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

Summicron-R 90mm f/2

Leica · Leica R · 1970 · Five elements in four components

Also known as: Summicron-R 90mm f/2 · Summicron-R 90mm f2 · Summicron-R 90mm f2.0 · Summicron-R 90mm F/2.0 · Summicron-R 90 mm f/2 · Summicron R 90mm f2 · Summicron R 90mm f/2 · Summicron-R 90mm · Summicron R 90mm · Summicron-R 90 · Summicron R 90 · Summicron-R 2/90 · Summicron-R 2/90mm · Summicron-R 2,0/90 · Summicron-R 1:2/90 · Summicron-R 1:2/90mm · Summicron R 2/90 · Leica R 90mm f2 Summicron · Leica R 90mm f/2 Summicron · Leica 90mm f2 Summicron-R · Leica 90mm f/2 Summicron-R · 90mm f2 Summicron-R · 90mm f/2 Summicron-R · Leitz Summicron-R 90mm f2 · Leitz Canada Summicron-R 90mm · Leica 11219 · Leica 11254 · Summicron-R 11219 · Summicron-R 11254 · ズミクロンR 90mm F2 · ライカ ズミクロンR 90mm F2 · ズミクロン-R 90mm F2

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Series VII front, normally 2-cam (11219, up to No. 2,770,950) Leica R, normally 2-cam (full function on the Leicaflex, SL and SL2) 1970–1976 up to 2770950 (Leitz catalogues, 1978–1989)
2.71 million range, 1974 (Flashback Camera 024353) 		—
E55 front, 3-cam (11219, Nos. 2,770,951 to 3,381,676) Leica R, 3-cam (fits every Leicaflex and R body) 1976–1985 2770951–3381676 (Leitz catalogues, 1978–1989)
2811604 (Kamerastore T144242)
printed as 28123940, 1977 (Leitz Auction 9, lot 249)
3131625, 1981 (Leitz Auction 7, lot 213) 		—
R-only (11254, from No. 3,381,677) Leica R, R-only (R3 to R9; does not fit the Leicaflex models unless cams are fitted) — from 3381677 (Leica Handbook, Dec 1989)
3427295, 1987 (Leitz Auction 28, lot 190)
3607909 (Leica Classic, Leica Store Porto) 		—
Earlier or later lens converted by Leitz/Leica service Leica R, cams or filter thread changed after sale — — —
  1. Specification from Leitz's General Catalogue of 15 September 1978 and Handbook of July 1982: 'fast reportage lens', 27°, 5 elements in 4 components, fully automatic preset diaphragm with half-stop clicks, f/16, 0.7 m, smallest field 140 × 210 mm (about 1:6), non-rotating focusing mount, built-on extensible hood, lens cap 70 mm, 62.5 mm from the flange, 70 mm across, 0.560 kg. The December 1989 handbook gives the 11254 as 61 mm long and 69 mm across with a 67 mm cap and the same weight. Apotelyt's R catalogue gives 70 × 63 mm and 560 g; Kamerastore the same, and eight diaphragm blades, a figure not found in a Leitz document, so no blade count is given above.
  2. Dates: 1970 is Erwin Puts's year, in a column Leica published in August 2003 ('Das erste Summicron-R 1:2/90 mm wurde in 1970 eingeführt'). English Wikipedia's R-lens table and Flashback Camera give 1969. No end date is given above. Puts says the lens carried the 90mm f/2 flag in the R system for almost thirty years; English Wikipedia dates the 11254 to 1987–2009, but Leica's Handbook 2000/2001 no longer lists any 90mm Summicron-R in its current range, only in its ROM table, and the APO-Summicron-R took over the focal length in 2002. The latest serial found is a 1992 number.
  3. English Wikipedia's table gives the Series VII 11219 as 1969–1987 and the E55 11254 as 1987–2009. Leitz's own catalogues contradict both splits: the E55 lens was already sold as 11219 in 1978 and 1982, and 11254 first appears in the December 1989 handbook as the R-only lens. Leitz's catalogues are followed here.
  4. Design and factory: Puts calls it a five-element design from the computing office in Midland, close to the Sonnar type, with most of its elements ahead of the stop. Flashback Camera states that its 1974 lens was made by Leitz Canada, and Kamerastore's model text calls the lens 'Leitz Canada 90mm f2 Summicron-R'. No Wetzlar-made or 'Leica'-engraved example is documented, so no factory variants are given, and the engraving of the late 11254 lenses is not documented.
  5. Hood: Leitz calls it 'built-on, extensible' (1978, 1982) and 'built-on, telescopic' (1989); the catalogues describe no change in its construction.
  6. Body fit, from the body pages here: 2-cam and 3-cam lenses meter at full aperture on the SL and SL2 and work on the original Leicaflex through the first cam; on the R bodies only lenses with the R-cam meter at full aperture, and the Leica R6 and R9 instructions cited on those pages say lenses without it must not be mounted until it has been fitted, while English Wikipedia's bayonet table, cited on the R3 page, has 2-cam lenses mounting on the R bodies and metering stopped down. The R-only 11254 fits the R3 to R9 and no Leicaflex until a Leica workshop has added the cams. Because ROM conversion was not possible, every version works on the R8 and R9 without lens data.
  7. Extender: Leica's December 1989 handbook gives the Extender-R 2x (11236) as suitable for focal lengths of 50 mm and longer, and its bag tables list the 2/90 with Extender R as a combination.
  8. Market prices seen in November 2026, none of them list prices: Kamerastore offered no. 2,811,604 (3-cam, 11219) at €569, a dealer price for a used item with no VAT charged; Leica Store Porto offers no. 3,607,909 (11254) at €1,300 on Leica Classic, a dealer price including VAT under the margin scheme; Leitz Auction sold a 3-cam lens of 1977 (no. printed 28123940) for a hammer price of €384 under the margin scheme and no. 3,427,295 (11254, 1987) for €780, with VAT added for EU buyers, both figures including buyer's premium, and its no. 3,131,625 (1981) went unsold at an estimate of €600–700. Apotelyt's R catalogue gives a used range of US$1,000–2,000. No period list price in DM or dollars was found.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • The only 90mm f/2 for the R bayonet before the APO-Summicron-R ASPH. of 2002 (11350, E60, gold ROM contacts), which has its own page
  • Short and wide beside the 90mm Elmarit-R: 62.5 mm from the flange and 70 mm across, 0.56 kg, f/16 smallest aperture where the Elmarit stops at f/22
  • Count the cams at the back of the mount: normally two on the Series VII lens, three on the E55 11219, the R-cam alone on the 11254; no version has ROM contacts
  • Not the rangefinder Summicron 90mm f/2 (M or screw mount), a different optical design that shares only the name

Series VII front, normally 2-cam (11219, up to No. 2,770,950):

  • Seen from the back: two sloped cams and no stepped R-cam
  • A retaining ring inside the front for Series VII filters, and a lens cap 14144; serial 2,770,950 or below
  • Takes the ELPRO VIIa (16533) close-up lens (1978 catalogue); the December 1989 handbook allows the ELPRO 3 on it only after conversion to E55

E55 front, 3-cam (11219, Nos. 2,770,951 to 3,381,676):

  • Seen from the back: two sloped Leicaflex cams plus the stepped R-cam, and no gold ROM contacts
  • An E55 thread inside the front of the hood barrel, 70 mm across, and a serial above 2,770,950 and below 3,381,677
  • Still order number 11219: the code did not change with the filter thread

R-only (11254, from No. 3,381,677):

  • Seen from the back: the stepped R-cam only, with no sloped Leicaflex cams and no ROM contacts
  • Serial 3,381,677 or above; order number 11254 on the box
  • Slightly slimmer front: Leica gives 69 mm across, 61 mm long and a 67 mm lens cap, against 70 mm, 62.5 mm and a 70 mm cap for the 11219

Earlier or later lens converted by Leitz/Leica service:

  • An E55 front on a serial of 2,770,950 or below: a Series VII lens converted by Leitz. Three cams on such a serial may be a cam conversion or a late factory lens, since no source dates the first factory R-cam by serial
  • Sloped Leicaflex cams on a lens numbered 3,381,677 or above: an R-only lens fitted with cams for the Leicaflex
  • The serial dates the lens, not the conversion

Serial-range notes

up to 2770950 / from 2770951
Series VII on an M 54 × 0.75 retaining thread up to No. 2,770,950, E55 from 2,770,951, in Leitz's catalogue of 1978 and handbooks of 1982 and 1989. On Leitz's general year list 2,770,950 falls in the 1976 band, 2,761,101–2,809,400.
up to 3381676 / from 3381677
The R-only break in Leica's December 1989 handbook. On the general year list 3,381,677 falls at the end of the 1985 band, 3,346,201–3,383,200.
2.71 million range
Flashback Camera's 2-cam Series VII lens, dated 1974 by the dealer, inside the 1974 band 2,663,401–2,731,900.
2811604, 28123940 (as printed)
Two 3-cam E55 lenses: Kamerastore's 2,811,604 is in the 1977 band (2,809,401–2,880,600), and Leitz Auction dates its lens, whose number it prints with eight digits, to 1977.
3607909
An 11254 at Leica Store Porto, in the 1992 band (3,585,831–3,610,680): the latest number found, which suggests the lens was still being made in the 1990s.
the seven-digit number on the front ring
Leitz lens numbers run in one sequence across all lenses, dated by year on the general list, so a number dates a lens only roughly, and it dates the lens, never a later cam or filter conversion.

Specifications

Formula
Five elements in four components
Construction
5 elements / 4 groups
Aperture range
f/2–f/16
Min. focus
0.7 m
Dimensions
70 × 62.5 mm
Weight
560 g
Filter
Series VII in retaining ring 14161 (internal thread M 54 × 0.75) (Series VII front, normally 2-cam (11219, up to No. 2,770,950)) · E55 screw-in (internal thread M 55 × 0.75); Series VII through adapter 14225 (E55 front, 3-cam (11219, Nos. 2,770,951 to 3,381,676)) · 55 mm (0.75 mm pitch) (R-only (11254, from No. 3,381,677), Earlier or later lens converted by Leitz/Leica service)
Years manufactured
1970
Country
Canada (computed in Midland, per Erwin Puts; Leitz Canada manufacture, per Flashback Camera)
Material
Black finished metal barrel with a built-on, extensible lens hood

What reviewers say

History

The Summicron-R 90mm f/2 was the fast 90 of the Leica reflex system from the Leicaflex SL years until the APO-Summicron-R ASPH. replaced it in 2002. Erwin Puts, writing for Leica, dates it to 1970; English Wikipedia and Flashback Camera say 1969. Puts describes a five-element design from the computing office at Leitz Canada in Midland, related to the Sonnar, with most of the glass ahead of the stop. It is a different lens from the rangefinder Summicron 90mm f/2 of the same name. Leitz’s catalogues of 1978 and 1982 give it five elements in four components, a 27° field, f/16, a closest distance of 0.7 m (about 1:6), a non-rotating focusing mount and a built-on extensible hood. It is 62.5 mm long and 70 mm across and weighs 560 g, shorter and wider than the 90mm Elmarit-R f/2.8 sold beside it.

The glass never changed. The mount and the front did. The first lenses, order number 11219, have the two sloped cams of the Leicaflex SL and take Series VII filters in a retaining ring 14161. From serial 2,770,951, a 1976 number, the front has an E55 thread instead, and the E55 lenses seen for sale carry the third, stepped cam of the R3 and later bodies as well; Leitz’s documents date the filter change by serial but not the cam. Leitz kept the code 11219 for this lens, and the 1982 handbook still sells it under that number. From serial 3,381,677, at the end of the 1985 serial band, the lens became an R-only lens, sold by 1989 as order number 11254. It has the R-cam alone, is a millimetre or so slimmer at the front, and does not mount on any Leicaflex. Leitz and Leica also offered to bring lenses up to date: adding the R-cam to an early lens, converting a Series VII front to E55, and fitting Leicaflex cams to an R-only lens. No ROM version was made, and Leica’s 2000/2001 handbook lists ROM conversion as not possible for either code. Every version therefore works on the R8 and R9 without passing lens data to the camera.

On the glass, Puts is frank. He calls it a good lens with the slight softness at full aperture that fast lenses of its generation share, a softness long excused as kind to faces in portraits, which in his view did the lens no favours by narrowing what it was thought good for. He finds the Summilux-R 80mm f/1.4 just as good at twice the speed. He gives the old lens less than 30% contrast at 40 lp/mm, where the APO-Summicron-R that replaced it reaches more than 60%. Flashback Camera found its 1974 lens soft and gentle at full aperture close up and very sharp at a distance.

When buying, read the serial and the cams together. A Series VII lens with two cams is right for any Leicaflex, but it lacks the R-cam, and Leica’s instructions for the R bodies, as the body pages here give them, say such a lens must not be mounted on them until the cam has been fitted. Three cams fit everything from the Leicaflex to the R9. An 11254 fits only the R bodies unless a Leica workshop has added cams. A lens numbered 2,770,950 or below with an E55 front has been through a Leitz workshop, which is a factory service, not a fault; three cams on such a number may be a workshop addition or a late factory lens. Look for haze in the middle elements: Flashback reported a faint haze around the middle element of an otherwise good lens. Check that the hood extends and holds. Leica’s 1989 handbook lists the Extender-R 2x as suitable for lenses of 50 mm and longer, the 90mm Summicron-R among them. The 90mm Elmarit-R in both its versions, the APO-Summicron-R ASPH. and the Summilux-R 80mm have their own pages.

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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 Summicron-R 90mm f/2? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $870 across 37 fixed-price listings on 2026-11-10 (middle half $650–$1,000). First day tracked.

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

Show 67 more listings

Listings updated 2026-11-10. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.

Related: APO-Summicron-R 90mm f/2 ASPH. · Elmarit-R 90mm f/2.8 (I) · Elmarit-R 90mm f/2.8 (II) · Summilux-R 80mm f/1.4 · Elcan-R 75mm f/2 (C-341)

Sources (14)

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.