LEICA APO VARIO ELMARIT SL 90-280
A telephoto zoom lens with few options
A review and Photo example of the Leica APO VARIO ELMARIT 90-280.
Table of contents
Gallery
- Sample photos taken with the LEICA SL typ601.
Review
1．Overview
The APO-Vario-Elmarit 90-280mm is a telephoto zoom lens for the Leica L-mount released in 2016.
Its main specifications are a lens configuration of 23 elements in 17 groups, inner focus, no change in lens length when using the inner zoom, a minimum shooting distance of 0.6m at the wide-angle end and 1.4m at the telephoto end, an optical image stabilization (OIS), and a high-speed focus system with a double motor, making it an ambitious lens.
The F-stop is variable, but at 280mm at the telephoto end it is F4, so it is bright enough.
2．Usage
The AF focusing speed is determined by the balance between the motor driving force on the lens side and the amount of lens movement, but in normal use, the speed is satisfactory.
The AF focusing accuracy is strongly influenced by the body, but when used with the Leica SL typ601, it focuses smoothly and smoothly on subjects that are not particularly difficult to focus on, which is nice, but it was generally difficult to focus on subjects that are easy to lose focus on, such as a cat behind a fence.
The fact that the overall length of the lens does not change with the inner zoom is an advantage when shooting, but it does not fit well in a camera bag, and if it is left attached to the body, it can only be stored in a bag that is quite long horizontally.
Although there was a tripod mount, I only shot handheld, so the tip of the tripod mount was removed.
Even when the tip of the tripod mount was removed, the base of the tripod mount remained on the lens barrel, which diminished the beauty of the design. Fortunately, the tripod mount has a rotation mechanism, so when shooting, I moved the rest of the tripod mount to a position where it would not get in the way.
The lens weighs 1.7kg, which is quite heavy, but when attached to the Leica SL typ601, the weight balance of the camera system was not bad and I had no problems when shooting.
With telephoto lenses, you want to extend the focal length using an optional teleconverter (hereafter referred to as teleconverter), but this lens does not have a teleconverter, so the focal length cannot be extended.
When Leica released the “Vario-Elmar SL f5-6.3/100-400mm”, the “Leica Extender L 1.4x” and “Leica Extender L 2x” were released, but this lens, the “Apo-Vario-Elmarit 90-280mm”, is not compatible with these.
These two teleconverters, along with the Vario-Elmar-SL f5-6.3/100-400mm and Vario-Elmarit-SL f2.8/70-200mm ASPH., have not been officially announced, but they are clearly Sigma OEMs and are only compatible with Sigma OEM lenses.
In the case of Leica, a genuine teleconverter costs over 100,000 yen, so if you want a long focal length that can be used with a teleconverter, it is cheaper to buy a Sigma zoom, and there is almost no difference in lens performance.
Regarding lens options, it is difficult to verify complete compatibility, so in the age of mirrorless cameras, it is sad for veteran camera fans that each company is making its own dedicated products.
3．Add info.
he L-mount is a common standard that can be used by alliance members, but the lack of compatibility of accessories makes the L-mount alliance seem half-baked. However, since Nikon, Canon, and Sony do not guarantee the operation of third-party accessories even if they work, there is no choice but to accept it as it is.
In the case of teleconverters, Panasonic has increased the number of terminals on the lens and teleconverter that are thought to be for teleconverters, and the specifications mean that they cannot be used with any lenses other than those for which they are designed.
Another compatibility issue is that the image stabilization mechanism of this lens, the APO-Vario-Elmarit 90-280mm, cannot be used with the Leica T *1.
*1: This is written on page 23 of the APO-Vario-Elmarit 90-280mm manual.
It is unclear whether the image stabilization mechanism can be used with Leica’s LEICA TL, TL2, and CL and other L-mount cameras from each company.
As an aside, the adapters provided by Sigma to convert SA mount and EF mount to L mount cannot be used with LEICA L-mount cameras. In addition, the adapters provided by Leica for using Leica S-mount lenses can only be used with the Leica SL series.
Currently, there are three 300mm class telephoto lenses for the L mount, as shown in the table below. As mentioned above, the Vario-Elmar SL is almost the same as Sigma’s 100-400mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS | Contemporary.
| Lens name | APO VARIO ELMARIT | Vario-Elmar SL f5-6.3 / 100-400mm | LUMIX S 70-300mm F4.5-5.6 MACRO O.I.S. |
| Focal length(mm) | 90-280 | 100-400 | S 70-300 |
| Max aperture | 2.8-4.0 | 5-6.3 | 4.5-5.6 |
| Min aperture | 22 | 22 | 22 |
| Aperture blade | ? | 9? * | 11 |
| Lens Construction | 23 elements in 17 groups | 22 elements in 16 groups | 17 elements in 11 groups |
| Min distance(m) | 0.6-1.4 | 1.1-1.6 | 0.54 |
| Lens length(mm) | 238 | 198 (at wide-angle end) | 148 (at wide-angle end) |
| Lens Max diameter(mm) | 88 | 88 | 84 |
| Filter Size(mm) | 82 | 82 | 77 |
| Optical Image Stabilization： | Yes (3.5 stops) | Yes (about 4 stops?*) | Yes (5.5 stops) Works with in-body image stabilization |
| テレコン | none | Leica Extender L 1.4x Leica Extender L 2.0x | none |
| Weight(g) | 1,710 | 1530 | 790 |
| Release date | 2016.04.29 | 2023.3.18 | 2021.4.22 |
| Price(Yen/No-tax) | ¥820,000- | ¥344,850- | ¥127,710- |
Specification
| Lens name | SUPER VARIO ELMAR | VARIO ELMARIT | APO VARIO ELMARIT | SUMMILUX |
| Focal length(mm) | 16-35 | 24-90 | 90-280 | 50 |
| Max aperture | 3.5-4.5 | 2.8-4.0 | 2.8-4.0 | 1.4 |
| Min aperture | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 |
| Lens Construction | 18elements in 12groups | 18elements in 15groups | 23elements in 17groups | 11elements in 9groups |
| Min distance(m) | 0.25- | 0.3-0.45 | 0.6-1.4 | 0.6- |
| Lens length(mm) | 123 | 138 | 238 | 124 |
| Lens Max diameter(mm) | 88 | 88 | 88 | 88 |
| Filter Size(mm) | 82 | 82 | 82 | 82 |
| Weight(g) | 990 | 1,140 | 1,710 | 1,065 |
| Image stabilizer | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Release date | 2018.05.10 | 2015.11.28 | 2016.04.29 | 2016.12.28 |
| Price(Yen/No-tax) | ¥760,000- | ¥650,000- | ¥820,000- | ¥770,000- |
Reference links
Update history
- 2025.1.19
- 2024.03.10
- 2023.08.31
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