LEICA ELMARIT R 24mm

A long-lasting lens manufactured for 32 years

A review and Photo example of ELMARIT R 24 F2.8.

Gallery

The sample photos were taken with the LEICA SL TYP601.

The sample photos were taken with the EOS-1DsMKIII.

Review

Lens overview
Usage
Mount adapter

1.Lens Overview

The Elmarit R 24mm1 is a Leica R mount wide-angle lens with a focal length of 24mm.

The lens structure is very similar to Minolta’s MC W Rokkor 24mm/f2.8 (MD)2, and it appears that the company received blueprints and other information from Minolta due to their partnership at the time. The lens I own was made in Germany, so it is likely that the assembly was done by Leica.

Approximately 20,000 units were produced from 1974 until production ended in 2005, with minor changes to the font designation. There are 3-cam and R-cam only R mount cams with ROM terminals.

The lens hood model number is 125233, and the lens cap model number is 14184, and there is a notch to avoid the pin for attaching the hood. The filter is E60 (60mm) or a series 8 filter is placed inside the hood 12523 and the hood is attached to the lens.

The 24mm focal length lens for the Leica M mount was not in the lineup until the release of the ELMARIT 24mm ASPH., which used an aspherical lens. After that, three products were released: the Summilux 24mm, which had a bright F-number, and the Elmar 24mm, which had a dark F-number.

The 24mm focal length lens for the Leica R mount was released early on and remained in use until the end of the R mount. The only other lens that covered this focal length was the zoom lens Vario-Elmar-R 21-35 ASPH. It is unfortunate that there were no new releases of aspherical prime lenses.

This lens was often seen on the used market in the 2000s, but has become less common in the 2020s.

2.Usage

The design of the lens barrel is standard for R mount lenses, with an aperture ring at the base and a focus ring in the center. The lens hood is attached by rotating the hood and pinned, a mechanism common to old R mount lenses.

Since it is an old wide-angle lens design, the distortion correction in the peripheral area is poor, fringes occur, and you cannot expect the same image quality as a modern lens.

3.Mount adapter

For LEICA SL typ6014, LEICA T series, and LEICA CL, if you use the Leica genuine mount adapter, Leica R-Adapter L (16076) 56, you can transfer lens information to the camera if the lens has a ROM terminal.

When shooting with EOS-1Ds MKIII, error 20 (Err20) occurs every time you take a picture. As far as I can tell from my own cameras, this error occurs with the wide-angle lenses, which are ELMARIT-R 19mm-II, SUPER ANGULON-R 21mmF4, VARIO ELMAR-R 21-35mm, ELMARIT-R 28mm(I), ELMARIT-R 24mm, and SUMMILUX-R 35mm F1.4. I haven’t attached it to check, but I think the 15mm SUPER ELMARIT and SUPER ELMAR probably can’t be used.

The ELMARIT-R 24mm definitely causes an error at infinity, and the probability of an error decreases when the lens is extended beyond 1m, so I assume the rear end of the lens is detected by the sensor in the EOS mirror box.

It’s a bit of a crazy way to use it, but when an error occurs, you wait for the writing to the media to finish (wait until the writing lamp goes out, and touching the shutter button at this time will cancel the writing. Writing will also end halfway if the battery is removed), release the lens lock, turn it about 5 degrees, and attach it again (this will lower the raised mirror), and press the shutter button (restart process), and you can take the next shot.

When used with the HASSELBLAD X2D7, there is not much room for a 35mm full-frame sensor in the image circle, so about 86% of the area is usable, and anything beyond that will have vignetting and need to be cropped.

Specification and Competitor

Item	ELMARIT R	ELMARIT M ASPH.	Elmar M
focal length(mm)	24	←	←
Maximum aperture	2.8	←	3.4
Minimum aperture	22	16	←
Lens configuration	7groups 9elements	←	6groups 8elements
Leaf blade	6	8	←
Minimum distance(m)	0.3	0.7	←
Lens length(mm)	48.5	46	40.6
Lens max diameter(mm)	67	58	53
Filter diameter(mm)	60 Or Series 8 filter mounted inside the hood	E55	E46
Weight(g)	560	388(silver) 290(black)	260
Release date	1974	1996	2008
Production numbers	20,200	7,000-	–