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

APO-Summicron-R 180mm f/2

Leica · Leica R · 1994

Also known as: APO-Summicron-R 180mm f/2 · APO-Summicron-R 180mm f2 · APO-Summicron-R 180mm F2 · APO-Summicron-R 180 mm f/2 · Apo Summicron R 180mm f2 · Apo Summicron R 180mm f/2 · Apo-Summicron-R 2/180mm · Apo-Summicron-R 2/180 · Apo Summicron R 2/180 · APO-Summicron-R 1:2/180mm · APO-Summicron-R 1:2/180 · Summicron-R 180mm f/2 · Summicron-R 180mm f2 · Summicron-R 2/180 · Leica APO-Summicron-R 180mm f2 · Leica 180mm f/2 APO-Summicron-R · Leica 180mm f2 APO-Summicron-R · Leica 180mm f2 Apo Summicron R · Leica R 180mm f2 APO-Summicron · Leica R 180mm f/2 Summicron · Leica R 180mm f2 · APO-Summicron 180mm f2 Leica R · ライカ アポズミクロンR 180mm F2 · アポズミクロンR 180mm F2

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
11271, without ROM contacts Leica R (R3 and later; Leica lists it for R models only, not the Leicaflex bodies) — 3652316 (Leitz Auction 6)
3689710 (Leitz Auction 24) 		—
11354, factory ROM Leica R, ROM (R3 and later; Leica: cannot be modified for Leicaflex models) — — —
  1. Specification from Leica's Handbooks of September 1995 and 2000/2001 and its later technical data sheet, which agree on 14° (13.7° on the data sheet), nine elements in six components, f/16, 1.5 m, a smallest field of 160 × 240 mm (about 1:6.7), internal focusing, apochromatic correction, no focus correction for infrared, 176 mm, 116 mm and about 2.5 kg; the handbooks add 'for extended spectral range' to the apochromatic correction. The 1995 handbook writes the front thread 'E 100x1', the 2000/2001 handbook 'M 100 x1', and the data sheet calls it an additional internal thread for E 100 screw-in filters. The data sheet gives the actual focal length as 179 mm. Apotelyt's R catalogue gives the same 9/6, 1.5 m, E100, 116 × 179 mm and 2,500 g.
  2. Eight diaphragm blades and the 1994 launch year are from the comparison table on Shige's hobby (shige-art.net), not from a Leica document. The lens is already in Leica's handbook of September 1995, and Leitz Auction gives 1994 as the manufacture year of no. 3652316.
  3. Production: Shige's hobby gives 1,700 lenses. None of the Leica documents cited gives a production figure, and none of the sources cited gives the year production ended.
  4. Extenders: in the extender tables of the 1995 and 2000/2001 handbooks the lens becomes a 360mm f/4 APO with the APO-Extender-R 2x and a 250mm f/2.8 APO with the APO-Extender-R 1.4x, but because the 1.4x is built for lenses from f/2.8 the Summicron 'must be stopped down 1-2 steps' with it. Apotelyt lists the same two results and a 360mm f/4 with the older, non-APO Extender-R 2x.
  5. ROM conversion: the 2000/2001 handbook offers ROM contacts for the 11271. A converted lens is not given a row of its own because no documented converted example is known to this page.
  6. Price: none of the sources cited gives a period list price in DM or dollars. Market evidence: Leitz Auction results of €2,499 (Auction 6) and €6,000 (Auction 24) for boxed 11271 lenses, both including the buyer's premium of 24% for lots staying in the EU; Apotelyt's R catalogue gives a used-price range of US$8,000–12,000 (read November 2026), not a sale.
  7. Accessories in the 2000/2001 handbook: hard leather case with lens cap and rear cover, filter drawer for Series 6 filters 14592 with a 6 NDx1 filter 13028, rear cover 14162, carrying strap 14235 and cap 14298.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • The size is the giveaway: 116 mm across, 176 mm from the bayonet flange and about 2.5 kg in every Leica document, more than twice the 970 g APO-Elmarit-R 180mm f/2.8
  • Built-in, rubber-armored telescopic hood; a protective filter in front of the front element; a drawer for Series 6 filters; a tripod foot that rotates for vertical pictures, with click stops
  • Focuses to 1.5 m and stops down only to f/16; the 180mm f/2.8 lenses close to f/22
  • Order number 11271 means no ROM contacts from the factory, 11354 factory ROM

11271, without ROM contacts:

  • No strip of ROM contacts at the back of the mount
  • Order number 11271 on the box and papers (Leitz Auction gives it in the lot description at Auction 6 and in the lot title at Auction 24)

11354, factory ROM:

  • A strip of ROM contacts at the back of the mount as delivered
  • Order number 11354 on the box and papers; a service-converted 11271 also has contacts, so only the paperwork separates the two

Serial-range notes

3652316
An 11271 sold new in the maker's box with leather case, cap and papers at Leitz Auction 6 (€2,499 including buyer's premium); the auction gives its manufacture year as 1994.
3689710
An 11271 sold like new and complete in the maker's box at Leitz Auction 24 (€6,000 including buyer's premium); the auction gives its manufacture year as 1995.

Specifications

Formula
Apochromatic telephoto with internal focusing, nine elements in six groups
Construction
9 elements / 6 groups
Aperture range
f/2–f/16
Diaphragm blades
8
Min. focus
1.5 m
Dimensions
116 × 176 mm
Weight
2500 g
Filter
100 mm, Series 6 in a rear filter drawer (6 NDx1 supplied); E100 front thread (M 100 × 1) ahead of a built-in protective filter
Years manufactured
1994
Material
Black anodized metal barrel with built-in, rubber-armored telescopic hood and rotating tripod foot

What reviewers say

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

Optical formula — Apochromatic telephoto with internal focusing, nine elements in six groups

History

The APO-Summicron-R 180mm f/2 is the fastest 180mm lens Leica made for its reflex cameras and one of the heaviest lenses in the R range. Leica’s handbooks call it a high-speed telephoto lens with internal focusing and apochromatic correction for an extended spectral range. It has nine elements in six groups, focuses to 1.5 m, needs no focus correction for infrared film and stops down to f/16. It is 176 mm long and 116 mm across, and it weighs about 2.5 kg. Shige’s hobby gives 1994 as the launch year and 1,700 as the number made; Leitz Auction dates one boxed example to 1994, and the lens is already in Leica’s handbook of September 1995. In the introduction to his Leica R-Lenses booklets of 2003, Erwin Puts names it as the example of the specialised very fast lenses he expected the R range to keep alongside the zooms. Its smaller apochromatic siblings at 180mm were the APO-Telyt-R f/3.4, computed by Leitz Canada in 1975 according to Puts, and the APO-Elmarit-R f/2.8, which Puts dates to 1998 and Shige’s hobby to 1997, and which at about 970 g weighs less than half as much.

Shige’s hobby points out that the Summicron is heavier than the APO-Telyt-R 280mm f/4 and carries like a 300mm lens, and suggests a tripod. Its hood is built in, telescopic and rubber-armored, and a protective filter sits in front of the front element. Filters go in a drawer that takes Series 6 glass, and there is also an E100 thread at the front. The tripod foot turns for vertical pictures and has click stops. Leica’s tables give the lens as a 360mm f/4 with the APO-Extender-R 2x. With the APO-Extender-R 1.4x it becomes a 250mm f/2.8, but the 1.4x was built for lenses from f/2.8, so Leica says the Summicron must then be stopped down one or two stops. Apotelyt adds that the older, non-APO Extender-R 2x also gives a 360mm f/4.

Leica sold two versions, told apart by order number and by what is at the back of the mount. The 11271 has no ROM contacts. The 11354, listed in the Handbook 2000/2001 as “already with ROM”, has the strip of contacts that passes lens data to the R8 and R9 for their additional electronic exposure control. The same handbook says Leica service could add contacts to an 11271, so a lens with contacts and an 11271 box is probably a conversion, not a factory 11354. Neither version is meant for the Leicaflex. The 1995 handbook lists the lens for the R models only, the 2000/2001 handbook says it cannot be modified for use on Leicaflex models, and Leica’s data sheet gives its bayonet as for the R3 to the R9. Camera-wiki describes the R-only and ROM lenses as carrying only the stepped R cam, with a small change to the bayonet on the R-only lenses so that they will not fit the earlier Leicaflex bodies; none of the sources cited says in so many words how the cams of this lens are cut.

Buyers should check the paperwork as well as the lens. The order number on the box should match the presence or absence of contacts. The hood, the filter drawer and its Series 6 filter, and the tripod foot all move, so check that each still works. Look through it for haze, and look at the protective filter in front of the front element for marks. The two boxed 11271 lenses sold at Leitz Auction made €2,499 and €6,000, both including the buyer’s premium. Apotelyt’s catalogue puts the used price at US$8,000–12,000, a guide range rather than a sale. None of the sources cited gives a period list price.

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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

More sample photos elsewhere

These photographers keep all rights to their work — enjoy it at the source.

Sample photo wanted — shot with a APO-Summicron-R 180mm f/2? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $7,400 across 5 fixed-price listings on 2026-11-09 (middle half $6,600–$8,900). First day tracked.

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

Buying from Yahoo! Auctions outside Japan. It is a domestic marketplace: sellers ship within Japan, and most will not register an overseas buyer. A proxy service bids on your behalf, receives the item and forwards it, for a fee and a wait. Buyee, Jauce and ZenMarket each accept a Yahoo auction number directly. Listed alphabetically for information — none is recommended over another, and none of these is an affiliate link.

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

Related: APO-Elmarit-R 180mm f/2.8 · APO-Telyt-R 180mm f/3.4 · Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 70-180mm f/2.8 · APO-Telyt-R 280mm f/4 · APO-Telyt-R 280mm f/2.8

Sources (11)

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.