LEICA APO TELYT R 180mm F3.4

Review and Photo example of the LEICA APO TELYT R 180mm F3.4.

Gallery

The example photo was taken using a HASSELBLAD X2D.

Review

The Apo Terito R 180mm F3.4 is a Leica R mount telephoto lens of which 17,000 were made between 1975 and 1998.
Regarding the mount shape of this lens, I see 3-cam and R-cam models with ROM terminals being sold on the used market. The lens introduced this time is also a 3-cam lens. The strange thing about this lens is that I have never seen the R cam before. 1 cam and 2 cam should not be manufactured.

Leica releases 5 types of representative lenses for the R mount telephoto lens with a focal length of 180mm, as shown in the specification table, and there are a few more types if you include minor lenses or versions with minor changes. Considering that Leica released the Appointment specification Elmarit (Elmarit) at the end of the Leica R mount, it is thought that this is a focal length that Leica put a lot of effort into.

As for the focal length of 180mm, I bought the Apo Elmarito 180mm and the Vario Apo Elmarito 70-180mm, but I didn’t use them very enthusiastically. When using a telephoto lens, I often use a lens of 300mm or more, and a lens with a short focal length of 90mm or less, and I am aware that there is not much use for lenses from 135mm to 180mm.
However, since I was thinking of getting one during the cherry blossom season and the lens was cheap, I decided to give it a try.

The Apo Terito R 180mm is a lens that feels heavy despite its slender body, allowing stable shooting even with relatively large cameras such as the LEICA R8.
The sharpness of the images and the beautiful bokeh are probably the characteristics of this lens, and I feel that the images are definitely worth the price. There is almost no difference between it and the more expensive Apo Elmarito.
The problem with shooting is that the minimum shooting distance is 2.5m. Since the focal length is 180mm, I would like to be able to get close to 1.8m like other 180mm lenses. This problem can be solved by using the macro adapter (14299), which allows you to get closer to about 1.5m, but I feel that the minimum shooting distance is still insufficient.
By setting the focal length to 360mm using an x2 teleconverter and covering it with a macro adapter, I feel like the shooting distance is about 2m, which is finally practical.

When used with Hasselblad’s X2D, the image circle completely covers the 44x33mm medium format digital sensor, and there is almost no disturbance in the periphery. Since the lens has such a wide image circle, I would like to use it with the LEICA S Typ007, but the difference in flange focal length between the camera and lens makes this dream impossible.

Specification

Items	ELMAR	ELMARIT-II	APO-TELYT	APO-ELMARIT-II	APO-SUMMICRON
Focal length(mm)	180	←	←	←	←
Max aperture	4	2.8	3.4	2.8	2
Min aperture	22	←	←	←	16
Leaf blade	6	8	←	←	←
Lens Construction	5elements in 4groups	←	7elements in 4groups	7elements in 5groups	9elements in 6groups
Min distance(m)	1.8	←	2.5	1.5	1.5
Lens length(mm)	100	–	135	132	176
Max diameter(mm)	85.5	–	68	76	116
Filter Size(mm)	55	67 (Series 7.5 old type)	60	67	100
Weight(g)	540	450	750	970	2,500
Release date	1976	1978	1975	1997	1994
Production number	11,500	12,000	17,000	1,900	1,700