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

Vario-Elmar-R 105-280mm f/4.2

Leica · Leica R · 1996 · Telephoto zoom, thirteen elements in ten groups

Also known as: Vario-Elmar-R 105-280mm f/4.2 · Vario-Elmar-R 105-280mm f4.2 · Vario-Elmar-R 105-280mm F4.2 · Vario-Elmar-R 105-280 mm f/4.2 · Vario-Elmar-R 4.2/105-280mm · Vario-Elmar-R 4.2/105-280 · Vario-Elmar-R 4,2/105-280mm · Vario-Elmar-R 1:4.2/105-280mm · Vario-Elmar-R 1:4,2/105-280mm · Vario Elmar R 105-280mm f4.2 · Vario Elmar R 105-280mm F4.2 · Vario Elmar R 105-280 · Vario-Elmar 105-280mm f4.2 · Vario Elmar-R 105-280mm · Leica Vario-Elmar-R 105-280mm f4.2 · Leica Vario-Elmar-R 105-280mm f/4.2 · Leica Vario Elmar R 105-280mm F4.2 · Leica Vario-Elmar-R 105-280 · Leica 105-280mm f4.2 Vario-Elmar-R · Leica 105-280mm f/4.2 Vario-Elmar-R · Leica 105-280mm f4.2 · Leica 105-280mm f/4.2 · Leica R 105-280mm · Leica 105-280mm · R 105-280mm F4.2 · Vario-Elmar-R 11268 · Leica APO-Vario-Elmar-R 105-280 · Leica 11268 · ライカ バリオエルマーR 105-280mm · ライカ バリオエルマー R 105-280mm F4.2 · バリオエルマーR 105-280mm · バリオエルマー 105-280mm

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
11268, factory ROM Leica R, ROM (R3 to R9; Leica says it cannot be modified for the Leicaflex bodies) 1996 3734451–3734950 (1996), 3759000–3759499 (1996), 3790510–3791009 (1997), as the Leica Wiki and Erwin Puts's Leica pocket lists both give them —
  1. Specification from Leica's Handbook 2000/2001: angle of view 23.2° to 8.8°, 13 elements in 10 components, f/22, half-stop click stops, focusing to 1.7 m with a smallest field of 281 × 421 mm at 105mm (about 1:11.7) and 112 × 168 mm at 280mm (about 1:4.7), parallel-guided focusing mount, E77 with an internal M77 × 0.75 thread, 89 mm diameter, 238 mm from the bayonet flange, 97.5 mm height over the tripod support, 1.950 kg, black anodized. The Cine Lens Wiki agrees on 13/10, 1.7 m, f/22, E77 and 1,950 g.
  2. Conflicts: English Wikipedia's R-mount table gives 1.1 m close focus and 1996–2009 for production, citing Leica's Handbook 2000 and Puts's Leica Lens Compendium; the handbook says 1.7 m. Apotelyt's R catalogue gives the filter as 'S8' (Series 8) against Leica's E77, and labels the lens 'Leitz Wetzlar', a name Leica no longer used in 1996. The Leica Wiki and the Cine Lens Wiki give 1996–2006.
  3. Leicaflex: Leica's handbook states that the lens cannot be modified for use on the Leicaflex models, and its page on lens conversions says that once the contact strip for the R8's electronic exposure compensation is added, use on Leicaflex models is no longer possible. The Leicaflex, Leicaflex SL and SL2 are therefore not listed as bodies for this lens.
  4. Extenders: the handbook allows 'unlimited use' of the APO-Extender-R 1.4x and 2x and lists the 1.4x (11249) and the 2x (11269) as accessories on the lens page; its extender data chart gives 150-400mm f/5.9 with the 1.4x and 210-560mm f/8.4 with the 2x. The lens page does not name the older Extender-R 2x (11236) or the non-ROM APO-Extender-R 2x (11262).
  5. Price: no Leica list price in DM or dollars was found. B&H Photo's advertisement in Outdoor Photographer for December 2000 lists the lens at US$5,195, a New York dealer's street price, not Leica's list price, before sales tax. Used prices seen in November 2026: €2,800 at Leica Classic Store Vienna (VAT included under the margin scheme) and US$2,195 at Camera West, both dealer asking prices. Apotelyt's R catalogue estimates US$3,000–4,000 on eBay.
  6. Maker: the handbook does not say where the lens was made, the Leica Wiki leaves the maker blank, and none of the sources records a barrel engraving naming a country. A Solms or Germany origin rests on dealer titles only.
  7. Accessories in the handbook: leather case with carrying strap 14312, front cover 14319, rear cover 14162, and the pistol stock 14282 for hand-held work.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • Very large for a Leica R lens: 89 mm across, 238 mm from the bayonet flange and 1,950 g, with a tripod mount that rotates for horizontal and vertical frames, with click stops and a lock, and carrying-strap loops (Leica Handbook 2000/2001)
  • Built-in, telescopic, rubber-armoured hood and a separate rubber-armoured zoom ring; E77 front thread; lens cap 88 mm
  • The other big Leica R telephoto zoom, the Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 70-180mm f/2.8 (11267, and 11279 with ROM), also takes E77 and the same 88 mm cap, but is a constant f/2.8 and reads 70-180 on the barrel

11268, factory ROM:

  • A strip of ROM contacts at the back of the mount as delivered, beside the stepped R-cam; no sloped Leicaflex cams
  • Order number 11268 on box and papers
  • Leica's literature names it VARIO-ELMAR-R 1:4.2/105-280; there is no 'APO' in Leica's name for it

Serial-range notes

3734842, 3759437
Two examples on the market: Leica Classic Store Vienna (dated 1996 by the shop) and Camera West. Both fall inside the blocks below.
3734451–3734950, 3759000–3759499, 3790510–3791009
Three blocks of 500, two dated 1996 and one 1997. The Leica Wiki gives these blocks and a figure of fewer than 1,500 made between 1996 and 2006; Erwin Puts's Leica pocket lists give the same three blocks, and his Leica Chronicle the same second and third blocks. Vintage Lenses For Video's price list repeats the span 3734451–3791009 and the 1,500 total. A 105-280 numbered outside these blocks should have its engraving checked.

Specifications

Formula
Telephoto zoom, thirteen elements in ten groups
Construction
13 elements / 10 groups
Aperture range
f/4.2–f/22
Min. focus
1.7 m
Dimensions
89 × 238 mm
Weight
1950 g
Filter
77 mm (0.75 mm pitch)
Years manufactured
1996
Material
Black anodized metal barrel with rubber-armoured focusing and zoom rings, a built-in telescopic rubber-armoured hood and a rotating tripod mount

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 Vario-Elmar-R 105-280mm f/4.2 is the longest zoom Leica made for the R system. It appeared in 1996, the year of the R8, and Leica’s Handbook 2000/2001 describes it as a lens of variable focal length “in the mid to long tele-range”. It has thirteen elements in ten groups, runs from 23.2° to 8.8°, stops down to f/22 with half-stop clicks, and focuses to 1.7 m through a parallel-guided mount, close enough for about 1:4.7 at 280mm. It is a big lens: 89 mm across, 238 mm from the bayonet and 1,950 g, with a built-in telescopic hood, rubber-armoured focus and zoom rings, strap loops and a tripod mount that turns for upright frames. Leica allowed “unlimited use” of the APO-Extender-R 1.4x and 2x behind it, and sold a pistol stock for hand-held work. Some sellers call it an APO-Vario-Elmar-R; Leica’s handbook does not put APO in the name, and no separate APO version is recorded.

It was a short-lived and scarce lens. The Leica Wiki says fewer than 1,500 were made, in three blocks of 500 numbered in 1996 and 1997, and that it was sold until 2006; English Wikipedia gives 2009, the end of the R system. Erwin Puts’s serial lists give the same three blocks, and two examples on the market, numbers 3,734,842 and 3,759,437, fall inside them. Where it was built is not recorded in Leica’s handbook or the Leica Wiki; only dealer titles say Germany. In December 2000 B&H Photo advertised it at US$5,195, a hundred dollars less than the Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 70-180mm f/2.8 in the same advertisement, the other heavyweight Leica zoom of these years.

There is only one version, order number 11268, and it came with ROM contacts from the factory. Leica lists it as “already with ROM without sensor”: the contacts pass lens data and electronic exposure compensation to an R8 or R9, but unlike the 28-70, 35-70/4 and 80-200/4 zooms it has no sensor reporting the zoom setting to the body or flash. On the R3 to R7 it works as an ordinary R-cam lens. It does not work on any Leicaflex: Leica’s handbook states that it cannot be modified for those bodies, so a buyer with a Leicaflex, Leicaflex SL or SL2 should look elsewhere.

When buying, check the strip of contacts at the back of the mount, the order number 11268 on the box and the serial against the blocks above. Try the focus and zoom rings, which Camera West found a little stiff on one example, and look for haze or cleaning marks on the large front and rear elements, a telescopic hood that slides and stays in place, and a tripod collar that rotates and locks. The leather case, the 88 mm front cover 14319 and the rear cover 14162 were supplied with it and are worth having, since the handbook gives the same 88 mm front cover only to a few other big R lenses, among them the 70-180, the Vario-Elmarit-R 35-70mm f/2.8 ASPH and the APO-Telyt-R 280mm f/4. Sources disagree on a few figures: Wikipedia gives a 1.1 m close focus and Apotelyt a Series 8 filter, where Leica’s handbook says 1.7 m and E77.

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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

These photographers keep all rights to their work — enjoy it at the source.

Sample photo wanted — shot with a Vario-Elmar-R 105-280mm f/4.2? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $2,300 across 8 fixed-price listings on 2026-11-10 (middle half $2,000–$3,400). 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 2026-11-10. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.

Related: Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 70-180mm f/2.8 · Vario-Elmar-R 80-200mm f/4 · APO-Telyt-R 280mm f/4 · Telyt-R 250mm f/4 (II)

Sources (11)

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.