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

Elmarit-R 135mm f/2.8 (I)

Leica · Leica R · 1964 · Telephoto, five elements in four components

Also known as: Elmarit-R 135mm f/2.8 I · Elmarit-R 135mm f2.8 I · Elmarit-R 135mm f2.8 Type I · Elmarit-R I 135mm f/2.8 · Elmarit-R 135mm f2.8 v1 · Elmarit-R 135mm f/2.8 first version · Elmarit-R 135mm f2.8 · Elmarit-R 135mm f/2.8 · Elmarit-R 2.8/135 · Elmarit-R 2,8/135 · Elmarit-R 1:2.8/135mm · Elmarit R 135mm f2.8 · Elmarit R 135mm f/2.8 · Elmarit R 135 f2.8 · Leica R 135mm f2.8 Elmarit · 135mm f2.8 Elmarit-R · Leica Elmarit 135mm 2.8 Leicaflex · Leica R Elmarit 135mm 2.8 · Elmarit-R 11111 · エルマリートR 135mm F2.8

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
1-cam (11111) Leica R, 1-cam (Leicaflex; stop-down on the SL and SL2; R bodies only once the R-cam is added) 1964–1968 — —
2-cam (11211, Series VII) Leica R, 2-cam (Leicaflex, SL and SL2 at full aperture; R bodies only once the R-cam is added) 1968–1976 — —
1-cam lens given a second cam by Leitz Leica R, 2-cam (as the 2-cam lens) — — —
Series VII lens given the R-cam by Leitz (3-cam) Leica R, 3-cam after conversion (every Leicaflex and R body) — — —
Converted by Leitz to the E55 thread Leica R (cams as originally made or converted) — — —
  1. Specification: Leitz's 1975 General Catalogue gives 18°, five elements, Series 7, A 65 mm, f/22, 1.5 m and a smallest field of 220 × 330 mm for the Series VII 11211; Kamerastore, Cinelenswiki and English Wikipedia give five elements in four groups. No Leitz document consulted gives the weight of the Series VII lens. Apotelyt and Cinelenswiki give 655 g, Kamerastore 638 g, English Wikipedia 730 g (the figure Leitz gives for the E55 lens), and owners on MFlenses report 648 g and, quoting photoethnography.com, 660 g against 730 g for the E55 lens. Length: 91 mm (Apotelyt, Cinelenswiki, English Wikipedia); diameter 65 mm (Apotelyt) or 67 mm (English Wikipedia); Kamerastore's 93 × 67 mm is the figure it also gives for the E55 lens.
  2. Eight diaphragm blades are reported by Kamerastore and Cinelenswiki, not by a Leitz document.
  3. Dates: 1964 for the Leicaflex launch (Kamerastore, English Wikipedia, Cinelenswiki); English Wikipedia gives 11111 1964–1968, and Rolf on MFlenses 1964–1968 for the 11111. The end is Leitz's E55 break at 2,772,619, which Erwin Puts's table, as quoted on MFlenses, puts in 1976 and an MFlenses member dates to late 1976.
  4. Optics: Kamerastore says Leica made two versions, the first with a concave rear element and the second with a convex one, in the same body with small differences in engraving. Erwin Puts, as quoted on MFlenses from his Lens Compendium, lists an Elmarit-R (1) of 1964 and an Elmarit-R (2) of 1968, writes that the R lens of 1964 had almost the same prescription as the first M lens of 1963, with thinner front elements and different glass, and that the last redesign came first in the R; he does not say when that redesign arrived. On MFlenses in 2011 the members who looked inside disagreed on when that redesign arrived: one put it around 1970, between serials 2,363,985 and 2,468,270, in lenses made by Leitz Canada, before the E55 change; another put it at 2,772,619 with the E55 thread. Kamerastore's 3-cam type II listing says the filter mount changed at serial 2,771,419. This page follows Leitz's own dividing line, the filter thread, so a late Series VII lens may already have the second design.
  5. Factory: Flashback Camera's 1964 lens is marked as made in Germany, and the MFlenses member who studied the pictures found every first-design lens he saw made in Wetzlar. Kamerastore says the type I was made in both Germany and Canada; Apotelyt's catalogue lists it as Leitz Canada. No Leitz document consulted says which factory made which lenses.
  6. No factory 3-cam Series VII lens and no R-only or ROM version of the first design was found. Leica's Handbook 2000/2001 lists the 11211 as convertible to ROM without giving a serial limit; whether that covers Series VII lenses was not confirmed. A ROM conversion removes the Leicaflex cams, so such a lens would fit only R bodies from the R3.
  7. Close-up: the 1966 US catalogue and the 1967 Leicaflex booklet give the ELPRO VIIa (16533) and VIIb (16534) for this lens, and Leitz's 1975 catalogue the Focusing Bellows-R and extension rings. Leitz's 1982 and 1989 handbooks describe the Extender-R 2x (11236) as suitable for 50 mm and longer, and a version, 11237, was sold for the Leicaflex SL and SL2; neither handbook names this lens.
  8. Market prices seen in November 2026, all dealer prices for used lenses, not list prices, as shown before any duties or taxes Kamerastore calculates at checkout: Kamerastore CHF 274 (1-cam, T84664, certified), CHF 288 (1-cam, T139901, certified) and CHF 115 (1-cam, T131889, a "rescue" lens needing repair), and a certified-condition reference price of €279 (CHF 269) for the 2-cam 11211, against €429 for its 3-cam type II.
  9. The editor's numbering: version I is the Series VII lens of 1964–76 in its 1-cam 11111 and 2-cam 11211 forms (this page); version II the E55 11211 from No. 2,772,619 (its own page).
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • Series VII drop-in filters behind retaining ring 14161, screwed into an internal M 54 × 0.75 thread: Leitz's tables give the 11211 this front up to No. 2,772,618 and E55 from No. 2,772,619
  • Built-on telescopic hood that slides forward, black anodised barrel, 135mm Elmarit-R engraving, about 91 mm long and 65 mm across (Apotelyt; English Wikipedia gives 67 × 91 mm; Leitz's 1975 catalogue gives an external mount diameter of A 65)
  • Count the cams at the back of the mount: one sloped cam is the 11111, two the 11211; a stepped third cam or a strip of contacts is a later Leitz conversion on a lens of this age
  • Not the Elmarit-M 135mm f/2.8, the rangefinder lens with spectacles (goggles) on top for the M finder; not the later Elmarit-R 135mm with E55, serial from 2,772,619

1-cam (11111):

  • Seen from the back, a single sloped cam on the mount: no second sloped cam and no stepped R-cam
  • Order number 11111 (Leitz's US catalogue of 1966; Kamerastore's 1-cam listings)
  • Series VII retaining ring 14161 in the front, built-on telescopic hood

2-cam (11211, Series VII):

  • Two sloped cams at the back of the mount and no stepped R-cam
  • Order number 11211, the same number Leitz kept for the later E55 lens; a serial number up to 2,772,618 and the Series VII retaining ring 14161 in the front

1-cam lens given a second cam by Leitz:

  • Two sloped cams on a lens whose serial number dates from before the SL of 1968, for instance in the 2,040,000s
  • May carry the early red feet scale (Flashback Camera's example)

Series VII lens given the R-cam by Leitz (3-cam):

  • The stepped R-cam beside the sloped cams, on a lens numbered 2,772,618 or lower with the Series VII front

Converted by Leitz to the E55 thread:

  • An E55 thread in the front of a lens numbered 2,772,618 or lower: the serial, not the filter thread, makes it a first version

Serial-range notes

up to 2772618
The last Series VII lens in Leitz's own tables: the 1978 catalogue gives the 11211 "up to No. 2.772.618" with the M 54 × 0.75 thread and higher numbers with E55, and the 1981, 1989 and 2000/2001 handbooks repeat the break. Kamerastore puts the change at 2,771,419 instead; neither figure is explained by the other.
2,040,000s
Flashback Camera's 1964 lens with a red feet scale and a second cam added by Leitz.
2363985
A Series VII lens of 1969, made in Wetzlar, that its owner (BRunner on MFlenses) opened and cleaned. He weighed it at 648 g without caps and first took it for the later optical design, then agreed with another member that it had the older one.
2468270
A lens of 1971, posted on MFlenses by Keysersoze27 with its original matching box and a 1972 invoice; he read the older optical design from the pictures, while BRunner later placed the change to the second design between his own 2,363,985 and this number.
the seven-digit number on the front ring
Leitz numbered every lens from one shared sequence, reserved in blocks, so a number dates a lens only roughly against the general year list. The model's own block list is the safer guide.

Specifications

Formula
Telephoto, five elements in four components
Construction
5 elements / 4 groups
Aperture range
f/2.8–f/22
Diaphragm blades
8
Min. focus
1.5 m
Dimensions
65 × 91 mm
Weight
655 g
Filter
Series VII drop-in, held by retaining ring 14161 in an internal M 54 × 0.75 thread
Years manufactured
1964–1976
Country
Germany (Leitz Wetzlar); Kamerastore says Germany and Canada, Apotelyt lists it as Leitz Canada
Material
Black anodised metal barrel with built-on telescopic hood
Original price
US$264.00 (E. Leitz, Inc. New York retail list, Catalog No. 39, prices effective 1 February 1966; 1-cam 11111 with Series VII retaining ring, built-in hood and cap; before any sales tax) (today $2,560)

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 first Elmarit-R 135mm f/2.8 was the longest of the four lenses Leitz launched with the Leicaflex in 1964, alongside the 35mm and 90mm Elmarit-R and the 50mm Summicron-R. Erwin Puts writes that the first Leicaflex had only those four focal lengths on purpose. Leitz’s US catalogue of February 1966 lists it as 11.111 at $264.00 retail, with a Series VII retaining ring, a telescopic hood built into the barrel and a lens cap. That put it above the 90mm Elmarit-R at $228 and well above the $165 Summicron-R. It is a five-element telephoto, five elements in four groups by most accounts, stopping down to f/22 and focusing to 1.5 m. Its automatic diaphragm stays open until the shutter fires. Puts, as quoted by owners on the MFlenses forum, says its prescription was almost that of the first 135mm Elmarit for the M of 1963, with thinner front elements and different glass. The rangefinder lens, with its finder spectacles, has its own page here.

This page covers every lens made with the Series VII front, which Leitz itself treats as one lens. Its tables give the 11211 an internal M 54 × 0.75 thread for Series VII filters up to serial 2,772,618, and E55 from 2,772,619, a lens of 1976 by Erwin Puts’s dating as quoted on MFlenses. Within that run the lens changed its cams. The 1-cam 11111 was made for the original Leicaflex. When the SL arrived in 1968 with full-aperture metering, the lens gained a second sloped cam and the order number 11211, which Leitz kept for the later E55 lens as well. Leitz also added the second cam to older lenses: Flashback Camera offered a 1964 lens, its feet scale engraved in red, that had been upgraded this way. Whether the optics changed inside the Series VII run is not settled. Kamerastore says the first version has a concave rear element and the second a convex one. On MFlenses the owners who opened their lenses could not agree whether the new design came in around 1970, in lenses from Leitz Canada, or only with the E55 thread. A late Series VII lens may therefore already have the second design, and only opening it will tell.

The cams decide which bodies the lens is for. On the original Leicaflex, which reads the first cam, both versions work fully. On the SL and SL2 the 2-cam lens meters at full aperture and the 1-cam lens only stopped down. On the R bodies neither has the stepped R-cam that the R3 and every later body read. The body pages here set out the disagreement: English Wikipedia says such lenses mount and meter stopped down, while Leica’s instructions for the R-E, R6 and R9 say not to mount them without the R-cam, to avoid damaging the camera. Leitz offered to fit the third cam from the R3 onwards and said converted lenses still work on every Leicaflex. With it, the old lens meters at full aperture on any R body. Leitz also offered to convert these lenses to the E55 thread, so an E55 front does not make a lens the second version; the serial does.

When buying, turn the lens over first. One sloped cam, two, or a stepped third cam tells you which bodies it suits and whether Leitz has worked on it. Then read the number against 2,772,618. A Series VII lens needs the 14161 retaining ring to hold filters or an ELPRO, and the ring is often missing. Check that the built-in hood slides out and stays put, and look for dents in it; Flashback’s example had one. One of Kamerastore’s 1-cam lenses had coating damage, internal scratches and a slow, oily diaphragm, faults worth looking for in any lens this old. Used, the first version costs less than the E55 lens that followed it (Kamerastore’s reference prices are €279 for the 2-cam type I and €429 for the 3-cam type II), and on a Leicaflex or SL it was the 135mm Leitz designed for those cameras.

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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

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Sample photo wanted — shot with a Elmarit-R 135mm f/2.8 (I)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $220 across 6 fixed-price listings on 2026-11-09 (middle half $210–$250). 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: Elmarit-R 135mm f/2.8 (II) · Elmarit-R 90mm f/2.8 (I) · Elmarit-R 180mm f/2.8 (I) · Elmarit-M 135mm f/2.8 (v1, with spectacles)

Sources (16)

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.