LEICA ELMARIT R 28mm (1st old)
Elmarit 28mm Type I Wide-Angle Lens for Leica R Review and Photo Examples
Table of contents
Gallery
- Sample photos taken with the LEICA SL typ601.
Review
The early version of the Elmarito R 28mm F2.8 was a wide-angle lens for the Leica R mount, of which around 50,000 were made between 1970 and 1992.
2-CAM, 3-CAM, and R-Only-CAM were officially released, but the ones with ROM terminal were modified from other cams and were few in number. I thought R-Only-CAM had probably not been released, but in 1987 When I got the 2017 version of Elmarito, it was R-Only-CAM.
When inserting the filter into the hood 12509, use a series 7 filter, and when screwing it into the front of the lens, use a 48mm filter. The 48mm filter is Leica’s unique filter size, and there are only a few of them, and even second-hand, not-so-clean filters are sold at a fairly high price.
The lens hood is 12509, which is the same as the Elmarito R 35mm II type.
I used the early model Elmarito 28mm for a short period of time until I got the later model (Type II) and then sold it, but then I bought it back.
The images are sharp, with satisfactory resolution all the way to the corners, and there is almost no noticeable loss of light at the edges. You can feel the power of the model, which was sold for over 20 years until it became a later model.
I repurchased it in 2023 and am using the LEICA R8 loaded with film, and it is a lens that suits the emotion of film well. I feel that the new later model is suitable for high resolution cameras like the SL typ601.
It’s a heavy lens with 8 lenses in 8 groups packed into a compact housing.
Without the hood, the stubby lens barrel looks a little hard to see, so adding the 12509 hood completes the design. Plastic hoods are relatively cheap on the market, so purchasing one without a hood shouldn’t require much additional expense.
When I repurchased the 1987 late model 1 (11247) lens shown in the photo below in 2023, I added a hood for about 7,000 yen. If you can find it on display, you may be able to purchase it for less than 5,000 yen.
Used prices for early models are lower than prices for later models, but the olive color sold with the R3 Safari is rare, so it sells for much more than the regular black barrel.
Since the number of lenses manufactured as a whole is 50,000, a large number can be seen on the second-hand market, and as of 2023, it is a lens that can be purchased at any time. You may also see lenses modified to use the NIKON-F mount.
Specification
| Items | I型 | II型 |
| Focal length(mm) | 28 | ← |
| Max aperture | 2.8 | ← |
| Min aperture | 22 | ← |
| Leaf blade | 8 | 6 |
| Lens Construction | 8 elements in 8 groups | 8 elements in 7 groups |
| Min distance(m) | 0.3 | ← |
| Lens length(mm) | 40 | 48 |
| Max diameter(mm) | 63 | 67.5 |
| Filter Size(mm) | Series 7,48 mm | 55 |
| Hood | 12509 | Build in |
| Weight(g) | 390 | 435 |
| Release date | 1970 | 1993 |
Reference links
- All about R-type Leica / Author: Shinichi Nakamura / edited by Asahi Sonorama Ads by Amazon
- Elmarit 28mm F2.8 Leica wiki
Update history
- 2024.03.09:Update article
- 2023.11.20:First draft
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