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Leica Telyt-R 250mm F4
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 9:17 am    Post subject: Leica Telyt-R 250mm F4 Reply with quote
Does anybody have any impressions of this lens? I've been offered one for $450 and not sure. I rarely shoot so telephoto but it does come in handy for wildlife and such.

Also, does the first picture make the lens look like it has fungus?


PostPosted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 11:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
This lens is first version first calculation manufactured in 1970. It is very heavy (1400 gr) with a minimum distance of 4.50 m !!.

Newer version has 4 m, last version 1.70 m minimum distance. The lens isn´t bad but for my taste with the price you mentioned too expensive - and with maybe fungus anyway. It is too short for real wild life. Would save the money for a longer and not so heavy lens in the 300-400 mm range or the Leica 500 mm mirror.

Below few samples with my version ( I own first version revised in 1976 with 4m minimum distance). Paid for this less than 200 € in excellent condition. Modified with Nikon F-mount.







Wink


PostPosted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 1:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Rolf wrote:
... too expensive


+1

Klaus


PostPosted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 3:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
There are other excellent lenses in the 200-300 range that are much cheaper.

Tair-3C at 300mm is superb, they can be had for less than 100 bucks too.

Last edited by iangreenhalgh1 on Fri Nov 25, 2011 5:57 am; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 9:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Hi there,

I ve just had one from my grand pa, and haven't converted it yet to Nikon.

How does it hold up against similar focal lenses ? Or against Nikon 180 mm with TC 1.4 maybe ?

Thanks


PostPosted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 10:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
iangreenhalgh1 wrote:
There are other excellent lenses in the 200-300 range that are much cheaper.

The Enna Tele-Ennalayt 250mm is less than 100 bucks often, not used one but it is well-regarded.

Tair-3C at 300mm is superb, they can be had for less than 100 bucks too.


the 240mm Ennalyt is not really a brilliant lens. tried 2 or 3 of them through the years and I was not really impressed.

Klaus


PostPosted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 11:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Lordcamel wrote:
Hi there,

I ve just had one from my grand pa, and haven't converted it yet to Nikon.

How does it hold up against similar focal lenses ? Or against Nikon 180 mm with TC 1.4 maybe ?

Thanks


Conversion costs are cheap if you buy a Chinese mount (perhaps 20 $). So you can try it out. Or you sell the lens and buy the Nikkor 2.8/180 mm ED and a very good TC (like the Nikon TC 201 or similar). My feeling is that this combo has better 3D capabilities and you own a 180 mm and a 270mm lens.

But the questions is - how good is the TC ?

Here 2 samples with 2.8/180mm and TC 201





Wink


PostPosted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 12:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
exaklaus wrote:
iangreenhalgh1 wrote:
There are other excellent lenses in the 200-300 range that are much cheaper.

The Enna Tele-Ennalayt 250mm is less than 100 bucks often, not used one but it is well-regarded.

Tair-3C at 300mm is superb, they can be had for less than 100 bucks too.


the 240mm Ennalyt is not really a brilliant lens. tried 2 or 3 of them through the years and I was not really impressed.

Klaus


+1


PostPosted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 1:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Rolf wrote:
Lordcamel wrote:
Hi there,

I ve just had one from my grand pa, and haven't converted it yet to Nikon.

How does it hold up against similar focal lenses ? Or against Nikon 180 mm with TC 1.4 maybe ?

Thanks


Conversion costs are cheap if you buy a Chinese mount (perhaps 20 $). So you can try it out. Or you sell the lens and buy the Nikkor 2.8/180 mm ED and a very good TC (like the Nikon TC 201 or similar). My feeling is that this combo has better 3D capabilities and you own a 180 mm and a 270mm lens.

Wink


You meant 360 mm as the TC201 is a 2x teleconverter ?


PostPosted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 5:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Lordcamel wrote:
Rolf wrote:
Lordcamel wrote:
Hi there,

I ve just had one from my grand pa, and haven't converted it yet to Nikon.

How does it hold up against similar focal lenses ? Or against Nikon 180 mm with TC 1.4 maybe ?

Thanks


Conversion costs are cheap if you buy a Chinese mount (perhaps 20 $). So you can try it out. Or you sell the lens and buy the Nikkor 2.8/180 mm ED and a very good TC (like the Nikon TC 201 or similar). My feeling is that this combo has better 3D capabilities and you own a 180 mm and a 270mm lens.

Wink


You meant 360 mm as the TC201 is a 2x teleconverter ?



Yes, of course. But you wrote "TC 14" so I calculated on this basis. My samples above should show only the capabilities of this lens with a TC.

Wink


PostPosted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 1:00 am    Post subject: Re: Leica Telyt-R 250mm F4 Reply with quote
jeffwong wrote:
Does anybody have any impressions of this lens? I've been offered one for $450 and not sure.

Don't. It was a reasonably good lens at the time of the introduction; it's soft wide open and has more CA than any old telephoto lens bar SMC Takumar 300/4. What's worse, it has lots of CA even in the image center, which is what makes the picture appear soft. Colors are great on the other hand, and contrast is superb. However, it's insanely big and heavy for a 250mm lens (which is, BTW, not significantly longer than a real high-quality 200mm lens you could buy much cheaper). In a word, it's simply unpractical.

Having said that, I bought mine for $350 in EX+ condition, and sold if for $400 later on.


PostPosted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 7:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Seems that the TO lost his interest for this topic ! Would like to say "Thank you" in his name to the other members posting here few information Evil or Very Mad

So here a last sample with this lens out of my archive.



PostPosted: Wed Nov 23, 2011 5:04 pm    Post subject: Re: Leica Telyt-R 250mm F4 Reply with quote
jeffwong wrote:
Does anybody have any impressions of this lens? I've been offered one for $450 and not sure. I rarely shoot so telephoto but it does come in handy for wildlife and such.

Also, does the first picture make the lens look like it has fungus?


I used to own this lens (first version, Canadian) which I bought around 1972, and I thought it was spectacularly good. I eventually sold it (around 1977) to get the 180mm f/4 Elmar, which was much smaller and lighter, not because I was dissatisfied with its performance (I had bought it to photograph college football games, and when I was no longer doing that, I found the 180 Elmar more useful for the kind of photography I was doing at that time). Optically it was much better than the contemporary Nikkor 200mm or 300mm lenses. I now own seven Leicaflex lenses (21, 28, 50 Summilux, 90 Summicron, 180 Elmarit light version, 350, 560). If I were going to get another lens, it would be either the 80mm Summilux or the 250mm Telyt, but the second version. The older one is just too heavy to carry around with other equipment.

I do not recall the lens having CA problems. The contrast was superb, and the image quality overall was excellent, even wide open.


PostPosted: Thu Nov 24, 2011 8:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I like mine but for me, 250mm is a bit difficult to use.....



PostPosted: Thu Nov 24, 2011 11:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Nice shot Gareth, looks like you didn't have too much trouble using it that time Very Happy


PostPosted: Fri Nov 25, 2011 2:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Babu Bhatt wrote:
In case anyone is curious about the 350mm Telyt f/4.8 introduced in around 1980, here are a few samples taken last year and this year, shot on Fuji pro 400H and Kodak Porta 400 and scanned by a lab.


Nice ones all but the last shot is fantastic.


PostPosted: Fri Nov 25, 2011 2:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
fuzzywuzzy wrote:
Babu Bhatt wrote:
In case anyone is curious about the 350mm Telyt f/4.8 introduced in around 1980, here are a few samples taken last year and this year, shot on Fuji pro 400H and Kodak Porta 400 and scanned by a lab.


Nice ones all but the last shot is fantastic.


Thanks! We don't need no stinkin' autofocus! The second version of the 250 Telyt came out at around the same time, I believe. As I said I used to own one of the first versions of the 250. I may try to pick up one of the second version 250s sometime after the new year. When I owned the first version lens I didn't have that many other lenses, and I was in my 20s. I'm older now, and weight matters. LOL

The lens is a real gem. Leica wisely decided to keep the weight and size down by limiting the aperture to f/4.8. This makes hand-holding much less tiring, though the lens is by no means a feather.

With the 350, you can get nice tight candid photos of people. The size of the lens doesn't matter; what people react to is your proximity.



I got my copy in spring of 2010 for about $960, and the lens has proved to be a delight.

http://www.fonooni.com/Leica_350_mm_f_4_8_lens_Telyt-R.html


PostPosted: Sat Nov 26, 2011 3:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
scsambrook wrote:
Nice shot Gareth, looks like you didn't have too much trouble using it that time Very Happy

Thanks Stephen..... That's the last time I used it..... I ended up selling it and get an A.Schacht Travenar 135/3.5.....
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