APO anyway (135 TE? OLD design), or performed like them, as tele's are much easier to correct than wides. the price difference b

-- chris chen (chrischen@msn.com), March 21, 2002.

Sorry, I'm in a love/hate relationship with my touch pad.

The price difference buys a lot of film; maybe even a trip to Spain too.

-- chris chen (chrischen@msn.com), March 21, 2002.

This is an easy "which lens?" question to answer. Other than the current 90AA the previous versions are visibly behind the current 50/2 and 35/2ASPH at f/2 in terms of overall sharpness and contrast.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), March 21, 2002.

Victor, various creditable sources indicate that the 90 APO is the sharpest and best Leica lens ever made (disputable), and therefor would at least equal the 50 Summicron, oh which I haven't any experience.

But just keep in mind, that you need to hold the camera still to get sharp results, especially with the 90mm. Just a thought.

-- Kristian (leicashot@hotmail.com), March 21, 2002.

Victor,

If you want sharp and cheap, why not go for the current version of the 90/2.8 Elmarit? A good used one is very reasonably priced. It has very good performance and its only disadvantage is that it's 1-stop slower than the 'cron. For most of my work, that 1 stop difference doesn't matter, because I generally need more DoF than I could get with a 90mm at f/2.

-- Ray Moth (ray_moth@yahoo.com), March 21, 2002.

Even the original 90 Elmarit is razor-sharp at 5.6 or so with Kodachrome 25.

-- Bob Fleischman (RFXMAIL@prodigy.net), March 21, 2002.

The next-to-last 90 'cron (which I own - small but not APO) is not as sharp as the 50 'cron at f/2. It is virtually identical (at f/2) to the 50 'lux at f/1.4 in the center, but better at the edges. Its "glow' refers more to the out-of-focus areas and the transition thereto - it's not a soft-focus lens by any stretch.

It looks like this.

But as Jay (Jack? Jay?) said - the 90 APO is where you need to be if you want 'as sharp or sharper' compared to the 35/50s.

-- Andy Piper (apidens@denver.infi.net), March 23, 2002.