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I've had a couple of copies of these lenses, and their performance depends a lot on age. The APO is of course the standard, but the later T-E's are very close. Older T-E's show their age in their poorer coatings which cause most of the contrast and flare problems. At present I have both a late Elmarit and late T-E, and while the APO would ultimately be better than either, I find the difference to the T-E quite small. The Elmarit is decent, but a definite step down from the two others. I don't use 135 enough to justify getting the APO.I like my Tele-Elmar 135, but will probably get the APO eventually. The main reason is its use for shooting more distant views, and the higher contrast optic will help bring out subtleties in haze and layering that gets lost with the T-E. The T-E also needs a higher blackpoint due to veiling flare, which reduces dynamic range (or increases noise - take your pick) and distorts the tonal scale (towards 'inky'). But it's capable of very good results.
Are they any good?
I hope so, cos I just bought one with the goggles for a great price
Now I have 3 decent focal lengths for my M8 50/90/135 all I need now is a decent 28 and/or 35!