Elmarit-R 35mm f/2.8 (I)
Leica · Leica R · 1964 · Retrofocus wide-angle, seven elements (group count disputed)
Also known as: Elmarit-R 35mm f/2.8 I · Elmarit-R 35mm f2.8 I · Elmarit-R 35mm f2.8 Type I · Elmarit-R 35mm F2.8 V1 · Elmarit-R 35mm f2.8 1st · Elmarit-R 35mm f2.8 first version · Elmarit-R 35mm f2.8 Series 6 · Elmarit-R 35mm f2.8 Series VI · Elmarit-R 35mm f2.8 Red Scale · Elmarit-R 35mm f/2.8 · Elmarit-R 35mm f2.8 · Elmarit-R 35mm 2.8 · Elmarit R 35mm f2.8 · Elmarit R 35mm f/2.8 · Elmarit-R 35/2.8 · Elmarit-R 2.8/35 · Elmarit-R 1:2.8/35 · Elmarit-R 2,8/35 · Leica R 35mm f2.8 Elmarit · 35mm f2.8 Elmarit-R · 35mm f/2.8 Elmarit-R · Elmarit-R 35 mm f/2.8 · Elmarit-R 11101 · Leica 11101 · ライカ エルマリートR 35mm F2.8 初代
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-series, chrome (1972001–1972100) | Leica R, 1-cam as made (every Leicaflex body; stop-down only on the SL and SL2) | 1963–1963 | 1972001–1972100 (Leitz Auction, lot descriptions) | 100 numbers (Leitz Auction) |
| Chrome, 1-cam | Leica R, 1-cam (every Leicaflex body; stop-down only on the SL and SL2) | 1963–1964 | From 1995000 (Leitz Auction: start of regular production); known chrome lenses 1995160, 1995171, 1995184 | About 200 (Kamerastore); no factory figure found |
| Black, 1-cam (11101) | Leica R, 1-cam (every Leicaflex body; stop-down only on the SL and SL2) | 1963–1968 | — | — |
| Black, 2-cam (11101 / 11201) | Leica R, 2-cam (every Leicaflex body at full aperture; on R bodies only once a third cam is fitted, by Leica's rule) | 1968–1973 | Up to 2517850 (Leitz catalogue 1978; Leitz/Leica handbooks 1982, 1989, 2000/2001) | — |
| 3-cam (Leitz retrofit) | Leica R, 3-cam (every Leicaflex and R body) | — | — | — |
| Converted to ROM by Leica service | Leica R, ROM (R3 and later; not the Leicaflex bodies) | — | — | — |
- Construction: Karen Nakamura, Shige and Flashback Camera give seven elements in five groups, and Nakamura says the 1973 recomputation gained a group. Kamerastore and English Wikipedia give seven in six for this version too. Hard to Find's listing also gives seven in five. The Leitz documents cited here do not give the first version's construction, so the group count is left blank.
- Weight and length: Kamerastore and Shige give 310 g and 40 mm; Karen Nakamura gives 400 g and 44 mm, English Wikipedia 400 g and 41 mm. Shige and the second-version page put the second version at 410 g. All give 63 mm across.
- Dates: Shige gives 1963 for the release and the Leitz Auction lenses are dated 1963; Kamerastore and Lager (as quoted) give 1964, with the Leicaflex; Erwin Puts writes that the first Leicaflex lenses came out in 1965. Nakamura and English Wikipedia end the version in 1974, Lager in late 1973.
- Production: Shige, citing the Leica Wiki, gives 31,950 by the end of 1971, against 8,250 for the second version by the end of 1977.
- Order numbers: Leitz's 1978 catalogue and the 1989 and 2000/2001 handbooks give the Series 6 lens as 11101; the July 1982 handbook gives the same lens, up to No. 2517850, as 11201. Lager (as quoted) gives 11101 to the 1-cam lens and 11201 to the 2-cam lens from 1968; Kamerastore sells 2-cam lenses as 11101, and Flashback Camera calls its converted 1964 lens 11201.
- Red scale: Flashback Camera calls lens 2041899, whose feet distances are engraved in red, a 'red scale' and an early type made for the first Leicaflex. Hard to Find's black 1995434, dated 1963, shows the same red feet figures in its listing photos. No source here says whether all early lenses have them or when the colour changed, so it is not a variant here.
- Conversions to other mounts: English Wikipedia says the cams cannot always be removed when an R lens is converted to another mount, and names the early Elmarit-R 35mm f/2.8 as an example.
- Prices: no period list price in DM or dollars was found. Leitz Auction results are hammer prices including buyer's premium; the single lenses were sold under the margin scheme, and the Leicaflex outfit of Auction 46 with VAT added within the EU. Dealer asking prices for black lenses in 2026: Leica Classic Store (Leica Store Madrid) €700 including VAT for an 11101 with hood (A/B), Kamerastore CHF 379 for a Type I 2-cam with duties and taxes added at checkout, and Hard to Find €299 for 1995434.
How to tell them apart
- Round bayonet hood 12564 (14164 in the 1967 Leicaflex booklet), shared with the first Summicron-R 50mm; the second version (from 2517851) takes the rectangular hood 12509 and Series 7, the third (from 2928901) has a built-on hood and E55
- Series 6 filter in a retaining ring, or a screw-in filter in the M 44 × 0.75 internal thread; Shige found that 43.5 mm filters fit
- Serial number below 2517851, the break point in every Leitz accessory table from 1978 to 2001
- Engraved ELMARIT-R 1:2.8/35 LEITZ WETZLAR around the front ring
- The order number does not settle the version: Leitz printed 11101 for this lens in 1978, 1989 and 2000/2001 but 11201 in 1982, and 11201 is also the second version's number
0-series, chrome (1972001–1972100):
- Silver chrome barrel, serial number between 1972001 and 1972100
- One sloped cam at the back of the mount unless Leitz later added a second
Chrome, 1-cam:
- Silver chrome barrel and rings, engraved ELMARIT-R 1:2.8/35 LEITZ WETZLAR
- Serial numbers just above 1995000 on the chrome lenses sold publicly (1995160–1995184); black lenses also occur in that range, such as Hard to Find's 1995434
Black, 1-cam (11101):
- Black barrel with a single sloped cam at the back of the mount
- Flashback Camera's early black lens 2041899 has the feet figures of its distance scale in red, which it calls 'red scale'
Black, 2-cam (11101 / 11201):
- Two sloped cams at the back of the mount and no stepped R-cam, on the Series 6 barrel with the round bayonet hood 12564
- A serial number below 2517851; a 2-cam lens with a number from the 1963–67 bands is a 1-cam lens that Leitz converted
3-cam (Leitz retrofit):
- Two sloped cams plus the stepped R-cam on a Series 6 barrel with hood 12564 and a serial below 2517851
Converted to ROM by Leica service:
- A strip of ROM contacts at the back of the mount, with the sloped Leicaflex cams removed, on the Series 6 barrel
- 0-series, chrome (1972001–1972100): A pre-series batch made before regular production began at No. 1995000, in Leitz Auction's description. Leitz Auction 19 sold lens 1972099, "the 99th Elmarit-R made", 1-cam, with hood 12564 and caps, for €960 including buyer's premium. Leitz Auction 17 offered 1972009, converted to 2-cam, with hood 12564 (estimate €2,000–2,400; unsold). Both numbers fall in the 1963 band of the general Leitz serial list.
- Chrome, 1-cam: Kamerastore says the lens was first sold in a silver barrel, changed quickly to black because light reflected from the silver affected the metering, and that only 200 were made in silver. Shige says chrome lenses turn up used but usually at a high price. Leitz Auction has sold several: 1995171, 1-cam, mint with hood 12564, cap and keeper, for €2,280 (Auction 16), and 1995184, 1-cam, described as pre-series, for €1,200 (Auction 24), both including buyer's premium. A black-paint Leicaflex of the first batch, 1084170, sold for €6,000 including premium, with VAT charged on top within the EU, in Auction 46 with chrome Elmarit-R 1995160, which Leitz Auction says was delivered to Manca, New York, on 13 January 1965.
- Black, 1-cam (11101): The lens as sold with the original Leicaflex. Lager, quoted on DPR Forum, describes the first version, #11101, as a single-cam lens introduced with the Leicaflex in 1964. On the Leicaflex it meters at full aperture; on an SL or SL2 it meters only stopped down, and the SL booklet recommends having the second cam installed by the factory or a Leitz agency. Leitz did so, and many 1-cam lenses on the market now carry more cams: Flashback Camera's 2041899, which it dates to 1964, left Wetzlar with one cam and was converted to 2-cam by Leitz. Black lenses go back to the first production block: Hard to Find sells black 1995434, which it dates to 1963, and which has the same red feet figures; its cams are not described. None of these sources gives the serial number of a black lens that still has its single cam.
- Black, 2-cam (11101 / 11201): Made from the Leicaflex SL of 1968, which needs the second cam to meter at full aperture, until the recomputed second version took over at No. 2,517,851. Lager, as quoted, has it catalogued as #11201 and counts it as a second version, which makes the 1973 recomputation his third; Kamerastore, which sells these as Type I 2-cam, gives 11101. Karen Nakamura's own lens is a 2-cam first version for her Leicaflex SL. Leitz also converted 1-cam lenses, so this variant includes early numbers such as Flashback Camera's 2041899 and the 0-series 1972009. On the R3 to R7 the sources disagree on whether it meters stopped down or needs the third cam first (Kamerastore says 2-cam lenses meter stopped down only on the R bodies and are not recommended on the R8 and R9). Leica's R9 instructions say Leicaflex lenses without the R-cam may not be used on the R9, as they can damage the camera; the R8 has the same mount and contacts.
- 3-cam (Leitz retrofit): Leitz never made the first version with three cams: production ended in 1973, three years before the R3. Its General Catalogue of 1978 offers to fit existing Leicaflex lenses with the extra cam for the R3, after which they "continue to be fully suitable for all LEICAFLEX models", and Lager, as quoted, says many of these lenses went back to Leitz for it. A retrofitted lens meters at full aperture on every Leicaflex and R body; on an R8 or R9 it meters normally but has no ROM contacts. None of these sources gives the serial number of a retrofitted lens.
- Converted to ROM by Leica service: Leica's Handbook 2000/2001 lists the Elmarit-R f/2.8/35 11101 among the lenses for which ROM modification is "possible", with the footnote that any Leicaflex control cams must be removed. A converted lens fits only the R bodies from the R3 on and passes its focal length to an R8 or R9. Leica made no factory ROM version of this lens. None of these sources gives the serial number of a converted lens.
Serial-range notes
- 1972001–1972100
- The chrome 0-series in Leitz Auction's lot descriptions, in the 1963 band (1,967,101–2,015,700) of the general Leitz year list.
- 1995000 onward
- Where Leitz Auction says regular production began. The Hard to Find dealer describes 1995001–1995500 as a first block of 500 made in 1963, and sold 1995434 as one of them. Both fall in the 1963 band.
- 2041899
- Flashback Camera's red-scale lens, which it dates to 1964; the 1964 band is 2,015,701–2,077,500.
- 2517850
- The last first-version number in Leitz's tables (1978, 1982, 1989, 2000/2001) and in Karen Nakamura's. It falls in the 1972 band, 2,503,101–2,556,500. The numbers below it were shared with every other lens Leitz made, so the span is not a production figure.
Specifications
- Formula
- Retrofocus wide-angle, seven elements (group count disputed)
- Construction
- 7 elements
- Aperture range
- f/2.8–f/22
- Diaphragm blades
- 6
- Min. focus
- 0.3 m
- Dimensions
- 63 mm diameter
- Filter
- 44 mm (0.75 mm pitch), Series 6 in its retaining ring (adapter 14160); M 44 × 0.75 internal thread (Leitz 1978–2001)
- Years manufactured
- 1964–1973
- Country
- Germany (engraved Leitz Wetzlar)
- Material
- Black-finished metal barrel; the earliest lenses silver chrome
What reviewers say
- Shige (Shige's hobby) (blog) — On a 12-megapixel Sony α7S II the first Elmarit-R 35 showed no serious breakdown in image quality, though he suspects a higher-resolution sensor would look rougher. He calls it a practical, inexpensive lens, the cheapest of the three Elmarit-R 35s, and advises buying one with the 12564 hood, which is costly on its own. via machine translation — corrections welcome
- Karen Nakamura (Photoethnography) (blog) — Using her own 2-cam first version on a Leicaflex SL, she finds the contrast rather low and the lens quick to flare, so a hood is essential; she says the 1973 recomputation has much higher contrast.
History
The first Elmarit-R 35mm f/2.8 is the wide-angle Leitz launched the Leicaflex with, alongside the 50mm Summicron-R and the 90mm and 135mm Elmarit-R. Sources date it to 1963, 1964 or 1965. Shige gives 1963 for the release, and Leitz Auction dates its pre-series lenses to 1963. Kamerastore and Lager, quoted on DPR Forum, give 1964, the year of the camera. Erwin Puts writes that the first Leicaflex lenses came out in 1965. It is a retrofocus design with seven elements, six aperture blades, half-stop clicks to f/22 and focusing to 0.3 m, in a barrel 63 mm across. The sources split on the groups. Karen Nakamura, Shige and Flashback Camera give five, and Nakamura says the 1973 recomputation added a sixth. Kamerastore and English Wikipedia give six. They also disagree on the weight: 310 g according to Kamerastore and Shige, 400 g according to Nakamura and Wikipedia. Filters go in a Series 6 retaining ring, and the round bayonet hood 12564, called 14164 in the 1967 Leicaflex booklet, is the same hood the first Summicron-R 50 uses. Leitz also gives an M 44 × 0.75 internal thread, and Shige found that 43.5 mm screw-in filters fit.
It was made in larger numbers than the version that followed it: Shige, citing the Leica Wiki, puts production at 31,950 by the end of 1971, against 8,250 for the second version by 1977. Every Leitz accessory table from 1978 to 2001 ends the version at serial number 2,517,850, and the recomputed second version starts at 2,517,851. The first lenses were silver chrome. Leitz Auction describes a chrome 0-series numbered 1972001 to 1972100, of which it has sold one, and has sold chrome lenses from the start of regular production at 1995000; one of them was delivered to New York in January 1965. Kamerastore says the barrel turned black quickly because light reflected from the chrome upset the meter, and that only 200 were made in silver. Chrome lenses now sell for several times the price of black ones. Leitz Auction’s results for chrome lenses run from €960 to €2,280 including buyer’s premium, while dealers asked €299 to €700 in 2026 for black lenses.
What sets the versions apart is the back of the mount. The original lens has one sloped cam, which is all the first Leicaflex reads. From the SL of 1968 the lens was made with a second cam, which the SL and SL2 need to meter at full aperture, and Leitz added that cam to older lenses on request. Flashback Camera’s lens 2041899 of 1964 is one of these conversions. Its distance scale has the feet figures in red, which Flashback calls a “red scale”. Production ended before the R3, so any first-version lens with the stepped R-cam was retrofitted. Leitz’s 1978 catalogue offered that work and said modified lenses remained fully usable on every Leicaflex. Leica’s Handbook 2000/2001 also lists the 11101 as convertible to ROM, which removes the Leicaflex cams. A ROM lens therefore fits only the R3 and later bodies.
When buying, count the cams before you pay. A 1-cam or 2-cam lens fits and meters on the Leicaflex bodies. On the R3 to R7 the sources disagree on whether it meters stopped down or needs the third cam first, and Leica’s R9 instructions say such lenses may not be used on the R9, as they can damage it, and need the R-cam fitted for use on any R body from the R3. Three cams make it a lens for every body. Contacts make it an R-only lens. The order number is no guide: Leitz printed 11101 for this lens in most documents but 11201 in its 1982 handbook, and 11201 is also the second version’s number. Check instead for a serial number below 2,517,851, the Series 6 front and the 12564 hood. A rectangular hood 12509 with Series 7 means the second version, a built-on hood with E55 the third. The hood is worth having with the lens, as Shige notes that it costs a good deal on its own. Nakamura found her copy low in contrast and quick to flare, and says the hood is essential. On a 12-megapixel Sony α7S II Shige saw no serious loss of image quality.
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.
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Live listings
Asking price, USD: a median of $470 across 8 fixed-price listings on 2026-11-09 (middle half $390–$550). First day tracked.
Asking prices from the listings scanned, not sales; junk-flagged rows and auction lots excluded; other currencies are not converted.
- Leitz 11201 / Leica Elmarit-R 2,8/35 Serie VI Weitwinkelobjektiv - 35mm F/2.8
- Leica Leitz Wetzlar Elmarit-R 35mm f2.8 2cam Leica R
- Leica Leitz Wetzlar Elmarit-R 35mm f2.8 1cam Leica R
- [Exc+5] Leica Leitz Wetzlar Elmarit-R 35mm f/2.8 2 Cam Wide Angle MF Lens Japan
- Leica 35mm f2.8 Elmarit-R 1-Cam Black Lens (v.I , Series VI) With Extras
- 【N MINT+++】Leica Elmarit R 35mm f/2.8 2 Cam MF Lens Wide Angle R Mount
- [Almost MINT] Leica Elmarit R 35mm F2.8 2 Cam MF Lens Wide Angle R Mount JAPAN
- [Top MINT] Leica Elmarit R 35mm F2.8 2 Cam MF Lens Wide Angle R Mount FromJAPAN
- LEITZ WETZLAR ELMARIT-R 35mm F2.8 [2-CAM]
- 【N NEUWERTIG+++】Leica Elmarit R 35mm f/2.8 2 Cam MF Objektiv Weitwinkel R Mount
- Leitz Elmarit R 2,8/35mm 2 Cam Red Scale Leica R
- LEICA ELMARIT-R 35mm F2.8 1-Cam 14161 Objektiv mit Original Haube
- LEITZ Leica Elmarit-R 35mm/F2.8 Ver.I V1 Lens Yr.1966 Germany #475
- LEITZ Leica Elmarit-R 35mm/F2.8 Ver.I V1 Lens Yr.1970 Germany #534
- Leica Elmarit-R Objectif 35mm F2.8 Pare-Soleil 12564, 3-Caméra Japon D1023
- Leica Elmarit-R Objectif 35mm f/2,8 Wide Angle 3-CAM 12564 Leica R
Listings updated 2026-11-09. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.