Leica 180mm f/2.8 APO-ELMARIT-R Telephoto Manual Focus Lens for R System, USA

In the roaring twenties there was a 540 SSK Mercedes Benz sports car with a turbo-charged engine. The turbo charger could only be used for a few minutes, otherwise it would overheat the engine. But the driving experience was breathtakingly exilarating.

Both the 180 mm f/2.8 Apo-Elmarit-R and the 280 mm f/4 Apo-Telyt-R Leica lenses offer superior image quality plus that special turbo-feeling and sensation, not for just a few minutes, but always and everywhere!

These lenses are eminently suited for the type of photography where you need to capture every possible detail and when you wish to explore the limits of analog emulsions. As with the aforementioned sports car, you do not always have to use the turbo. The optical performance is superb even with high-speed films (the grain will be tight and compact because the small image points will not cause flare or halo in the grain pattern).

Hand-held pictures will preserve the high overall contrast and the reproduction of finely graded colors and tonal values. You may compare it with music with a final sound that is composed of many frequencies and a wide dynamic range. There are some very high and some very low frequencies that you cannot hear, but they are required for the character of the sound.

This is comparable to what happens in optical phenomena. Good MTF values at the very high frequencies are a must for a high contour sharpness at the lower frequencies. If you have not yet experienced image-making with current slide films and these superb Leica lenses, you should really do so. Photography with a turbo' effect will open up a whole new world for you!

The superb performance of the 180 mm f/2.8 Apo-Elmarit-R permits the unrestricted use of the Macro-Adapter-R. We can obtain a reproduction ratio of 1:3 with excellent quality. The occasionally expressed wish for a true macro lens with a focal length of 200 mm is practically fulfilled with this combination. A bit outmoded nowadays, but still useful is the Bellows Attachment BR-2 that allows reproduction ratios of 1:3.3 to 1.2:1.

The Leica Apo-Elmarit-R 180mm f/2.8 has been Optimized as the optical design and mechanical parts have been modified to accommodate the APO-EXTENDER-R 1.4X. The optical performance is of course retained fully, and the APO-EXTENDER-R 2X is still compatible. Due to these innovations a particularly compact and outstanding lens can be created with a focal length of 250mm and a respectable full aperature of 1:4 by using the APO-EXTENDER-R 1.4X.