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Back to Article<br /><br />Good write-up. I used a 21/4, 35/1,7, 75/2,5 combo for a few months and found it to a very nice and compact kit for travelling. I think that if it wasn&#039;t for GAS, this combination would be all that I would need though the other lenses that I have purchased have given me lots of enjoyment - especially my Brianov 50/1,5 J3.<br /><br />With a short DOF or the 75 wide-open, I would have liked slightly a longer throw in the focussing ring. Its short and snappy, which I like at small apertures like f8 but it makes it a bit difficult to focus accurately wide-open. Never had a focussing problem with it on my Bessa-T or MP but sometimes I tend to turn the focussing ring too much and I have to move it back and forth a few times before the focus is right on. In this regard, I think that a longer throw in the focussing ring would actually saved me time when shooting.<br /><br />I had an opportunity to borrow a Leica 90/2 Summicron (non-ASPH from the 80&#039;s) from a good friend over the past two weeks. I can&#039;t comment about the shots at this moment since I haven&#039;t developed them yet. However I prefer the handling of the 75. Of course, being f2, the Leica 90 was quite big and heavy. It was well balanced on my MP but unwieldy on my lighter Bessa-T. The 75 is very light in comparison and although it wasn&#039;t in the same league as the Leica in terms of fit and finish, the lightness doesn&#039;t translate into feeling of cheapness. <br /><br />I did like the 90mm focal length but I don&#039;t think that I would spend the $$$ to purchase a Leica. If I could afford it, I would probably buy a Leica 35 or 50mm because those focal lengths are more useful to me. I think that I would like 90mm better on an SLR than on a rangefinder. So I purchased a Helios 40-2 85/1,5 and its on its currently on its way to me from the Ukraine. It&#039;s going to go on my Pentax MX. I&#039;m looking forward to comparing this monstrous superspeed lens with the Heliar.<br /><br />For reference, the 75 Heliar fits perfectly inside the Leicatime (aka Luigi) full case mounted on my MP.

Right now my &quot;everyday&quot; kit is a 28 ultron mounted, a 75 (far enough away from 28mm&nbsp; ), and either a 15 or 21. And I can still fit all the normal work stuff in my messenger bag, too.

Interesting combination, Fernando. I recently acquired a silver 75/2.5 at last, and find your comments on being light and quality very appropriate. I wanted chrome to go on an RF35 and a chrome Bessa T, and it's great on both. Of course, the T is a measured use regardless of which lens it has on it. The RF35 has exactly the same finish as the 75mm and the combo looks like it was always meant to be, especially for someone like me who wanted a chrome all-retro RF to remind me of M3 days. I also added the 21/4 silver Skopar, which is a joy to use on this camera also. I suspect the silver 35mm/1.7 would finish the set, but I have a stunningly sharp old black Canon 35/2 in LTM which I've used for over 25 years. There's no justification for replacing it, it has felt right at home on everything from M4 to M6 to the Bessas. I'd rather add a 40/1.4 Nokton instead. The cosmetics of that lens would work with silver or black cameras.

As with your experience, I've used extensively 90mm non-ASPH summicron on an M6 0.85 with Rapidwinder for years, a larger and heavier combo which is still discreet enough and quick to use. The 90mm does work better on the T than you might think, but you have to practice I found. I've added the trigger wind to the T which makes it much better balanced with the big lens. The 75mm should work well on the M6; my initial trials were disappointing. I've never tried 75mm on that Leica viewfinder and only having four small corners just doesn't suit me for what should be a photojournalist type lens. Worse, the gearing of the focus for the 75mm just doesn't seem to match the M6 too well. Might be me; although there aren't many combos I haven't played with over the years. First impressions, though, make the 35RF+75 a lighter retro version of M3+90/2.8, and M6+90/2 for more serious times. The 90mm f2 is too much weight and focus demand for the RF35. I suspect that you would soon be accustomed to it on your MP.

Brian will probably want to convince me to add the chrome 28/1.9 Ultron lens to the mix, but I'll have to stay awhile with an old Minolta M 28/2.8 Rokkor (which has had the white dots fixed a long while back.) Its focusing throw and accuracy is also excellent on the RF35 and on the T, surprisingly.

Thanks for your experiences. Actually for years I used the small 85/2 MD on Minolta SLRs and found this compact gem to be my standard lens, and quicker than the M6 + 90mm Summicron in many cases. It didn't have the weight or build quality of earlier Rokkors or Nikkor 85/1.8 but proved optically very robust and consistent. Minolta had several really outstanding lenses (e.g.200/2.8 MD, 35/1.8 MC) and this baby 85mm was nearly there too.

Craig

holmesc21 wrote:

QUOTE:
Brian will probably want to convince me to add the chrome 28/1.9 Ultron lens to the mix, but I'll have to stay awhile with an old Minolta M 28/2.8 Rokkor (which has had the white dots fixed a long while back.) Its focusing throw and accuracy is also excellent on the RF35 and on the T, surprisingly.

Who, me? Yeah, I know I push that lens hard, but it's my favorite. I've seen some great examples from the 28/1.8 Rokkor, though. The tonality is excellent.

Brian, and Fernando,
Here's the mix of pieces so far, relative to the discussion about Heliars, Summicrons, and the T. So far, I've been experimenting, so the observations are based on apparently handling capabilities, rather than examination of results. I know if I get the timing and technique right, the results will work
Craig

Combination of RF35, 75mm Heliar and trigger wind. Works as well as it looks. The 21/4 Skopar is just as good:



The RF35 with venerable old Canon 35mm - uses the 40mm frame, plus a bit. Very quick to use combination.



Bessa T with trigger and 75mm, a surprisingly handy combination. (Wrong viewfinder - still trying to find my misplaced CV finder):




The T with 90mm Summicron. Looks like a Panda! The extra form factor adding the trigger wind makes this a balanced combination. Without the winder, it's uncomfortably front heavy. If the T had any viewfinder, it should have been the life sized 85mm Canon type now sitting on top. I'm way out of practice with using a separate rangefinder/viewfinder at any speed. But the rangefinder appears to be well up to the job.





Just for fun; an ancient combination which looks surprisingly promising, the T rangefinder appears to be sufficiently accurate! Have to try some serious tests of course.

Sorry everyone - all the last post did was repeat the same wrong image of RF35 plus collapsible Summicron, which actually doesn't handle as well as I hoped.

I'll try again for the ones I wanted to show:

RF35 plus trigger plus 75mm Heliar:



Bessa T plus trigger plus 90mm Summicron:



If this doesn't work, I'll wait for Brian to explain how to do it

Craig