Outdated wide-angle zoom VARIO ELMAR R 21-35 ASPH.
A review and Photo example of the VARIO-ELMAR-R 21-35mm F3.5-4 ASPH with Digital and film camera.
Table of contents
Gallery
- The photographic examples were taken by
- Leica R8 +DMR(Digital Module R)
- LEICA M-P Typ240
- LEICA R8 +COLOR NEGAFILM FUJIFILM 100
- LEICA SL typ601
Review
1．Overview
The Vario-Elmar 21-35mm ASPH is a wide-angle zoom lens for the Leica R mount released in 2001.
Its main specifications are a lens configuration of 9 elements in 8 groups, aspherical lenses, a minimum shooting distance of 0.5m, and 6 aperture blades.
The lens I own has a ROM terminal, and can communicate focal length, aperture value, and shooting distance to the camera using the genuine Leica mount adapter Leica R-Adapter L (16076) and genuine Leica L-mount cameras, including the LEICA T / TL / TL2 / CL with APSC-C sensors, and the Leica SL / SL2 / SL2-S / SL3 with 35mm full-frame sensors.
2．Usage
As its name suggests, the Vario-Elmar 21-35mm ASPH covers focal lengths from 21mm to 35mm. Major wide-angle zoom lenses from the late 2010s have a starting focal length of 15mm or 16mm, making the starting focal length of 21mm outdated for a wide-angle lens. However, for the Leica R mount, this lens covers a valuable wide angle.
Lenses with a wider angle than this lens are the 19mm or 15mm prime lenses, and the Super-Angulon R 21mm has not been updated to the latest model, so the image quality is disappointing, but this compact and lightweight lens is useful in a variety of shooting scenes.
The only thing that’s not so great about this lens is that the minimum shooting distance is 0.5m, so you can’t go any further.
It would be perfect if it could get as close as 0.3m, which is often used for a 35mm focal length, but unfortunately it’s a shame.
I often used this lens with my broken R8+ DMR (Digital Module R). Because of the sensor size of the DMR, a coefficient of 1.37 times is applied, so it was useful as a standard 28mm-50mm lens.
The hood of this lens rotates and hooks with a claw, and since the hood, claws, and everything are plastic, they are prone to damage. I once dropped the hood from a table about 30cm onto a tatami mat, damaging it. At that time, the claws of the hood seemed to have absorbed all the impact of the fall, and the lens was safe, so this may be fine. After that, I imported a new hood from the United States at a fairly high price and bought it. The store seemed to have several in stock, and I later thought that I should have bought several more. The store had already sold out of this hood, so I couldn’t damage my current hood.
LEICA R ROM terminal lens
There are eight zoom lenses with ROM connectors for Leica R.
As far as I know, there are three lenses that can transmit focal length, aperture, and shooting distance like this lens.
- Vario-Elmar 21-35 (F4)
- Vario-Elmar 35-70 (F4)
- Vario-Elmar 80-200 (F4)
Even though they are the same zoom lenses, the Vario-Elmar 105-280 (F4.8) and Vario Apo-Elmarit 70-180 (F2.8) recorded the focal length at the wide end as information in exif when used with the LEICA SL typ601.
When I got the Vario-Elmar 28-70, I didn’t have a LEICA SL or CL body, so I’m not sure. In fact, it can be recorded with the Leica T, so I should have tried it, but I don’t have the lens on hand anymore.
I have never obtained the Vario-Elmarit 28-90 (F2-F4.5) or the Vario-Elmarit 35-70 (F2.8), so I am not sure about their performance.
Use with a mount adapter
I found that this lens also cannot be used properly with the EOS-1Ds MK-III, with Err20. As with the Elmarit R 19mm, Elmarit R 24mm, and Summilux R 35mm, the protruding rear lens seems to be caught by the sensor that indicates an abnormality on the camera. The only wide-angle lens I have that can be used with the EOS-1Ds MK-III is the late model Elmarit R 28mm.
The digital medium-format cameras HASSELBLAD X2D and FUJIFILM GFX series have a 44mm x 33mm image circle covering the focal lengths of 35mm (equivalent to 28mm at x0.8) and 28mm (equivalent to 22.4mm at x0.8). The 35mm focal length seems to be more usable at the periphery than the Summicron R 35mm. At the wide-angle end of 21mm, there is vignetting at the corners and the edges are quite soft, but it seems that the focal length of 21mm is the limit at which it can be used as is, and it is clear that it is designed properly for 35mm format.
At focal lengths of 28mm and above, the image circle is wider to cover 21mm, which is thought to be a positive effect.
Below are the results of shooting with the HASSELBLAD X2D at focal lengths of 21mm, 28mm, and 35mm, and at 21mm it is clear that the image circle is not large enough in the masked area.
3．Summary
In conclusion, the VARIO ELMAR 21-35mm ASPH. has inferior specifications compared to the latest zoom lenses, but its image quality is sufficient for practical use, and the lens can still be used to its full potential if the photographer compensates for the narrow shooting range.
The ROM terminal is also a good feature, as it allows you to record shooting information by combining the genuine mount adapter with a Leica L-mount camera. It would be even better if this specification could be shared with other L-mount camera manufacturers.
Specifications and series lens comparison
- The lens construction diagrams are quoted from each company’s materials, and the sizes have been adjusted by us, so they are not exact.
| Lens name | VARIO ELMAR | VARIO ELMAR | VARIO ELMAR |
| Focal length(mm) | 21-35 | 35-70 | 80-200 |
| Max aperture | 3.5-4 | 4 | 4 |
| Min aperture | 22 | 22 | 22 |
| Leaf blade | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Lens Construction | 9elements in 8groups | 8elements in 7groups | 12elements in 8groups |
| Min distance(m) | 0.5 | 0.5 (0.26 macro) | 1.1 |
| Lens length(mm) | 66.3 | 79 | 46 |
| Max diameter(mm) | 75 | 74 | 62.5 |
| Filter Size(mm) | 67 | 60 | 60 |
| Weight(g) | 500 | 505 | 1020 |
| Lens hood | Plastic claw hood 12438 | Screw hood 12437 | Build in hood |
| Production number*1 | 3,400(Up to 2005) | 8,680(Up to 2005) | 14,350(Up to 2005) |
| Release date | 2001- | 1996- | 1995- |
Reference links
- VARIO-ELMAR-R 3.5-4 21-35mm ASPH Leica wiki
- Vario Elmar 35-70(F4)
- Vario Elmar 80-200(F4)
- Vario Elmar 105-280(F4.8)
- Vario Apo Elmarit 70-180(F2.8)
- Vario elmar 28-70
- ELMARIT R 19mm
- ELMARIT R 24mm
- SUMMILUX R 35mm
- ELMARIT R 28mm late ver
- HASSELBLAD X2D
- LEICA T/TL/CL/SL
Update
- 2025.4.26
- 2025.1.15
- 2024.03.09
- 2023.12.02
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