The first 180mm telephoto APO TELYT R 180mm F3.4
A review and photo examples using the APO-Terito R 180mm F3.4 with the digital medium-format camera HASSELBLAD X2D-100C.
Table of contents
Gallery
The example photo was taken using a HASSELBLAD X2D.
Review
1．Overview
The APO TELYT R 180mm F3.4 is a Leica R-mount telephoto lens of which 17,000 were produced between 1975 and 1998.
The lens consists of 7 elements in 4 groups, 8 aperture blades, and a minimum shooting distance of 2.5m.
This lens is available in 3-cam and R-cam mounts with ROM terminals on the second-hand market. The lens introduced here is also a 3-cam. What’s strange about this lens is that I’ve never seen an R-cam version.
Leica has released many variations of telephoto lenses with a focal length of 180mm for the R mount. The representative lenses are as follows. This APO TELYT 180mm was the earliest 180mm lens released.
Leica R 180mm Lens List
- APO TELYT 180mm
- ELMAR 180mm
- ELMARIT 180mm Old
- ELMARIT 180mm New
- APO ELMARIT 180mm
- APO SUMMICRON 180mm
The inclusion of the Summicron 180mm F2 in this lens lineup shows that Leica was particular about 180mm.
The Summicron 180mm F2 is a lens that I am very interested in, but it is expensive because it was produced in small numbers, and there are not many uses for the long focal length of 180mm, so I have not yet purchased one.
2．Usability
The APO TELYT R 180mm f/3.4 is a slender yet heavy lens, providing stable shooting when used with a relatively large camera like the LEICA R8.
I purchased this lens because the cherry blossom season and the low price meant it was readily available.
The aperture ring, like other R-mount lenses, is located at the base of the lens barrel, with the focus ring located slightly forward. Considering the balance between the operability and appearance of a slender lens, a wider focus ring would be preferable.
This design is due to the fact that it reuses the focus section from the Elmar-R 180mm lens, which was released around the same time. The issue with the minimum focusing distance, which I’ll discuss later, may have resulted in insufficient extension due to the use of a helicoid.
The problem with shooting is the minimum focusing distance of 2.5m. With a focal length of 180mm, I would like it to be able to get as close as possible to around 1.8m, like other 180mm lenses.
Using the macro adapter (14299), you can get as close as 1.5m, but even then, the minimum focusing distance still feels insufficient.
By using a x2 teleconverter to set the focal length to 360mm and attaching the macro adapter, the focusing distance finally becomes practical at around 2m.
While this lens has such photographic limitations, the sharpness of the captured images and beautiful bokeh are its defining features, and it certainly delivers images worth more than its price. In some situations, there’s no noticeable difference compared to the more expensive Apo-Elmarit 180mm.
When used with a Hasselblad X2D, the image circle completely covers the 44x33mm of the medium-format digital sensor, and there’s no noticeable distortion even at the edges.
Because this lens has a wide image circle, I would like to use it with a LEICA S Typ007, but the difference in flange focal length between the camera and lens makes this an impossible dream.
I purchased the Apo-Elmarit 180mm and the Vario-Apo-Elmarit 70-180mm for the 180mm focal length, but I didn’t use them very enthusiastically. I often use telephoto lenses over 300mm, and short focal length lenses under 90mm, so I’m aware that I don’t have much use for 135mm to 180mm as a personal photography preference.
Long focal length manual lenses for medium format cameras are available quite cheaply on the used market, and if you’re using them with cameras equipped with medium format digital sensors, such as the HASSELBLAD X series or Fujifilm GFX series, they would also be good options.
3．Summary
In conclusion, to sum up the APO TELYT R 180mm F3.4 is a telephoto lens with a wide image circle and good color reproduction. Its relatively low price makes it a good choice if you’re looking for a long focal length lens. Its weakness is that the minimum focusing distance for the lens alone is only 2.5m, which means it can’t get close enough.
Specification and series lens
I compared the lens configuration diagrams of the earliest APO TELYT 180mm and the latest APO ELMARIT 180mm.
The latest APO TELYT 180mm has a telescope-like lens arrangement with the front and rear groups separated, making the design look old. Also, compared to the APO ELMARIT 180mm, the lens diameter is 8mm thinner and the lens length is 3mm longer, so the balance when attached to a large camera such as the LEICA R8 is worse than that of the APO ELMARIT 180mm.
- The lens construction diagrams are quoted from each company’s materials, and the sizes have been adjusted by us, so they are not exact.
| Item | Apo telyt | elmar | apo elmarit |
| focal length(mm) | 180 | 180 | 180 |
| Maximum aperture | 3.4 | 4 | 2.8 |
| Minimum aperture | 22 | 22 | 22 |
| Lens configuration | 8 | 6 | 8 |
| Leaf blade | 7 elements in 4 groups | 5 elements in 4 groups | 7 elements in 5 groups |
| Minimum distance(m) | 2.5 | 1.8 | 1.5 |
| Lens length(mm) | 135 | 100 | 132 |
| Lens max diameter(mm) | 68 | 85.5 | 76 |
| Filter type | 60 | 55 | 67 |
| Weight(g) | 750 | 540 | 970 |
| Hood | 組み込み | 組み込み | 組み込み |
| Lens mount | ライカR | ライカR | ライカR |
| Release date | 1975 | 1976 | 1997 |
| Production numbers | 17,000 | 11,500 | 1,900 |
Affiliate links
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Reference links
- All about the R-type Leica (2003 edition) / Author: Shinichi Nakamura / Edited by Asahi Sonorama Ads by Amazon
- APO-TELYT 180 description by Leica Wiki
Update history
- 2025.1.6
- 2024.03.29
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