Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 70-180mm f/2.8
Leica · Leica R · 1995
Also known as: Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 70-180mm f/2.8 · Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 70-180mm f2.8 · Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 70-180mm F2.8 · Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 70-180mm · Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 70-180 · Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 2.8/70-180 · Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 2,8/70-180 · Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 2.8/70-180mm · Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 2,8/70-180mm · Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 1:2,8/70-180 · Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 1:2.8/70-180 · Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 1:2,8/70-180mm · Vario-APO-Elmarit-R f/2.8/70-180 · Vario-APO-Elmarit-R f/2.8/70-180mm · Vario APO Elmarit R 70-180 · Vario-APO-Elmarit-R · Vario Apo Elmarit R · Vario-APO-Elmarit · 70-180 f2.8 Vario Apo Elmarit R · 70-180mm f/2.8 Vario-APO-Elmarit-R · 70-180 Vario-APO-Elmarit · Vario Apo Elmarit R 70-180mm · Vario-Apo-Elmarit R 70-180 · APO-Vario-Elmarit-R 70-180mm · APO-Vario-Elmarit-R 70-180 · APO Vario Elmarit R 70-180 · Vario-Elmarit APO 70-180 · Vario-Elmarit-R 70-180 · Vario Elmarit R 70-180 · Elmarit-R 70-180 · Elmarit R 70-180mm · Leica 70-180mm f/2.8 Vario-APO-Elmarit-R · Leica R 70-180mm f/2.8 · Leica R 70-180mm f2.8 · Leica R 70-180mm · Leica R 70-180 · Leica 70-180mm f/2.8 R · Leica 70-180mm f2.8 R · Leica 70-180mm f/2.8 ROM · Leica 70-180 ROM · Leica 70-180mm 2.8 · Leica 11267 · Leica 11279 · ライカ バリオアポエルマリートR 70-180mm · バリオアポエルマリートR 70-180mm · VARIO-APO-ELMARIT-R 70-180mm F/2.8
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prototype (1994) | Leica R | 1994–1994 | 3654710, offered at Leitz Auction 47, lot 270, with a manufacture year of 1994 | One known; Leitz Auction calls it the only prototype of the lens it has seen |
| R-cam only, without ROM (11267) | Leica R, R-cam only (R3 to R9; not the Leicaflex bodies unless modified by Leica) | 1995 | 3697634, a lens Leica's Munich store dates to 1995 and describes as 'only R' | — |
| ROM, without focal-length sensor (11279) | Leica R, ROM (R3 to R9 by Leica's data; not the Leicaflex bodies unless modified by Leica) | 1996 | 3755564, a ROM lens Leica's Wetzlar classic store dates to 1996 3755958, offered by the Leica Store Porto with 11279 in the listing's title; its description belongs to another lens and does not mention the contacts 3780202, a ROM lens the Leica Classic Store Vienna dates to 1997 3841669, a ROM lens the Leica Store London Mayfair dates to 1998 | — |
- Specification from Leica's technical data sheet and the Leica Product Range handbook of 2000: angle of view 34° to 13.7° diagonal (34° to 14° in the handbook), thirteen elements in ten groups with twelve glass types, five of them with anomalous partial dispersion, internal focusing, 1.7 m to infinity at every focal length, smallest field 436 × 655 mm at 70 mm (1:18) and 175 × 263 mm at 180 mm (1:7.3), fully automatic diaphragm with half-stop clicks to f/22, E77 internal filter thread, built-in telescopic rubber-armoured hood, front lens 88 mm, 189.5 mm long from the bayonet flange, 89 mm across, 97.5 mm from the tripod plate to the axis, about 1,870 g. The tripod thread is A 1/4 (DIN 4503).
- Elements: Leitz Auction's lot text for the prototype gives thirteen elements in twelve groups; Leica's own data give thirteen in ten, which is the figure used here.
- Blades: eight, from Shige and from Allphotolenses. No Leica document consulted gives the number.
- Dates. Shige and the Leikon and Allphotolenses pages give 1995 for the introduction, and Leitz Auction's lot text says 'introduced in 1995'. The end of production is not settled: Allphotolenses gives 2006, no Leica document dating the last lens was found, and Leica ended the R system in 2009. The end year is therefore left empty.
- Production. Allphotolenses gives 2,250 lenses, with a link to the Leica Forum's specifications, and Shige's table gives 2,250. The three blocks in the partial Puts list hold 1,500 numbers for 1996–1998 alone. No breakdown between 11267 and 11279 has been found.
- Maker. The lens is a Leica design: Puts calls it the first original Leica zoom, from the department led by Lothar Kölsch, after earlier R zooms that English Wikipedia lists as Minolta designs. No document consulted says in which factory it was built, so the country field is left empty.
- Body fit. Leica's technical data sheet gives the bayonet as for the R3 to the R9, with additional electronic exposure control on the R8 and R9 (the 2000 handbook, written before the R9, says R3 to R8). Neither version has the Leicaflex cams. The 2000 handbook says that 'modification for additional use on LEICAFLEX models is possible' through Leica's customer service; no modified lens has been seen. Unmodified, it does not fit a Leicaflex, Leicaflex SL or SL2: the site's Leicaflex pages record that R-only lenses have an altered mount that will not go on, and Doug Herr's warning that the Leicaflex cam follower can damage ROM contacts. The page is therefore listed against the R3 to R9 only.
- Extenders. Leica's 2000 handbook allows 'unlimited use' of the APO-Extender-R 2x (11269), giving an f/5.6 140-360 mm APO, and its extender table shows no combination with the APO-Extender-R 1.4x for this lens. The pistol stock 14282 fits through the tripod mount.
- Prices. B&H advertised the lens at US$5,295 in Outdoor Photographer in December 2000, a dealer's selling price. Shige saw used lenses from about ¥500,000 in the early 2020s. In November 2026 Leica's own used shops asked €1,750 (Munich, R-only, condition B-), €2,600 (Porto), €2,800 (Wetzlar, boxed), €2,900 (Vienna) and £3,200 (London, boxed): asking prices including VAT (all but Vienna state margin-scheme taxation), not sale results. The prototype was unsold at Leitz Auction 47 against an estimate of €6,000–7,000 and a starting price of €3,000.
- ⁰ The 2000 handbook's table for the Leica TO-R telescope eyepiece includes this lens: 5.6 × 21 at 70 mm to 14.4 × 54.5 at 180 mm.
How to tell them apart
- The only constant-f/2.8 telephoto zoom in the Leica R range (Shige), with a built-in telescopic hood and a built-in rotating tripod mount with click stops for horizontal and vertical pictures (the Vario-Elmar-R 105-280mm f/4.2 also has both)
- Two-ring zoom: from the mount, the aperture ring (2.8 to 22), the tripod-collar locking screw, the zoom ring and, at the front, the focusing ring (Shige); both rings are rubber-armoured (2000 handbook)
- Leica's own name is VARIO-APO-ELMARIT-R (2000 handbook and data sheet); buyers and some dealers transpose it to 'APO-Vario-Elmarit-R', the order Leica later used for its SL-mount zooms
- Not the APO-Vario-Elmarit-SL 90-280mm for the L-mount, nor the Vario-Elmar-R 80-200mm f/4 or 105-280mm f/4.2
Prototype (1994):
- A larger tripod mount than the production lens (Leitz Auction's description of lot 270)
- A straight barrel, without the production lens's profile
- Visible machining marks on the metal parts
- Serial 3654710, below every production number seen
R-cam only, without ROM (11267):
- No row of gold ROM contacts at the back of the mount: only the stepped R control cam
- Order number 11267 (Leica's 2000 handbook, ROM table)
- The one dated R-only lens seen, 3697634 of 1995, is numbered below the 1996 block that begins at 3755536
- A listing that calls this lens '3-cam' or '3rd cam' can only mean the R cam: no example with the Leicaflex cams is known (Shige)
ROM, without focal-length sensor (11279):
- A row of gold ROM contacts at the back of the mount beside the R control cam
- Order number 11279 (Leica's 2000 handbook)
- On a digital Leica through the Leica R-Adapter L the focal length does not follow the zoom: Shige's Leica SL recorded 70 mm in Exif with the lens set to 180 mm
- Prototype (1994): Leitz Auction offered this lens in its 47th auction, in the section for the Leicaflex and Leica R system, at an estimate of €6,000–7,000 and a starting price of €3,000. It went unsold. The auction house describes it as fully functional and in excellent condition. Its lot text gives the design as thirteen elements in twelve groups, where Leica's own data say thirteen in ten.
- R-cam only, without ROM (11267): The lens as launched in 1995. Leica's Product Range handbook of 2000 lists 11267 in its ROM conversion table as "possible but without sensor", so a lens with an 11267 history may have had contacts fitted by Leica's service later and now looks like the ROM version. Leica's Munich store offered no. 3697634, dated 1995, under the shop product number 11279SH, yet described it as "only R": the shop number is not evidence of the version, the mount is. Shige, who owned a ROM lens, reports finding R-cam-only and ROM lenses but no example with the Leicaflex cams.
- ROM, without focal-length sensor (11279): The version in Leica's Product Range handbook of 2000, delivered in a leather case with a carrying strap, lens cap and rear cover. The handbook's ROM table describes 11279 as "already with ROM without sensor": the contacts carry the lens data to an R8 for metering, but there is no sensor for focal-length recognition, so a zoom flash reflector stays at the position for the shortest focal length. The first year is the earliest dated ROM lens found (no. 3755564, 1996), the year the R8 arrived; no Leica document consulted dates the change from 11267.
Serial-range notes
- the seven-digit number on the front ring
- Leica numbered all its lenses in one sequence reserved in blocks, so a number dates a lens only roughly. The blocks below come from the serial list in Erwin Puts's Leica Chronicle, in a partial copy that runs from 3737201 (1996) to 3883746 (2000). It does not reach back to 1995, and it shows no block for this lens in 1999 or early 2000.
- 3755536–3756035
- 500 numbers, 1996 (Puts, Leica Chronicle). The Wetzlar store's ROM lens 3755564 and Porto's 3755958 fall here.
- 3779780–3780279
- 500 numbers, 1997 (Puts). Vienna's ROM lens 3780202 falls here; Shige's ROM lens, a 378xxxx number, is one of the 500 the Leica Wiki gives for 1997, as he reports it.
- 3841500–3841999
- 500 numbers, 1998 (Puts). London's ROM lens 3841669 falls here.
- 3654710
- The prototype, dated 1994 by Leitz Auction.
- 3697634
- An R-only lens dated 1995 by Leica's Munich store: below the 1996 block, so from a 1995 allocation that the partial list does not show.
Specifications
- Formula
- Apochromatic zoom of thirteen elements in ten groups, using twelve glass types of which five have anomalous partial dispersion; internal focusing and two moving vario groups (Leica technical data)
- Designed by
- Lothar Kölsch — head of Leica's optical department, whom Erwin Puts credits with raising Leica zoom performance in the new designs begun in 1992, of which this was the first; Puts does not name the lens's individual designer
- Construction
- 13 elements / 10 groups
- Aperture range
- f/2.8–f/22
- Diaphragm blades
- 8
- Min. focus
- 1.7 m
- Dimensions
- 89 × 189.5 mm
- Weight
- 1870 g
- Filter
- 77 mm (0.75 mm pitch), E77 internal thread (M77 × 0.75, Leica Product Range handbook, 2000); built-in telescopic, rubber-armoured hood
- Years manufactured
- 1995
- Material
- Black anodized metal barrel with rubber-armoured focusing and zoom rings and a rotating tripod mount (Leica Product Range handbook, 2000)
- Original price
- US$5,295 (B&H's advertised price in Outdoor Photographer, December 2000; a dealer's selling price, not a Leica list price, and not the launch price) (today $9,650)
What reviewers say
- Shige (Shige's hobby) (blog) — Shooting his own ROM lens on a Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III and a Leica SL, Shige finds it sharp from f/2.8 with only slight vignetting at 70 mm and corners that hold up across the range, though out-of-focus areas can look busy at the short end. The drawbacks are handling: about 1.9 kg, a 1.7 m closest distance, and a two-ring design that makes hand-held zooming after focusing awkward. Focus holds while zooming, and it works best on a tripod. via machine translation — corrections welcome
Optical formula — Apochromatic zoom of thirteen elements in ten groups, using twelve glass types of which five have anomalous partial dispersion; internal focusing and two moving vario groups (Leica technical data)
ⓘ What these charts mean
MTF (modulation transfer function) shows how much contrast the lens keeps at a given fineness of detail, from the center of the frame to the corner — the coarse curves track punch, the fine ones resolving power, and a gap between solid and dashed lines means astigmatism. Relative illumination (falloff) shows how much darker the corners are than the center at each aperture. Manufacturers only began publishing these for modern lenses; no 1950s maker issued them, which is why older families here cite period magazine bench tests instead.
History
The Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 70-180mm f/2.8 is the lens with which Leica began designing its own zooms. Erwin Puts, in the introduction to his Leica R-Lenses of 2003, writes that Leica had to make a fresh start on zoom design from 1992, because its previous experience and knowledge were of limited value, and he credits Lothar Kölsch, then head of the optical department, with taking zoom performance to a new level. “The first original Leica zoom,” he writes, “is the Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 1:2.8/70-180mm.” Several earlier R zooms, among them the Vario-Elmar-R 75-200mm and 70-210mm, were Minolta designs (English Wikipedia’s list of Leica lenses). This one came in 1995, a year before the R8.
It is a big lens: thirteen elements in ten groups, using twelve glass types of which five have anomalous partial dispersion, with internal focusing and two vario groups. It is 189.5 mm long, 89 mm across, about 1,870 g, and takes E77 filters. Leica’s data sheet claims performance comparable to its fixed focal lengths, with high contrast at all focal length settings. The hood is built in and telescopic, its rubber armour meant for setting the lens down on its nose. The tripod mount is built in too, and rotates with click stops for horizontal and vertical pictures. It focuses to 1.7 m at every focal length, which limits it to 1:7.3 at 180 mm. Leica’s 2000 handbook allows unlimited use of the APO-Extender-R 2x, which turns it into an f/5.6 140-360 mm, but shows no pairing with the 1.4x.
There are two production versions and one known prototype. The first lenses, order number 11267, have only the R control cam. From about 1996 the lens was sold as 11279, with ROM contacts but, as Leica’s handbook puts it, “without sensor”: an R8 or R9 receives the lens data for metering but cannot tell where the zoom is set, so a zoom flash stays at its 70 mm setting. Shige saw the same on a Leica SL, which recorded 70 mm whatever the setting. Leica’s service could fit contacts to an 11267, so check the order number and history, not just the contacts. Neither version has the Leicaflex cams. The handbook says Leica’s service could modify the lens for the Leicaflex, but no converted lens has been seen; as it comes, it fits the R3 to the R9 only, and a ROM lens should not be forced onto a Leicaflex. Leitz Auction offered a prototype in its 47th sale, no. 3654710 of 1994, with a larger tripod mount, a straight barrel and visible machining marks. It went unsold against a €6,000–7,000 estimate.
Published production figures say about 2,250 lenses. The partial serial list in Puts’s Leica Chronicle shows 500 numbers in each of 1996, 1997 and 1998. The end date is not settled: Allphotolenses gives 2006, and the R system ended in 2009. When buying, check that the tripod mount turns and locks, that the hood slides out and stays out, and that both rings run smoothly over their full travel. Two of the shop lenses had marks on the large 88 mm front element, so look at it closely. A complete outfit has the leather case with strap, front and rear caps, and the box. In November 2026 Leica’s own used shops asked between €1,750, for an R-only lens in B- condition, and £3,200 for a boxed ROM lens, including VAT; these are asking prices, not sales.
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
- Leitz Auction 47, lot 270: photographs of the 1994 prototype, no. 3654710
- Classic Store Wetzlar: photographs of ROM lens 3755564 with its box, pouch and strap
- Leica Store & Gallery Munich: photographs of R-only lens 3697634 of 1995
These photographers keep all rights to their work — enjoy it at the source.
Sample photo wanted — shot with a Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 70-180mm f/2.8? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
Live listings
Asking price, USD: a median of $3,200 across 16 fixed-price listings on 2026-11-10 (middle half $2,300–$3,600). First day tracked.
Asking prices from the listings scanned, not sales; junk-flagged rows and auction lots excluded; other currencies are not converted.
- Leica R Vario APO Elmarit 2.8 70-180 E77 ROM Objektiv An-Verkauf ff-shop24
- Leica Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 70-180mm F/2.8 E77 Lens FUNGUS READ DESCRIPTION REPAIR
- Leica Zoom Objektiv Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 2.8 / 70-180 mm für Leica R (mit ROM)
- Leitz Leica R Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 2.8 70-180mm 11267 R-Only Lens
- Leica Vario-APO-Elmarit-R F/2.8 70-180mm Zoom Lens R Only Mount 11267 MINT-
- Leica Vario-Apo-Elmarit-R 1:2.8/70-180mm - MINT
- Leica Vario-Apo-Elmarit-R 1:2.8/70-180mm
- Leica R 70-180mm f2.8 Vario-Elmarit APO ROM Lens #838
- Objectif Leica Vario Apo Elmarit R 70-180 mm f2,8 11279 ROM
- Leica Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 70-180mm F/2.8 E77 Lens *EX+*
- Leica R 70-180mm f2.8 Vario-Apo-Elmarit Black
- LEICA Vario-Apo-Elmarit-R 1:2,8/70-180 Objektiv - Super klar / Serviced ! ROM!
- LEICA VARIO APO ELMARIT R 70-180MM F2.8 ZOMM LENS ROM VERSION FOR R9 **ALL WORKS
- Leica R 70-180mm f2.8 Vario-Apo-Elmarit Black
- Leica Vario Apo Elmarit-R 1:2.8/70 -180 Objektiv
- Leica R 70-180mm f2.8 Vario-Apo-Elmarit Black
- LEICA VARIO APO ELMARIT R Zoomobjektiv 70-180MM F2.8 MF Manuell für R9
- Leitz / Leica Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 70-180 mm / 2,8 Objektiv #3841509
- Leica Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 2,8/70-180 ROM + TOP (277549)
- Leica Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 2,8/70-180 ROM + TOP (279476)
Show 25 more listings
- Leica Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 2,8/70-180 ROM + TOP (249195)
- Vario-Apo-Elmarit-R 70-180mm f2.8 (R cam)
- Leica Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 70-180mm F2.8 - ROM — SN 3755615
- LEICA LEITZ 11267 70-180MM F2.8 VARIO-APO-ELMARIT-R LENS +BOX +PAPERS VERY NICE!
- Leica Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 70-180mm F/2.8 ROM E77 Lens
- Leica Vario-Apo-Elmarit-R 11279 2,8/70-180mm ROM / 35798,31
- Leica Vario-Apo-Elmarit-R 11279 2,8/70-180mm ROM / 35798,31
- Leica Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 2.8/70-180 ROM + Top (277549)
- Leica Vario-Apo-Elmarit-R 70-180mm f2.8 Rcam w/case 11267 Telephoto Zoom #027137
- Leica Vario-Apo-Elmarit-R 2.8/70-180 ROM + Top (279476)
- Leica Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 2,8/70-180 ROM + Top (249195)
- Leica Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 70-180mm F2.8 - ROM / 11279 with case (94-96%new)
- Leica Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 70-180mm/F2.8 Lens Yr.1995 Germany #791
- Leica Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 70-180mm/F2.8 Lens Yr.1996 Germany #929
- Leica 70-180mm f/2.8 Vario Apo Elmarit R Lens
- LEICA 70-180MM F2.8 VARIO-APO-ELMARIT-R + BOX 11267 #5434
- "MINT+++ w/ Box" Leica Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 70-180mm f/2.8 ROM Lens 11279 JAPAN
- LEICA 70-180MM F2.8 VARIO-APO-ELMARIT-R + BOX 11267 #5434
- Leica Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 70-180mm F2.8 E77 - EXCELLENT -
- Leica 11267 Vario-Apo-Elmarit-R 70-180 mm f2.8
- Leica R 70-180mm lens
- Leica Vario-Apo-Elmarit-R 2.8/70-180 MM 11267 " Mint - Leica Specialist Retailer
- Leica VARIO-APO-ELMARIT-R Zoom 2.8/70-180mm 11267 Mint Manual
- LEICA VARIO-APO-ELMARIT-R 70-180 Mm F2.8
- LEICA 70-180MM F2.8 VARIO-APO-ELMARIT-R ROM 11279 #1421
Listings updated 2026-11-10. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.