CV 75 or 90; or ZM 85

[JFH]

For Tom A or anyone... I'm tossing around the idea of getting a tele lens, and so far I've narrowed it down to the Zeiss Tele- Tessar 85/4, the CV Heliar 75 and the APO Lanthar 90 as being in my price range. Use would be for some landscape, and for architecture details (mostly older buildings and farms), perhaps the occasional portrait although I limit myself to family shots there. I'd estimate that I might use it for not more than 20% of shots. My main lenses are a ZM 35/2 and a ZM 50/2.
I seem to gravitate toward "sharper" lenses that show fine detail (I really like the Planar, and the 35 Biogon is adequate but maybe not as sharp overall), so I was wondering, Tom, if you would have an opinion on which is the sharper of the CV lenses (75 or 90) since I see you have a gallery of these here. In your gallery, some of the shots with each look pretty sharp, and some perhaps not so much.
Also I'm wondering if anybody has had a chance to see or use the new Zeiss Tele- Tessar 85/4 and what opinions of that lens might be.
Thanks

[Tom A]

The new TeleTessar 85f4 is a nice enough lens. It is also at least twice the price of the 90 Apo-Lanthar f3.5. In most instances you probably will not see much difference between the two lenses.
The 75f2.5 is a more interesting lens in many way. It is designed to give a slightly soft rendering at f2.5 and sharp from f4 onward.
The 85f4.0 Zeiss is rather compact, but the stupid hood does not reverse (at least not on the prototype that I handled at Photokina). I only had the opportunity to shoot a handful of frames with it @f4 and 1/60. Looked good, but certainly not enough to have an opinion on it.
I find the Apo Lanthar 90f3.5 very good, small and compact and it is a true Apochromatic lens, not a big deal with bl/w, but it will show in color work.
Tom

[JFH]

Thanks, Tom. Given the fact that I don't anticipate using the tele that much, the fact that I probably shoot 75% color, and considering price, it looks as though the APO Lanthar 90 might be my best choice.

I tend to shoot in the f5.6 - 8 - 11 range mostly (occasionally f16) so softness wide open really isn't an issue for me. Would you consider the 75 and 90 CV lenses roughly equal for detail and sharpness within this range?

[Tom A]

It might just be me - but I find the Apo Lanthar 90 has an edge over the 75f2.5 across the board! I dont think the difference is huge or even noticable though.
Tom

[JFH]

Thank you, sir. I believe you've helped me sort through this and come to a decision...

[digitalintrigue]

Don't forget the 90/2.8 Sonnar Contax G, converted to Leica thread mount. Faster than both the Tele Tessar and the Lanthar, and, well it's a Zeiss Sonnar. :)

http://www.japanexposures.com/images/2009/01/sonnar90.jpg

[JFH]

Digitalintrigue: OK, I'm a relative newbie. I lurk, read and learn from you folks. And I've had a great time and some decent results with my RF. I have an R3A with M mount (nothing terribly fancy, but it's very workable) and am slowly building a group of lenses. I take it the 90 Sonnar and conversion is something I'd have to "chase" around a bit... find the lens, have it converted, etc. I've read some of the material on the Contax board and it is to say the least interesting.

But unless someone (perhaps yourself) has one of these already done up and for sale, I think this is a bit too complicated for me at this point. It does sound like a great idea, and as I get more knowledgeable and sophisticated it might be something I'd be interested in.

[digitalintrigue]

They will be available for direct purchase next week, no more having to find a lens, ship it off, etc.

[JFH]

So you would have contact info, pricing, etc. available?

[digitalintrigue]

http://www.japanexposures.com/lens

I'm planning to order...

There is more background in this thread: http://www.ziforums.com/showthread.php?t=106

[JFH]

Yes, considering the current price of a new ZM Sonnar, Y59k (@$653 USD) seems very attractive. I'm not ready to bite yet, but the "hook" is there. Could you keep us posted on your experience with this?

[lkgroup]

I also recommend the Apo Lanthar 90 mm lens. I have had it for several years and even though I don't use long lenses much, every time I use this one I am very much impressed.

I use it on my M2 and also my Bessa cameras, very nice lens.

Leo