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

Elmarit-R 24mm f/2.8

Leica · Leica R · 1974

Also known as: Elmarit-R 24mm f/2.8 · Elmarit-R 24mm f2.8 · Elmarit-R 24mm f2,8 · Elmarit-R 24mm · Elmarit-R 2.8/24 · Elmarit-R 2,8/24 · Elmarit-R 2.8/24mm · Elmarit-R 2,8/24mm · Elmarit-R 1:2.8/24 · Elmarit-R 1:2,8/24 · Elmarit R 24mm f2.8 · Elmarit R 24mm f/2.8 · Elmarit R 24mm · Elmarit R 2.8/24 · Elmarit R 2,8/24 · 24mm f2.8 Elmarit-R · 24mm f/2.8 Elmarit-R · 24mm Elmarit-R · 24mm f2.8 Elmarit R · Leica R 24mm f2.8 Elmarit · Leica R 24mm f/2.8 Elmarit · Leica R 24mm Elmarit · Leica 24mm f2.8 Elmarit R · Leitz 24mm Elmarit R · Leica 24mm f2.8 R ROM · Leica 24mm f/2.8 R 3-cam · Leica 11221 · Leica 11257 · Leica 11331 · Elmarit-R 11221 · Elmarit-R 11331 · エルマリートR 24mm F2.8 · ライカ エルマリートR 24mm F2.8 · ELMARIT-R 24mm F2.8

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Sloped Leicaflex cams plus R-cam (11221) Leica R, 3-cam (Leicaflex SL2 and every R body; Leitz excludes the Leicaflex and SL) 1974 below 3428941 —
R-cam only (from No. 3,428,941; probably order number 11257) Leica R, R-cam only (R bodies; SL2 only after Leica service fits the cams) 1989 3428941 onward —
ROM from the factory (11331) Leica R, ROM (R3 and later; not the Leicaflex bodies) 1996 — —
Earlier lens converted to ROM by Leica service Leica R, ROM (R3 and later; not the Leicaflex bodies) — — —
  1. Specification from Leitz and Leica documents: the General Catalogue of 15 Sept 1978, the Handbook of Dec 1989 and the Handbook 2000/2001. They agree on 84°, nine elements in seven components, floating elements, Series 8 in the hood with an internal M 60 × 0.75 thread, f/22, 0.30 m and 67 mm. Length is 46 mm in 1978 and 48.5 mm in 1989 and 2000/2001; the lens cap is 70 mm (14184) in 1978 and 63.7 mm (14290) later. Weight is 0.420 kg in 1978 and 1989 and 0.400 kg in 2000/2001. Kamerastore weighs 406 g, and shige-art prints 560 g. Puts gives the horizontal angle as 74°, against Leitz's 84° diagonal.
  2. Six diaphragm blades are reported by Kamerastore, Cinelenswiki and shige-art, not by a Leitz document.
  3. Dates: Puts writes that Leitz made the lens available in 1974, and Kamerastore and shige-art give 1974 too. The end is given as 2005 by shige-art, 2006 by Cinelenswiki and 2009 by English Wikipedia; no Leica document consulted dates the last lens, so no end year is given. Cinelenswiki splits the run into 1974–1990 without ROM, 1990–1996 ROM-capable and 1996–2006 with ROM. English Wikipedia's list of codes adds 11333-ROM, which Leica's 2000/2001 handbook gives to the 28mm Elmarit-R.
  4. Production: shige-art gives 20,200 in its table ('approximately 20,000' in its text) and points to the Leica Wiki for it. shige-art also notes minor cosmetic changes over the run, such as the typography of the engravings, without dating them.
  5. Origin: Puts says the lens was adopted from a Minolta design and packaged in a Leitz mount, with glass from Minolta and other manufacturers; when Minolta later stopped producing it, Leitz had to adapt the design to other glass types. He adds that it had no major design change. camera-wiki says the glass elements were made by Minolta. shige-art finds the construction very close to Minolta's MC W.Rokkor 24mm f/2.8 and, from the Germany engraving on his own lens, takes the assembly to be Leitz's. When the glass changed, and whether it shows on the lens, is not recorded, so it is not a variant here.
  6. 2-cam: the stepped R-cam arrived with the R3 of 1976, two years after the lens, so the first 11221s were presumably made with the two sloped cams only and given the third later or not at all. Flashback Camera calls its 1974 lens originally 2-cam. No unconverted 2-cam example is recorded, and Leitz's 1978 catalogue does not say, so it is not a variant here.
  7. Body fit: Leitz restricts the lens to the Leicaflex SL2 and the R bodies (1978: 'only for the LEICAFLEX SL 2 and LEICA R 3/R 3 MOT'; 1989: 'for LEICA R models (all modes), LEICAFLEX SL 2 models'). The site's Leicaflex and Leicaflex SL pages record Apotelyt and Doug Herr listing the 24mm among the lenses whose rear can foul those bodies' mirror. The SL2's mirror was redesigned for the new short wide-angles (English Wikipedia), and camera-wiki names the 24mm among them. This page therefore lists the SL2 and the R bodies only.
  8. Market prices seen in November 2026, all dealer asking prices for used lenses, not list prices: Kamerastore €639 and €377 (a 'Rescue' lens with haze and fungus) for 3-cam 11221s, €1,399 for a ROM 11331. Apotelyt gives a used range of US$300–600, from eBay. No period list price in DM or dollars is recorded here.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • Black barrel, short and wide (48.5 mm from the flange, 67 mm across), with no filter thread you can see: Series 8 filters sit in the bayonet hood 12523, which locks on a pin at the front, or E60 filters go into the internal M 60 × 0.75 thread
  • The cam generation is read at the back of the mount: sloped cams plus a stepped cam (3-cam), stepped cam alone (R-only), or stepped cam with gold contacts (ROM)
  • Not the Elmarit-M 24mm f/2.8 ASPH, the rangefinder lens of 1996, which has a screw-in E55 thread and an M bayonet; not the 19mm or 28mm Elmarit-R, nor the Vario-Elmar-R 21–35mm that took over the focal length

Sloped Leicaflex cams plus R-cam (11221):

  • Seen from the back, two sloped cams on the mount ring beside the stepped R-cam, and no row of gold contacts
  • A serial number below 3,428,941, the first number from which Leica's 1989 handbook says the lens no longer fits the Leicaflex bodies
  • Order number 11221 on the box; Kamerastore sells these as 'Leica 24mm f2.8 Elmarit-R (3-Cam) (11221)'

R-cam only (from No. 3,428,941; probably order number 11257):

  • Seen from the back, only the stepped R-cam on the mount ring, no sloped Leicaflex cams and no gold contacts
  • A serial number from 3,428,941 on
  • Order number 11257, which Leica's 2000/2001 handbook lists as a third Elmarit-R 24 alongside 11221 and 11331

ROM from the factory (11331):

  • A row of gold ROM contacts at the back of the mount beside the stepped R-cam; no sloped cams
  • Order number 11331

Earlier lens converted to ROM by Leica service:

  • ROM contacts on a lens whose serial number is older than the R8 of 1996, for instance a 2,7xx,xxx number of 1974
  • The serial dates the lens, not the conversion

Serial-range notes

3428941
The break given in Leica's Dec 1989 handbook: from this number the 24mm Elmarit-R fits the R models but no longer the Leicaflex models, and Leica service can equip it for the SL2 only. A lower number may still have been converted since, so look at the mount.
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 against the general year list. Flashback Camera dates a 2,71x,xxx lens to 1974 and a 3,83x,xxx lens to 1998.

Specifications

Formula
Retrofocus wide-angle with floating elements, nine elements in seven components (Minolta design)
Construction
9 elements / 7 groups
Aperture range
f/2.8–f/22
Diaphragm blades
6
Min. focus
0.3 m
Dimensions
67 × 48.5 mm
Weight
420 g
Filter
60 mm (0.75 mm pitch), Series 8, held by the lens hood 12523; internal thread M 60 × 0.75 (Leitz 1978, 1989, 2000/2001)
Years manufactured
1974
Country
Germany on the barrel of the lens shige-art owns; glass from Minolta and other makers (Puts)
Material
Black-finished metal barrel (Leitz 1978, 1989); 'black anodized' in the 2000/2001 handbook

What reviewers say

History

The Elmarit-R 24mm f/2.8 is the lens that gave the Leica reflex its 24mm, and for most of its thirty-odd years it was the only one. Leitz brought it out in 1974, a year before its own Elmarit-R 19mm, as one of the fruits of its co-operation with Minolta. Erwin Puts writes that it was adopted from a Minolta design and packaged in a Leitz mount, with glass from Minolta and other manufacturers. shige-art finds its nine elements in seven groups very close to Minolta’s own MC W.Rokkor 24mm f/2.8. When Minolta later stopped producing the lens, Puts says, Leitz had to adapt the design to glass types from other suppliers, but there was no major redesign, and the specification in Leica’s catalogues of 1978, 1989 and 2000 hardly changes. The front section floats, moving separately from the rear as the lens focuses, which Leitz’s 1978 catalogue says gives optimum correction in the close-up range; it focuses to 0.3 m.

It belongs to the SL2 and the R bodies, not to the first two Leicaflexes. Leitz’s 1978 catalogue heads its page “only for the LEICAFLEX SL 2 and LEICA R 3”, and the 1989 handbook “for LEICA R models (all modes), LEICAFLEX SL 2 models”. The SL2’s mirror was redesigned so that the new short wide-angles could be mounted (English Wikipedia; camera-wiki names the 24mm among them), and Apotelyt and Doug Herr both list the 24mm among the lenses whose rear can foul the mirror of the original Leicaflex and the SL. Kamerastore’s listings call a 3-cam 24mm compatible with all Leicaflex and R cameras; Leitz’s restriction is followed here.

The versions differ only at the back of the mount. The first lenses, order number 11221, have the sloped Leicaflex cams and, from the R3 of 1976, the stepped R-cam as well. Flashback Camera calls its 1974 example originally 2-cam, which fits a lens two years older than the R-cam, though no unconverted 2-cam lens is recorded. Leica’s 1989 handbook says that from serial 3,428,941 the lens fits only the R bodies and can be refitted for the SL2 alone. The 2000/2001 handbook names three order numbers, 11221 and 11257, which could be given ROM contacts, and 11331, made with them. By then 11331, in a soft leather case, was the only one in the catalogue. Leica service converted older lenses as well, so a ROM 24mm with a 1974 serial is not a contradiction: the serial dates the glass, not the contacts. Once a lens has ROM contacts, it fits only R bodies.

Puts, writing in 2003, called the lens fully competitive with those of other makers but said it showed its age. At full aperture the centre is excellent and the outer zones a little soft. From f/5.6 to f/11 contrast and coverage are even, and the two stops of corner vignetting wide open are gone by f/5.6. Flare is hardly visible. On a modern full-frame sensor shige-art sees the distortion, untidy edges and colour fringing more plainly than on film, and finds the lens at its best on film and APS-C. Its job on the R system passed, shige-art notes, to the Vario-Elmar-R 21–35mm ASPH of 2002.

When buying, look at the back of the mount for the cams and contacts, and check that they match the body you mean to use. The hood, 12523, is part of the filter system: Series 8 filters sit inside it, so a lens without one can take filters only in the E60 internal thread. Cinelenswiki puts a full service at five to six hours and warns that the lens is hard to get right and keep right because its small internal parts are difficult to reach and secure. In November 2026 Kamerastore asked €639 for a 3-cam lens in good order and €377 for one with haze and fungus, and €1,399 for a factory ROM lens. These are asking prices for used lenses. No period list price is recorded.

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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 24mm f/2.8? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $1,300 across 30 fixed-price listings on 2026-11-09 (middle half $870–$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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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: Elmarit-R 19mm f/2.8 (I) · Elmarit-R 19mm f/2.8 (II) · Elmarit-R 28mm f/2.8 (I) · Elmarit-R 28mm f/2.8 (II) · Vario-Elmar-R 21-35mm f/3.5-4 ASPH. · Fisheye-Elmarit-R 16mm f/2.8 · Super-Angulon-R 21mm f/4

Sources (13)

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.