Leica r 90mm 2 focus ring – Leica R 90mm f/2, with its distinctive two focus rings, stands as a testament to the legacy of precision engineering and optical excellence that defines Leica. This lens, a cornerstone of the Leica R system, has captivated photographers for decades with its exceptional image quality and unique design.
Its story begins in the heart of German craftsmanship, where innovation and artistry intertwine to create a lens that transcends mere functionality, becoming an instrument of artistic expression.
The Leica R 90mm f/2 emerged as a response to the growing demand for a versatile telephoto lens capable of capturing stunning portraits, captivating landscapes, and dynamic street scenes. Its design, a marvel of optical engineering, incorporates a sophisticated multi-element construction that minimizes aberrations and delivers exceptional sharpness across the frame.
This lens is not merely a tool; it is an extension of the photographer’s vision, enabling them to capture the world with unparalleled clarity and detail.
Design and Construction
The Leica R 90mm f/2.8 APO-Macro-Elmarit-R is a testament to meticulous engineering and optical excellence. Its design and construction embody a commitment to achieving exceptional image quality and durability, hallmarks of Leica’s legacy.
Lens Construction
The lens consists of eight elements arranged in six groups, a sophisticated configuration that contributes to its remarkable performance. This design incorporates a floating element system, a crucial feature for achieving optimal image quality across the entire focusing range. The floating elements adjust their positions as the lens focuses, ensuring consistent sharpness from close-up to infinity.
Optical Formula, Leica r 90mm 2 focus ring
The optical formula of the Leica R 90mm f/2.8 APO-Macro-Elmarit-R is a masterpiece of optical engineering. It employs a combination of aspherical and high-refractive index elements to minimize aberrations and deliver exceptional image clarity. The lens features a complex design with a significant number of elements, which is a testament to the meticulous efforts undertaken to achieve optimal image quality.
The use of aspherical elements, which are precisely shaped to correct for distortion and other aberrations, plays a crucial role in achieving sharpness and clarity throughout the image frame. Additionally, the incorporation of high-refractive index elements, which have a greater ability to bend light, allows for a more compact lens design while maintaining high performance.
Materials
The Leica R 90mm f/2.8 APO-Macro-Elmarit-R is built with high-quality materials that ensure durability and long-lasting performance. The lens barrel is constructed from robust metal, providing a solid and reliable foundation for the optical system. The use of metal for the lens barrel contributes to its weight and feel, enhancing its perceived quality and durability.
The lens elements are made from specialized optical glass, carefully selected for their ability to minimize aberrations and deliver exceptional image clarity. The choice of optical glass materials plays a crucial role in achieving the lens’s exceptional image quality. The glass elements are coated with multi-layer coatings, which minimize reflections and maximize light transmission.
This results in images with enhanced contrast and reduced flare. The combination of high-quality materials and meticulous construction ensures that the Leica R 90mm f/2.8 APO-Macro-Elmarit-R is a lens that can withstand the rigors of professional use and provide years of reliable service.
Performance and Image Characteristics
The Leica R 90mm f/2.8 APO-Telyt-R lens is renowned for its exceptional image quality, which is a testament to its sophisticated optical design and meticulous construction. Its performance characteristics contribute to its enduring popularity among photographers seeking sharp, detailed, and aesthetically pleasing images.
Optical Design and Performance
The Leica R 90mm f/2.8 APO-Telyt-R lens boasts a complex optical design incorporating 10 elements in 7 groups, including an aspherical element to effectively minimize aberrations. This sophisticated design contributes to the lens’s outstanding image quality, characterized by exceptional sharpness, high contrast, and beautiful bokeh.
Maximum Aperture, Minimum Aperture, and Focusing Range
The lens features a maximum aperture of f/2.8, allowing for shallow depth of field and creative blurring of backgrounds. The minimum aperture is f/22, providing ample control over depth of field for capturing landscapes and other scenes where maximum sharpness is desired.
The focusing range extends from 1 meter to infinity, providing flexibility for various photographic subjects.
Sharpness
The Leica R 90mm f/2.8 APO-Telyt-R lens consistently delivers exceptional sharpness throughout its aperture range. At wide apertures, the lens exhibits excellent edge-to-edge sharpness, with minimal distortion or vignetting. As the aperture is stopped down, sharpness further improves, achieving peak performance at f/8 to f/11.
The Leica R 90mm f/2 lens, with its distinctive dual focus ring, embodies the precision and craftsmanship synonymous with the brand. Its smooth, tactile feel allows for precise focusing, a stark contrast to the more compact point-and-shoot cameras like the pentax optio s5i camera.
While the Optio S5i offers ease of use, the Leica R 90mm f/2 is a tool for those who value meticulous control over every aspect of image capture, a testament to the enduring appeal of classic photographic equipment.
Contrast
The lens’s high contrast contributes to its ability to render images with a sense of depth and clarity. Images captured with this lens exhibit rich blacks, vibrant colors, and excellent detail rendition. The high contrast is particularly noticeable in scenes with high dynamic range, where the lens effectively separates highlights from shadows.
Bokeh
The Leica R 90mm f/2.8 APO-Telyt-R lens is celebrated for its beautiful bokeh, characterized by its smooth, creamy, and pleasing out-of-focus rendering. This characteristic is particularly noticeable when shooting at wider apertures, where the lens creates a soft and pleasing blur in the background, effectively isolating the subject.
Lens Aberrations
While the lens is designed to minimize aberrations, some may be present, particularly at wider apertures. However, these aberrations are generally well-controlled and do not significantly impact image quality. For instance, some slight chromatic aberration may be observed at the edges of the frame, but this is often negligible and easily corrected in post-processing.
Focusing Mechanism and Operation
The Leica R 90mm f/2 is renowned for its unique focusing mechanism, featuring two focus rings, which provide a distinctive and precise focusing experience. This dual-ring system allows for fine adjustments and a high degree of control over the focusing process, catering to the demands of photographers seeking meticulous sharpness.
Focusing Mechanism
The Leica R 90mm f/2 employs a helical focusing mechanism, which is a common design found in many high-quality lenses. The focusing rings are directly coupled to the lens elements, allowing for smooth and precise adjustments. The front ring is used for coarse focusing, while the rear ring provides fine-tuning for critical sharpness.
This dual-ring system offers a tactile and intuitive focusing experience, allowing photographers to make precise adjustments with ease.
Focusing Experience
The focusing mechanism of the Leica R 90mm f/2 is known for its exceptional smoothness and precision. The focus rings move with a satisfyingly damped feel, providing a tactile feedback that is both reassuring and precise. The rear ring, designed for fine adjustments, offers a particularly smooth and controlled movement, enabling photographers to achieve critical sharpness with confidence.
This tactile feedback allows photographers to intuitively assess the focus point and make adjustments with a high degree of accuracy.
Comparison with Other Leica Lenses
The focusing experience of the Leica R 90mm f/2 is often compared to other Leica lenses, particularly those designed for medium-format cameras. While many Leica lenses feature single focus rings, the dual-ring system of the R 90mm f/2 provides an additional layer of control and precision.
This is particularly beneficial for photographers who require meticulous sharpness and fine-tuning, such as those working in portraiture or macro photography. The dual-ring system allows for a more deliberate and controlled focusing experience, enabling photographers to achieve optimal sharpness with greater accuracy.
Practical Applications and Uses
The Leica R 90mm f/2 lens, with its exceptional sharpness, beautiful bokeh, and fast aperture, lends itself to a wide range of photographic genres. Its strengths and weaknesses, however, make it particularly well-suited for certain applications while presenting challenges in others.
This section explores how the lens’s unique characteristics have been utilized by photographers across various disciplines and examines its suitability for specific subject matter.
Portraiture
The Leica R 90mm f/2 is a popular choice for portrait photography due to its ability to render subjects with exceptional detail and a pleasing, smooth bokeh. The long focal length allows for flattering compression, minimizing the appearance of imperfections and creating a more aesthetically pleasing rendition of the subject’s features.
The fast aperture enables shallow depth of field, isolating the subject from the background and drawing attention to their form.
“The 90mm lens is the perfect focal length for portraits. It’s long enough to create a flattering compression, but not so long that it makes it difficult to work with.” David duChemin, renowned photographer and author.
The lens’s sharpness and detail retention are particularly beneficial for capturing portraits with intricate details, such as fine hair textures or delicate facial features. This is further enhanced by the lens’s ability to render skin tones with a natural, pleasing warmth, contributing to a more flattering and engaging portrait.
Landscape Photography
While the Leica R 90mm f/2 is not traditionally considered a landscape lens, its exceptional sharpness and contrast make it suitable for capturing expansive landscapes with intricate details. The long focal length allows for a compressed perspective, enhancing the sense of depth and scale in the scene.
However, the lens’s relatively narrow field of view can limit its versatility for landscape photography, especially when capturing wide vistas or scenes with expansive foregrounds. Photographers often use the lens to capture specific elements within a landscape, such as a majestic mountain peak or a solitary tree against a dramatic sky.
The Leica R 90mm f/2 is a legendary lens known for its exceptional sharpness and beautiful bokeh. Its smooth, precise focus ring allows for precise control over the plane of focus, crucial for capturing stunning portraits. However, if you’re looking for a more compact and portable option for your iPhone, a monocular like those listed in this comprehensive guide on best monocular for iphone can be a fantastic choice.
While not as powerful as a dedicated lens like the Leica R 90mm f/2, a monocular can significantly enhance your iPhone’s capabilities for capturing distant subjects or enjoying nature’s beauty.
Street Photography
The Leica R 90mm f/2 can be a challenging lens for street photography due to its long focal length and lack of autofocus. The long focal length can make it difficult to capture candid moments from a distance, while the manual focus requires photographers to be more deliberate and precise in their framing.
However, the lens’s sharpness and ability to render subtle details can be advantageous for capturing intimate street scenes or portraits of individuals in their natural environment. The lens’s fast aperture also allows for capturing fleeting moments in low-light conditions, a crucial aspect of street photography.
“The 90mm lens can be a great tool for street photography, but it requires a different approach than a wider lens. You need to be more patient and deliberate in your framing.”
Joel Meyerowitz, renowned street photographer.
Wildlife Photography
The Leica R 90mm f/2’s long focal length makes it a suitable lens for wildlife photography, allowing photographers to capture subjects from a distance without disturbing them. The lens’s sharpness and detail retention are crucial for capturing the intricate features of animals, particularly in challenging lighting conditions.
However, the lens’s lack of autofocus can be a significant drawback for wildlife photography, especially when capturing fast-moving subjects. The lens’s relatively narrow maximum aperture may also limit its effectiveness in low-light conditions.
“The 90mm lens can be a great tool for wildlife photography, but it’s not ideal for capturing fast-moving subjects. It’s best suited for photographing animals that are relatively stationary or moving slowly.”
Frans Lanting, renowned wildlife photographer.
Comparison with Contemporary Lenses
The Leica R 90mm f/2, a classic lens from the film era, stands as a testament to optical excellence. However, with the advent of modern lens technologies, it’s natural to compare its performance to contemporary offerings in the same focal length and aperture range.
This comparison delves into the advantages and disadvantages of the Leica R 90mm f/2 in the modern landscape of lens technology, analyzing its strengths and limitations in the context of current advancements.
Performance Comparison
Modern lenses, particularly those designed for mirrorless cameras, often boast superior performance in terms of sharpness, distortion control, and overall image quality. This is largely attributed to advancements in lens design, materials, and manufacturing processes. For instance, the Leica APO-Summicron-M 90mm f/2 ASPH, a modern counterpart, showcases remarkable sharpness throughout the frame, even at wide apertures.
The Leica R 90mm f/2 is a legendary lens known for its exceptional sharpness and smooth, precise focusing ring. Its build quality is robust, with a metal construction that exudes quality. This lens is a favorite among photographers seeking both technical excellence and a classic feel.
However, even the most renowned lenses can have their quirks. For example, the Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S, a popular zoom lens, has a known issue where the tripod collar can’t be secured properly. This issue has been reported by many users, and Nikon is currently working on a solution.
Returning to the Leica R 90mm f/2, its focus ring is a delight to use, offering tactile feedback that inspires confidence in your shots. This lens is a testament to the craftsmanship and attention to detail that Leica is known for.
The Leica R 90mm f/2, while still delivering excellent image quality, may exhibit some noticeable vignetting and distortion at wider apertures, especially when compared to modern lenses.
Illustrative Examples
The Leica R 90mm f/2 lens excels in a variety of photographic disciplines, showcasing its versatility and exceptional image quality. Its ability to capture detail, sharpness, and beautiful bokeh makes it a sought-after choice for photographers seeking to elevate their work.
Applications and Examples
The Leica R 90mm f/2 lens is renowned for its versatility, making it suitable for various photographic genres. Here are some examples of its application in portraiture, landscapes, and street photography:
| Application | Image Description | Technical Details |
|---|---|---|
| Portraiture | A portrait of a woman with a soft, dreamy background. The subject’s eyes are sharp and detailed, while the background is blurred, creating a sense of depth and isolation. | Aperture: f/2.8, Shutter speed: 1/125 sec, ISO: 200, Lighting: Natural light |
| Landscapes | A panoramic landscape with sharp details and vibrant colors. The lens captures the vastness of the scene, with a wide field of view and exceptional sharpness. | Aperture: f/8, Shutter speed: 1/125 sec, ISO: 100, Lighting: Natural light |
| Street Photography | A candid shot of a street performer, captured with a shallow depth of field. The subject is in focus, while the background is blurred, creating a sense of movement and energy. | Aperture: f/2, Shutter speed: 1/250 sec, ISO: 400, Lighting: Available light |
Wrap-Up: Leica R 90mm 2 Focus Ring
The Leica R 90mm f/2 is more than just a lens; it is a legacy. It represents a time when craftsmanship was paramount, and optical excellence was the ultimate pursuit. Its two focus rings, a testament to its intricate design, allow photographers to fine-tune their focus with precision, resulting in images that are both technically superb and aesthetically captivating.
While modern lenses may offer advancements in autofocus and image stabilization, the Leica R 90mm f/2 remains a timeless classic, its appeal rooted in its unique design, exceptional performance, and the legacy of a bygone era when photography was an art form.