APO-Macro-Elmarit-R 100mm f/2.8

Leica · Leica R · 1987

Known as “AME”

Also known as: APO-Macro-Elmarit-R 100mm f/2.8 · APO-Macro-Elmarit-R 100mm f2.8 · APO-Macro-Elmarit-R 100mm f2,8 · APO-Macro-Elmarit-R 100mm · APO-Macro-Elmarit-R 100 mm f/2.8 · APO-Macro-Elmarit-R 100 mm f/2,8 · APO-Macro-Elmarit-R · APO-Macro-Elmarit-R 2.8/100 · APO-Macro-Elmarit-R 2,8/100 · APO-Macro-Elmarit-R 2.8/100mm · APO-Macro-Elmarit-R 1:2.8/100mm · APO-Macro-Elmarit-R 1:2,8/100mm · APO-Macro-Elmarit-R f/2.8/100 mm · APO Macro Elmarit R 100mm f2.8 · APO Macro Elmarit-R 100mm · APO-Macro Elmarit-R 100mm f2.8 · APO Macro Elmarit R 2.8/100 · 100mm f2.8 APO-Macro-Elmarit-R · 100mm f/2.8 APO-Macro-Elmarit-R · 100mm APO-Macro-Elmarit-R · APO-Elmarit-R 100mm f2.8 Macro · APO Elmarit R Macro 100mm f2.8 · Leica R 100mm f2.8 APO Macro · Leica APO-Macro-Elmarit-R 100mm · Leica 11210 · Leica 11352 · アポマクロエルマリートR 100mm F2.8 · ライカ アポマクロエルマリートR 100mm

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
APO-Elmarit-R 100mm prototype (c.1985) Leica R (prototype; cam fitting not recorded) 1985–1985 5175934 One known; Leitz Auction calls it unique
3-cam, first focusing mount with double guide (11210) Leica R, 3-cam (Leicaflex SL and SL2 and every R body; see notes for the original Leicaflex) 1987 below 3469285 —
3-cam, single guide (11210, from No. 3,469,285) Leica R, 3-cam (Leicaflex SL and SL2 and every R body; see notes for the original Leicaflex) — 3469285 onward —
ROM from the factory (11352) Leica R, ROM (R3 and later; not the Leicaflex bodies) 1996 — —
11210 converted to ROM by Leica service Leica R, ROM (R3 and later; not the Leicaflex bodies) — — —
  1. Specification from Leica documents: the Handbook of Dec 1989 (11210), the Handbook 2000/2001 (11352) and the Leica Camera AG technical data sheet. They agree on eight elements in six groups, E60 with an M 60 × 0.75 internal thread, f/22, 0.45 m and 1:2, 104.5 mm from the flange and 73 mm across. Angle of view is 25° in both handbooks and 24° diagonal (20° horizontal, 13.7° vertical) on the data sheet. Weight is 0.840 kg in 1989 and 0.760 kg in 2000/2001 and on the data sheet; Kamerastore gives 840 g for both the 3-cam and the ROM lens, Apotelyt and Cinelenswiki 760 g. Whether the lens became lighter or was re-weighed is not recorded.
  2. Seven diaphragm blades are reported by Kamerastore and Cinelenswiki, not by a Leica document.
  3. Dates: Puts dates the lens to 1987, Kamerastore to 1988. No Leica document consulted dates the last lens, so no end year is given; the 2000/2001 handbook and the data sheet (which names the R9 of 2002) show it still catalogued in the ROM version.
  4. Body fit: Leica's 1989 handbook heads the lens 'for LEICA R models (all modes), LEICAFLEX SL / SL 2 models', without the original Leicaflex. Kamerastore says the 3-cam lens fits all Leicaflex and R bodies. Neither the 1989 handbook's list of lenses that no longer fit the Leicaflex nor the lists of lenses whose rear fouls the Leicaflex and SL mirror (Apotelyt, Doug Herr, on the site's Leicaflex page) include this lens. This page lists every Leicaflex and R body because the 3-cam lens keeps the first sloped cam that the original Leicaflex reads (the site's Leicaflex page) and no source records it fouling that body's mirror; the original Leicaflex is the one Leica itself does not name, and the ROM lens fits none of the Leicaflexes.
  5. Close-up and accessories, from the 1989 handbook: the ELPRO 1:2–1:1 (16545), listed only for this lens (Puts and Leica's data sheet say it was computed or designed especially for it), takes it to 1.1:1 (22 × 33 mm field, 7.2 cm free working distance; the data sheet prints 22 × 35 mm), extends it by about 36 mm and weighs 0.190 kg; the STA 1 tripod adapter (14636) attaches the lens to a tripod or the universal handgrip. The 2000/2001 handbook lists the APO-Extender-R 2x (11269) among the lens's accessories; Puts writes that it makes a 200 mm f/5.6, a solution in an emergency but no cause for joy.
  6. Market prices seen in November 2026: Kamerastore asked €1,249 for a 3-cam 11210 and €1,390 for a ROM 11352 (dealer asking prices for used lenses, both out of stock when seen); Leitz Auction hammer prices, including buyer's premium, were €1,584 for a 3-cam lens with an ELPRO (auction 9) and €1,560 for a ROM lens (auction 30), against estimates of €1,000–1,300 and €1,600–1,800. Apotelyt gives a used price range of US$1,500–3,000. No period list price in DM or dollars is cited on this page.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • A long black barrel, 104.5 mm from the flange and 73 mm across, with a built-in telescopic hood that pulls forward and an E60 filter thread inside it
  • Distance scale in metres and feet to 0.7 m, then reproduction ratios engraved from 1:5 to 1:2; the focusing mount does not rotate
  • The cam generation is read at the back of the mount: two sloped cams plus a stepped cam (3-cam, 11210), or a stepped cam with gold contacts (ROM, 11352)
  • Not the Macro-Elmar-R 100mm f/4 (E55, a slower and lighter lens with a bellows head as well), not the Macro-Elmarit-R 60mm f/2.8, and not the APO-Macro-Elmarit-SL 100mm f/2.8 of 2026, an autofocus L-mount lens

APO-Elmarit-R 100mm prototype (c.1985):

  • Serial number 5175934, far above the production lenses recorded on this page (3.46 to 3.79 million)
  • Focusing ring shaped differently from the production lens, and a built-in hood of different dimensions (Leitz Auction)

3-cam, first focusing mount with double guide (11210):

  • Seen from the back, two sloped Leicaflex cams on the mount ring beside the stepped R-cam, and no gold contacts
  • Serial number below 3,469,285 (Puts)
  • Order number 11210
  • In the hand, focusing can feel slightly uneven through its travel, the fault Puts says the change of guide cured

3-cam, single guide (11210, from No. 3,469,285):

  • Same sloped cams and stepped R-cam as the first lenses, no gold contacts
  • Serial number from 3,469,285 on
  • Order number 11210, unchanged

ROM from the factory (11352):

  • A row of gold ROM contacts at the back of the mount beside the stepped R-cam; no sloped Leicaflex cams
  • Order number 11352

11210 converted to ROM by Leica service:

  • ROM contacts on a lens whose serial number is earlier than the R8 of 1996, for instance a 3.4 million number of 1987–89; the serial alone is a pointer, not proof
  • No sloped Leicaflex cams left at the back of the mount

Serial-range notes

3469285
The change from a double to a single guide in the focusing mount, by Erwin Puts' account. Lenses below this number have the first mount, whose focusing movement Puts calls slightly uneven; the optics and order number did not change.
the seven-digit number on the front ring
Leitz and Leica numbered every lens in one shared sequence, reserved in blocks, so a number dates a lens only roughly. Leitz Auction and Flashback Camera date lenses in the 3,468,000 and 3,490,000 ranges to 1989, and Leitz Auction dates no. 3792858, a ROM lens, to 1997.

Specifications

Formula
Double-Gauss six-element core followed by a stationary rear group of two thick single elements, with anomalous partial dispersion glass for the apochromatic correction; eight elements in six groups (Puts; Leica 1989 and 2000/2001)
Construction
8 elements / 6 groups
Aperture range
f/2.8–f/22
Diaphragm blades
7
Min. focus
0.45 m
Dimensions
73 × 104.5 mm
Weight
760 g
Filter
60 mm (0.75 mm pitch)
Years manufactured
1987
Material
Black finish (Leica 1989); 'black anodized' in the 2000/2001 handbook

What reviewers say

History

The APO-Macro-Elmarit-R 100mm f/2.8 is Leica’s apochromatic macro lens for the R system. Leica brought it out in 1987, by Erwin Puts’ date; Kamerastore says 1988. Apochromatic correction was normally kept for long lenses, where colour fringes grow with the focal length, and Puts finds it remarkable that Leica used it at 100 mm. The design is a true double-Gauss of six elements followed by a group of two thick single elements, which stays put while the front group moves to focus. Puts credits that stationary rear group, and glass of anomalous partial dispersion, for a performance that holds as well at 1:2 as at infinity. Because the front group moves relative to the rear, the focal length shortens as the lens focuses closer: exactly 100 mm at infinity, 92 mm at 1:2. Leitz Auction has sold what it calls a unique prototype, numbered 5175934, dated about 1985 and catalogued as an APO-Elmarit-R, differing from the production lens in its focusing ring and hood.

On its own the lens focuses to 0.45 m and a reproduction ratio of 1:2, with 22 cm between the front of the lens and the subject. The ELPRO 1:2–1:1, order number 16545, is a close-up lens that Leica lists for this lens alone and that Puts says was computed for it. It screws into the E60 thread inside the built-in telescopic hood and takes the lens to 1.1:1. Puts warns of a slight loss of contrast with it and advises stopping down a few stops when the most detail is wanted. He also tried the APO-Extender-R 2x, which Leica’s 2000/2001 handbook lists among the lens’s accessories: it makes a 200 mm f/5.6, which he calls a solution in an emergency but no cause for joy.

There are two production order numbers. The 3-cam lens, 11210, has the two sloped Leicaflex cams and the stepped R-cam. Leica’s 1989 handbook sells it “for LEICA R models (all modes), LEICAFLEX SL / SL 2 models”, naming the SL and SL2 but not the original Leicaflex. Kamerastore says a 3-cam lens fits all Leicaflex and R bodies. The lens is not on the lists of lenses whose rear can foul the Leicaflex and SL mirror. Puts records one change inside the 11210: the focusing mount ran on a double guide until serial 3469285 and on a single guide after it, which cured a slightly uneven focusing movement. It shows only in the serial and in the feel of the ring. The ROM lens, 11352, has a row of gold contacts in place of the Leicaflex cams and fits only the R bodies. Its contacts pass the focal length to the R8 and R9 and do nothing on earlier R bodies. Leica’s 2000/2001 handbook says an 11210 could be converted to ROM, after which it too loses its Leicaflex cams. The handbooks give two weights, 0.840 kg in 1989 and 0.760 kg in 2000/2001, and do not say why.

Puts ranks it among the very few lenses that give their best at full aperture and gain nothing by stopping down, with resolution and contrast high into the corners at f/2.8, distortion near zero and 0.7 stop of vignetting. He rejects the common view that it is too sharp for portraits. At f/2.8 he finds it nearly identical to the APO-Summicron-R 90mm f/2 ASPH of 2002 at f/2, and he recommends the lighter, faster 90 to anyone who does not need the close range. Its sibling for close work, the Macro-Elmar-R 100mm f/4, is slower and lighter, takes E55 filters, and also comes as a head for the bellows. In June 2026 Leica introduced an autofocus L-mount lens with a near-identical name, the APO-Macro-Elmarit-SL 100 f/2.8 (11125), which Red Dot Forum places in the line of this R lens. It is a separate design of 17 elements in 12 groups.

When buying, look at the back of the mount for the cams or contacts and match them to the body you mean to use. A 3-cam lens below serial 3,469,285 is the double-guide version, so turn the focusing ring through its whole travel and check for rough or uneven spots. Check that the telescopic hood slides and stays put. An ELPRO 1:2–1:1 sold with the lens is worth having, since Leica listed it for no other lens. In late 2026 Kamerastore asked €1,249 for a used 3-cam lens and €1,390 for a used ROM lens. Leitz Auction hammer prices, buyer’s premium included, were €1,584 for a 3-cam lens sold with a new ELPRO and €1,560 for a ROM lens. The launch list price is not cited on this page.

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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 taken with the APO-Macro-Elmarit-R 100mm f/2.8
A backlit autumn leaf, taken with the APO-Macro-Elmarit-R 2.8/100mm (2018) — Markus Spiske, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0)
Sample photo taken with the APO-Macro-Elmarit-R 100mm f/2.8
A dahlia at Villa Taranto, Verbania, taken with the Leica R 100mm f/2.8 macro (2016) — sandro bisotti, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Sample photo wanted — shot with a APO-Macro-Elmarit-R 100mm f/2.8? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $1,300 across 43 fixed-price listings on 2026-11-09 (middle half $1,100–$1,700). First day tracked.

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

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