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

APO-Telyt-R 280mm f/4

Leica · Leica R · 1993

Also known as: APO-Telyt-R 280mm f/4 · APO-Telyt-R 280mm f4 · APO-Telyt-R 280mm F4 · APO-Telyt-R 280 mm f/4 · APO-Telyt-R 4/280mm · APO-Telyt-R 4/280 · APO-Telyt-R 4.0/280mm · APO-Telyt-R 4,0/280mm · APO-Telyt-R 1:4/280mm · APO-TELYT-R 4/280mm · Apo Telyt R 280mm f4 · Apo Telyt R 280mm f/4 · Apo Telyt R 4/280 · Apo-Telyt-R 4/280mm · Leica APO-Telyt-R 280mm f4 · Leica APO-Telyt-R 280mm f/4 · Leica 280mm f4 APO-Telyt-R · Leica 280mm f/4 APO-Telyt-R · Leica APO-Telyt-R 280 · Leica Apo Telyt 280mm f4 · Leica Telyt-R 280mm f4 · Leica 11261 · Leica 11360 · ライカ アポテリートR 280mm F4 · アポテリートR 280mm F4 · アポテリート 280mm F4

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
11261, R-cam bayonet Leica R (R3 to R9; Leicaflex bodies only after Leica's cam modification) 1993 3621837–3622119 (dealer and auction examples dated 1993) —
11261 converted to ROM by Leica service Leica R, ROM (R3 to R9; not the Leicaflex bodies) — — —
11360, factory ROM Leica R, ROM (R3 to R9; not the Leicaflex bodies as delivered) — — —
  1. Specification from Leica's Handbook 2000/2001: 8.8°, seven elements in six components, f/22, 1.7 m, smallest field 120 × 180 mm (about 1:5), Series 5.5 in a filter drawer plus an E77 front thread, a built-in protective filter, a fully automatic diaphragm with half-stop click stops, focusing beyond infinity, no focus correction for infrared, 88 mm diameter, 208 mm from the flange, 97.5 mm height over the tripod support, 1.875 kg. Leica's technical data sheet adds an actual focal length of 283 mm and the angles 8.8°, 7.4° and 4.9°. Eight diaphragm blades come from Kamerastore and the Cine Lens Wiki, not from Leica.
  2. Dates: Puts and Apotelyt give 1993 for the launch; Kamerastore writes 1994. Apotelyt says the lens was sold until the R system ended in 2009.
  3. Leicaflex fit: Kamerastore says the 11261 has the R-cam only and will not fit the Leicaflex cameras. Apotelyt (after the Leica Wiki) calls it 3-cam. Leica's Handbook 2000/2001 lists the lens for R models and says a modification for use on Leicaflex models is possible through Leica customer service. Apotelyt's gallery includes a Douglas Herr photograph of the lens on a Leicaflex SL2, which does not show which cams that lens has. Following the body pages' rule that R-only lenses do not fit the Leicaflex cameras, this page links only the R3 to R9; a lens modified by Leica for Leicaflex use would also fit Leicaflex bodies, though no source says which. Check the rear of the mount for the two sloped Leicaflex cams before counting a lens as Leicaflex-ready.
  4. Production: Apotelyt says Leica made and sold only about 2,000. It is a secondary figure, attributed by Apotelyt to the Leica Wiki.
  5. Extenders and close-up: Leica's Handbook 2000/2001 lists the APO-Extender-R 1.4x (11249) and APO-Extender-R 2x (11269) as accessories, and the technical data sheet gives the combinations as 400mm f/5.6 and 560mm f/8, reaching 1:2 with the 2x. Puts writes that the lens works well with the Macro-Adapter-R, which brings the subject to about one metre, and the data sheet says the adapter turns it into a full macro lens. Apotelyt's FAQ says the opposite, that Leica recommends against extension tubes on this lens, and gives 1:2.9 with the Macro-Adapter-R in its main text. The handbook also recommends the universal handgrip with shoulder stock and lists pistol stock 14282.
  6. Price: this page has no period list price in DM or dollars. Puts gives the price relation to the standard lens instead, 4.8:1 against 10.6:1 for the APO-Telyt-R 280mm f/2.8 of 1984. Market prices, all for used 11261 lenses: dealer asking prices of €3,090 (Leica Store Paris, VAT included under the margin scheme) and CHF 2,790 (Leica Store Geneva, Swiss VAT included), seen November 2026; Kamerastore's reference price of €2,999; Leitz Auction hammer prices of €2,280 (Auction 11, ROM-converted, boxed) and €1,800 (Auction 14), both including buyer's premium. Apotelyt says the lens fetches clearly more used than the faster fixed APO-Telyt-R 280mm f/2.8.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • Black, 88 mm across and 208 mm from the bayonet flange, with a rubber-armoured telescopic hood built in and a tripod mount that rotates with click stops at 90° (Leica Handbook 2000/2001; Apotelyt)
  • A drop-in drawer for Series 5.5 filters in the barrel and an E77 thread at the front. The APO-Telyt-R 280mm f/2.8 (11245) is far bigger: 125 mm across, 2.75 kg, with an E112 front
  • Focuses to 1.7 m. The 280mm f/2.8 lenses stop at 2.5 m (fixed lens) and 2 m (Module System)
  • Eyelets for a carrying strap on the barrel (Leica Handbook 2000/2001; Apotelyt)

11261, R-cam bayonet:

  • At the back of the mount, the stepped R-cam and no strip of ROM contacts. Kamerastore says the lens has only the R-cam, while Apotelyt (after the Leica Wiki) calls it 3-cam. Look for the two sloped Leicaflex cams to settle which a given lens has
  • Order number 11261 on box and papers
  • Serials seen so far all start 362, and the shops and the auction house date them 1993

11261 converted to ROM by Leica service:

  • A strip of ROM contacts at the back of the mount, but box and papers say 11261 and the serial is from the 1993 block

11360, factory ROM:

  • ROM contacts at the back of the mount as delivered, and order number 11360 on box and papers

Serial-range notes

3621837, 3621957, 3621972, 3622119
The 11261 examples recorded on this page: Leitz Auction 11 (converted to ROM), Leica Store Geneva, Leica Store Paris Village Royal and Leitz Auction 14. The shops and the auction house all date them 1993, the year Puts gives for the launch. They suggest the first lenses were numbered in one block starting 362.
3747936
Leitz Auction 28 sold this lens as "Apo-Telyt-R 2.8/280mm 11261 ROM", year 1996, condition A-, with caps and leather case, for €4,080 including buyer's premium against an estimate of €5,000–5,500. The title contradicts itself. 11261 is the f/4's order number, while the f/2.8 was 11245 and, as a module, 11846. A ROM lens from 1996 would fit the 11360. The lot's photographs or the engraving on the lens would show whether it is an f/4 or an f/2.8. It is not counted on this page.
the seven-digit number on the barrel
As with every Leitz and Leica lens, the number comes from one sequence shared across models and handed out in blocks. It dates a lens only roughly.

Specifications

Formula
Apochromatic internal-focusing telephoto, seven elements in six groups, with a built-in protective filter in front of the front element
Construction
7 elements / 6 groups
Aperture range
f/4–f/22
Diaphragm blades
8
Min. focus
1.7 m
Dimensions
88 × 208 mm
Weight
1875 g
Filter
77 mm, Series 5.5 in drop-in drawer 14591; E77 thread at the front
Years manufactured
1993–2009
Material
Black anodized metal barrel with built-in, rubber-armoured telescopic hood and rotating tripod mount

What reviewers say

History

The APO-Telyt-R 280mm f/4 came out in 1993 as the lighter alternative to the APO-Telyt-R 280mm f/2.8 of 1984. Erwin Puts describes that earlier lens as excellent but close to three kilograms in weight, costing 10.6 times the standard lens. The f/4 weighs 1,875 g and cost 4.8 times the standard lens, and Puts says it was improved above all in the outer zones. It has seven elements in six groups, focuses internally and has a protective filter built in in front of the front element. That filter was part of the optical calculation, so it costs nothing in sharpness. Leica’s literature stresses apochromatic correction into the infrared: the lens needs no focus correction for infrared film. Puts ranks it with the APO-Elmarit-R 180mm f/2.8 among the best lenses on the world market and says it still gave the best optical performance in the R range when he wrote. He reached more than 150 lp/mm on microfilm and calls it one of the very few truly diffraction-limited lenses. He adds that it can still be used hand-held, at around 1/250 s. Apotelyt says about 2,000 were made and that it stayed in the catalogue until the R system ended in 2009.

Physically it is compact for its focal length. It is 88 mm across and 208 mm long, with a rubber-armoured telescopic hood and a tripod foot that turns with click stops for upright and horizontal frames. Filters go in a Series 5.5 drop-in drawer, which comes with an ND ×1 filter, or screw into an E77 thread at the front. It focuses to 1.7 m, a 1:5 reproduction ratio. Leica sold the APO-Extender-R 1.4x and 2x for it, making a 400mm f/5.6 and a 560mm f/8. Puts and Leica’s data sheet recommend the Macro-Adapter-R for closer work. Apotelyt says Leica advised against extension tubes, which contradicts both.

There are three forms, and you tell them apart at the back of the mount. The original 11261 has the stepped R-cam and no contacts. Kamerastore says it has no Leicaflex cams and will not fit a Leicaflex, while Apotelyt, after the Leica Wiki, calls it 3-cam. Leica’s Handbook 2000/2001 lists the lens for the R models and offers a modification through Leica customer service for use on the Leicaflex bodies. A lens shown on a Leicaflex SL2 in Apotelyt’s gallery may be one so modified. As delivered, an R-cam-only lens belongs on the R3 to R9, so look for the two sloped cams before buying for a Leicaflex. Leica could also fit ROM contacts to an 11261, and one such lens, no. 3,621,837, sold boxed at Leitz Auction as “converted to ROM”. The factory ROM version is 11360, listed in the 2000/2001 handbook as “already with ROM”. On an R8 or R9, ROM contacts pass the focal length to the body and flash; earlier R bodies ignore them. The body pages here note that ROM conversion removes any Leicaflex cams.

When buying, read the order number on the box, the serial and the mount together. The 1993 lenses seen so far are numbered from 3,621,837 to 3,622,119. A lens with contacts but papers saying 11261 is a service conversion. Look through the front for cloudiness, which one recent Geneva dealer example showed. Check that the telescopic hood slides and stays put, that the tripod collar rotates and locks, and that the filter drawer (14591) is present: Leica delivered the lens with the drawer and its Series 5.5 ND ×1 filter. The APO-Telyt-R 280mm f/2.8 is a much larger lens, 125 mm across with an E112 front, and the 280mm f/2.8 head of the Module System is larger still. Neither should be confused with this one, although some listings mix up their order numbers.

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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-Telyt-R 280mm f/4? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $3,800 across 8 fixed-price listings on 2026-11-09 (middle half $3,100–$4,100). 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-Telyt-R 280mm f/2.8 · APO-Telyt-R Module System 280-800mm · APO-Elmarit-R 180mm f/2.8 · Vario-Elmar-R 105-280mm f/4.2 · Telyt-R 250mm f/4 (II) · APO-Telyt-R 180mm f/3.4 · APO-Summicron-R 180mm f/2 · Telyt-R 350mm f/4.8

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.