ELMAR 9cm RIGID

Rigid barrel / medium telephoto lens

A review and photo examples of the LEICA ELMAR L 9cm F4.

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Gallery

The sample photos were taken with the Sony α7Sii.

Review

Overview
Usage
Add info

1．Overview

The fixed-barrel Elmar 9cm is a Leica L39 screw-mount telephoto lens with a focal length of 90mm that was released in 1933.

It is said that the lens is named 9cm because the units used in Germany at the time of manufacture were the cgs system of centimeters (length), grams (mass), and seconds (time). Nikon’s old S-mount lenses also use centimeters, so 9cm and 90mm have the same meaning.

The lens consists of 4 elements in 3 groups, with 10 aperture blades, and a minimum shooting distance of 1m.

Since it is an L39 screw mount, an M/L conversion ring is required when using it with an M-mount camera.

2．Usage

As you can see from the exterior photo, the lens has an aperture ring at the tip of the lens and a wide focus ring in the center, making it easy to focus.

In terms of image quality, there is no difference from the retractable Elmar 9cm that I used previously. Since it was already this perfect in 1933, it makes sense that it remained this way until the release of the Triplet Elmar 90mm.

The same is true for other 90mm lenses, but when the focal length exceeds 9cm, the M-type Leica’s double image overlap focusing method is not very accurate.

When using the EVF of the mirrorless digital camera, Sony α7Sii, there was no need to worry about the focus position due to the focus magnification function. The camera shake, which is a problem with telephoto lenses, was also a concern thanks to the image stabilization mechanism on the body, so I was able to shoot with peace of mind.

There was no major breakdown in the image quality with a digital camera, the resolution of the focal plane was sufficient, and the foreground and background blur was not unpleasant. The minimum shooting distance is 1m, which is standard for a lens with a focal length of 9cm, and with a mirrorless digital camera, it is possible to shorten it by using an extension helicoid.
Some of the sample images taken with the α7Sii were taken using an extended helicoid for macro photography.

Because these are old lenses, many of them are already cloudy, and the lenses I have on hand are also cloudy. However, as you can see from the sample images, the image quality is not affected much unless there is severe backlighting.

As of 2024, these lenses are still available at low prices, and are easy to use with mirrorless cameras, so they would be a good lens to expand your photography options.

3．Add info.

・VISOFLEX

The fixed-barrel Elmar 9cm can separate the focus and lens sections, but when I attached it to the VISO helicoid ring for Elmar, “OUAGO” (16467, 16467N), it could not be focused to infinity, and it became a close-up lens that focused at infinity at about 2m.
The triplet Elmar 9cm I used previously could also separate the lens and focus sections, and when the lens section was attached to the “OUAGO”, it could be used as a VISO lens from infinity, but this lens is not compatible with the “OUAGO” I have. When I bought the “OUAGO” previously, I remember looking for an “OUAGO” that was compatible with the triplet lens, so I think that there are different specifications for “OUAGO” with the same code name depending on the year of manufacture of the lens.

When using with a mirrorless camera, there is little point in using a VISO helicoid, but if you can convert it to a VISO mount, you can use the lens with an M42 mount camera, so you can use the lens with SLR cameras from CANON, PENTAX, SIGMA, and MINOLTA (SONY).

To do this, I tried converting it to a VISO mount with my equipment, but unfortunately I couldn’t get a combination that would give me infinity. I think I’ll need to find an “OUAGO” that fits my old Elmar lens.

The LEICA Wiki description of the Elmar 9cm says that the helicoid 16464 (OTZFO) can be used, but this Elmar 9cm cannot be attached directly, and can be attached by adding an extension tube, but due to the addition of the extension tube, this also does not give me infinity, so it is a lens for close-up photography only.

The helicoid 16464 (OTZFO) is used with the VISO Elmar 65mm and the Tele-Elmar 13.5cm (135mm).

・Medium format digital camera

When used with the HASSELBLAD X2D medium format digital camera with a sensor size of 44mm x 33mm, when shooting with the sky in the photo below left, the image size was insufficient for the 44 x 33mm medium format sensor, the same as with the Elmar 9cm with a retractable lens barrel.

Looking at the results shot at full aperture, the image sharpness in the focused area was excellent, fully satisfying the 100 million pixels.

Since the Hasselblad X2D does not have a mechanical shutter on the camera body, it was shot with an electronic shutter.

By using a Leica M mount lens to Fujifilm GFX G mount conversion adapter, it should be possible to use it with Fujifilm’s medium format digital cameras, the GFX series.

仕様

項目	エルマー（固定）	エルマリート	ズミクロン
焦点距離	9(cm)	90(mm)	90(mm)
最大絞り	4	2.8	2
最小絞り	32	22	16/22
絞り羽根	10	12	12
レンズ構成	3群4枚	3群5枚	5群6枚
最短撮影距離(m)	1	1	1
レンズ長(mm) マウント面からの距離	79	94	110
レンズ最大径(mm)	48	53	66
フィルター	–	E39	E48
フード	–	IUFOO	組み込み
マウント	M	M	M
重量(g)	335 (MLリング込み)	330	660
リリース年	1954	1958	1957