Glass Bodies a variant-level encyclopedia of vintage lenses and cameras by iwillpat

Angénieux Zoom 45-90mm f/2.8

Leica · Leica R · 1969

our own finding

Also known as: Angenieux Zoom 45-90mm f/2.8 · Angenieux Zoom 45-90mm f2.8 · Angenieux Zoom 45-90 f2.8 · Angénieux Zoom 45-90mm f/2.8 · Angenieux 45-90mm f/2.8 · Angenieux 45-90mm f2.8 · Angenieux 45-90 f2.8 · Angenieux 45-90mm 2.8 · Angenieux 2.8/45-90 · Angénieux 2,8/45-90 · Angenieux 2,8/45-90 · Angenieux-Zoom f/2.8 45-90mm · Angenieux Zoom 45-90 mm F/2.8 · Angenieux Zoom 45-90mm Leica R · Angenieux Zoom Leica R 45-90 · Angenieux 45-90mm Leica R · Angenieux 45-90 Leicaflex · Angenieux Paris Zoom 45-90mm · P. Angenieux Paris 45-90mm · Angenieux zoom 45-90mm F:2.8 · Angenieux Paris rare zoom 45-90mm · Angenieux 45-90mm F:2.8 · Angenieux 2.8/45-90mm · Leica Angenieux 45-90mm · Leitz Angenieux 45-90 · アンジェニュー 45-90mm F2.8 ライカR · アンジェニュー ズーム 45-90mm

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
2-cam (Leicaflex) Leica R, 2-cam (Leicaflex SL and SL2; stop-down only on R bodies) 1969 1.38 million range (Flashback Camera example, dated 1973 by the dealer) —
3-cam (Leicaflex and Leica R) Leica R, 3-cam (every Leicaflex and R body to the R9) 1976–1982 1.27 million to 1.46 million (dealer and auction examples) —
  1. Specification from Leitz's general catalogue of 15 September 1978 (p. 52) and the Handbook of the Leica System, pages dated 4/81 in the July 1982 issue (pp. 46–47): fifteen elements in twelve components, angle of view 54° to 27°, f/2.8 to f/22 with half-stop clicks, focusing to 1 m. The smallest field is 485 × 727 mm at 45 mm (about 1:20) and 216 × 324 mm at 90 mm (about 1:9). Length from the flange 122 mm, diameter 69 mm (78 mm with the hood), weight 0.774 kg. Both catalogues add: "Supply on request through local LEITZ Agency".
  2. Other figures. Apotelyt's R catalogue gives fifteen elements in ten groups against Leitz's twelve; the Leitz figure is used here. A Catawiki lot shown on Barnebys says "around 700 gr." against Leitz's 774 g. The eight-blade diaphragm comes from Kamerastore alone.
  3. Dates. English Wikipedia's Leica R bayonet table, citing Erwin Puts, gives 1969–1982, and an Angénieux rehousing brochure from GL Optics also says 1969. Kamerastore says the lens was introduced in 1968, and Flashback Camera says it was made from 1968 to 1980. In Leitz's general catalogue of 1 January 1975 it appears only as a line, "ZOOM ANGENIEUX f/2.8 45-90mm: details on request". The 1978 catalogue and the 1981 handbook give it a full page. It is not in the Leitz handbook of December 1989.
  4. Order number. Leitz printed none: the 1978 catalogue's code column reads "on request", and the 1981 handbook's filter table leaves the code blank. English Wikipedia and Kamerastore give 98000, and Flashback Camera labels one listing 11930. Neither number appears in the Leitz catalogues of 1975 and 1978 or the 1981 handbook, and they cannot both be right.
  5. Cam conversion. A 3-cam lens with a serial the dealer dates to 1969 (Flashback Camera, three listings) must have had the R cam added later, since no Leicaflex lens had one before the R3 of 1976. Leitz's 1978 catalogue offered to fit the R cam to existing Leicaflex lenses at its service centres, but says nothing about the Angénieux, whose service it left to the maker. Who converted these lenses is not recorded.
  6. Original Leicaflex. The Catawiki lot names only the SL and SL2. No source says the lens cannot be used on the original Leicaflex, and it is not on Doug Herr's list of lenses whose rear fouls the mirror of the Leicaflex and SL (quoted by Karen Nakamura). No source confirms it on that body either. The Leicaflex meters through a cell on the prism, not through the lens, so on that body the lens's cams only show the aperture to the meter.
  7. Extender. The 1981–82 handbook lists the "Extender R with … 2.8/45-90" among combinations that fit compartment 2a of the universal cases 14834 and 14835, so Leitz listed the lens as a combination with the Extender-R 2x. The Extender-R 2x page in the same handbook is for focal lengths "from 50 and more".
  8. Close-up. Kamerastore says that an Angénieux close-up lens, numbered 98001, gives 1:4 on this zoom. It is not listed in the Leitz catalogues of 1975 and 1978 or the 1981 handbook.
  9. Market. Leitz Auction sold a 3-cam lens for €780 including buyer's premium, against an estimate of €800–900. Christie's sold no. 1269684 in 1996 for £1,035, its price realised, against an estimate of £500–800; the lot page does not say whether that figure includes buyer's premium. Kamerastore's sold 2-cam example shows a reference price of €1,299, a dealer price.
  10. Cine rehousing. GL Optics, a US rehousing shop, sells this zoom rebuilt in a cine body, rated T2.9 and weighing 2.1 kg. Those lenses are no longer in R mount.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • A long black zoom, 122 mm from the bayonet and 69 mm across, with the barrel engraved P. Angénieux, Paris (Christie's lot description; Catawiki lot title)
  • Separate zoom and focusing rings, constant f/2.8, focusing to 1 m, with a screw-in hood that also holds Series 8 filters
  • The serial is Angénieux's own number, not one from the Leitz sequence (Flashback Camera)

2-cam (Leicaflex):

  • Seen from the back, the two sloped Leicaflex cams on the mount ring and no stepped R-cam beside them
  • Barrel engraved P. ANGENIEUX PARIS, as on the 3-cam lens
  • Auction text sold as 'for Leica Leicaflex cameras' (Catawiki lot shown on Barnebys)

3-cam (Leicaflex and Leica R):

  • Seen from the back, both sloped Leicaflex cams plus the stepped R-cam on the mount ring, and no row of gold ROM contacts
  • Same P. ANGENIEUX PARIS engraving as the 2-cam lens: the cams are the only difference

Serial-range notes

the number on the barrel
Flashback Camera says the serial is assigned by Angénieux, not taken from the Leitz sequence, so the Leitz year lists do not date this lens. Numbers seen run from the 1.27 million range, dated 1969 by the dealer, through the 1.38 million range (1973) and the 1.44 million range (1978) to the 1.46 million range, which the dealer calls the final batch of 1980. Those years are the dealer's readings of Angénieux's numbering, not a published table.
1269684
Sold at Christie's on 14 June 1996 as lot 637, described as "R-fit", engraved P. Angénieux, Paris, "made in France for Leitz-Leicaflex", in the maker's plush-lined case. The catalogue cites James L. Lager, Leica: An Illustrated History, vol. II (1994), p. 271.
1446919
A 3-cam example sold by Leitz Auction (auction 14, lot 284) with hood and both caps, graded B/A.

Specifications

Formula
Zoom of fifteen elements in twelve groups (Leitz catalogues of 1978 and 1981); an Angénieux design
Designed by
Angénieux — optical design and manufacture: Leitz's catalogues of 1978 and 1981 name 'Pierre Angenieux, Saint-Heand' as manufacturer and as the address for warranty and service
Construction
15 elements / 12 groups
Aperture range
f/2.8–f/22
Diaphragm blades
8
Min. focus
1 m
Dimensions
69 × 122 mm
Weight
774 g
Filter
67 mm (0.75 mm pitch), E67 (M 67 × 0.75), or Series 8 held by the screw-in hood (Leitz 1978, 1981)
Years manufactured
1969–1982
Country
France
Material
Black finish and hard-chrome bayonet (Leitz 1978, 1981); non-rotating focusing mount (Leitz 1981)

What reviewers say

No reviews aggregated yet — this family is still in the research queue. Written one? We'd love to index it.

History

The Angénieux 45-90mm f/2.8 was the first zoom for the Leicaflex, as the Catawiki lot, Flashback Camera and GL Optics all say; English Wikipedia’s lens table dates the next, the Minolta-designed Vario-Elmar-R 80-200mm f/4.5, to 1974. It was not a Leitz lens. Pierre Angénieux’s firm at Saint-Héand in France made it (Leitz names it as manufacturer; English Wikipedia calls it an Angénieux design), and Leitz supplied it only on request. The general catalogue of 1975 gives it one line, “ZOOM ANGENIEUX f/2.8 45-90mm: details on request”. The catalogues of 1978 and 1981 give it a full page, with the note “Supply on request through local LEITZ Agency. Manufacturer, warranty, and service: Pierre Angenieux”. There is no Leitz code beside it. The order numbers sellers quote, 98000 (English Wikipedia, Kamerastore) and 11930 (Flashback Camera), appear in none of the Leitz catalogues of 1975 and 1978 or the 1981 handbook. The barrel is engraved P. Angénieux, Paris, and Christie’s described one as “made in France for Leitz-Leicaflex”.

It is a big, serious lens for its date: fifteen elements in twelve groups, a constant f/2.8 from 45 to 90 mm, focusing to 1 m, 122 mm long and 774 g by Leitz’s figures. It takes 67 mm screw-in filters, or Series 8 filters held in its screw-in hood. English Wikipedia, citing Erwin Puts, dates it 1969 to 1982, and a Catawiki lot says it was “born” in 1969 for the Leicaflex SL and SL2. Kamerastore and Flashback Camera say 1968. It appears in the Leitz handbook of 1981–82 and is gone by the handbook of 1989. The other early R zooms, the Vario-Elmar-R 80-200mm f/4.5 and 75-200mm f/4.5, are Minolta designs (English Wikipedia) and have their own pages.

There are two versions, and they differ only at the back of the mount. The 2-cam lens was made for the Leicaflex bodies and meters at full aperture on the SL and SL2. On the R bodies it works only with stop-down metering (Kamerastore), Kamerastore advises against it on the R8 and R9, and Leica’s R9 instructions forbid lenses without the R cam on that body. The 3-cam lens adds the stepped R cam and meters normally on every R body to the R9. None was made with ROM contacts, and Leica’s 2000/2001 handbook says the conversion is not possible. Dealers sell 3-cam lenses whose serials they date to 1969, years before the R cam existed, so some 3-cam lenses must be converted 2-cam lenses. The serial is Angénieux’s own number, so the Leitz year lists do not date it. The Catawiki seller found the 2-cam lens the rarer of the two. No source rules out the original Leicaflex, but the only body sources name are the SL and SL2. The 1981–82 handbook’s case tables pair the lens with the Extender-R 2x.

Leitz Auction has sold a near-mint 3-cam lens for €780 including buyer’s premium, and Christie’s sold one in 1996 for £1,035, its price realised. When buying, count the cams at the back of the mount against the body you will use. Then check the lens on the bench. Flashback Camera, which overhauls these lenses, warns that many Angénieux zooms have loose zoom and focusing rings, that the lens shifts focus slightly as it zooms, and that the painted barrel often goes glossy with wear. Look for coating wear and haze in a fifteen-element lens that is hard to service. Make sure the hood is there, because it is also the Series 8 filter holder. Some of these zooms have been rebuilt in cine housings (GL Optics sells one rated T2.9), and those no longer fit an R body.

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This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.

Example photos

Sample photo wanted — shot with a Angénieux Zoom 45-90mm f/2.8? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $1,500 across 7 fixed-price listings on 2026-11-09 (middle half $1,300–$2,600). First day tracked.

Asking prices from the listings scanned, not sales; junk-flagged rows and auction lots excluded; other currencies are not converted.

Listings updated 2026-11-09. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.

Related: Vario-Elmar-R 35-70mm f/3.5 · Vario-Elmar-R 80-200mm f/4.5 · Vario-Elmar-R 75-200mm f/4.5 · Vario-Elmarit-R 35-70mm f/2.8 ASPH.

Sources (15)

Every page here is assembled from public sources, and the gaps are real ones. If you own this lens, know a serial number I'm missing, or can see where I have it wrong, tell me — corrections, serials and sample photos are all worth having.