24mm Elmarit-R Made in Germany

I just got a 24mm Elmarit-R and I noticed that is says Made in Germany on it.

I thought the 24mm was made by Minolta. Did that change?

Hi Robert , the original design was Minolta with some Minolta glass.

Leica used this design first in 1974 the 24mm R lens has always been build by Leica.Replaced in 1998 with the Elmarit f2.8 24mm ASPH a completely different and very much improved design.

Cheers Manfred

To what Manfred said, I will add that since the original Minolta design, Leica has redesigned the lens several times. This, as I understand, it was made necessary by some of the optical glasses that were in the original design, having been discontinued. So Leica had to reformulate the lens to acheive the same specs with newer glasses. As I understand it, altering the performance was not a goal; merely adapting the lens to glass of a different refractive index and Abbe number than was originally used.

 

As far as an aspherical version, I'm not aware of one being available for the R series. There is of course a 24mm ASPH in the M line. And it is a honey!

This is not the M ASPH lens, but the R lens. It is a third cam lens and takes E60 filters. From the couple of test shots I've made with it, it is incredibly sharp. It clearly is a different lens than the original Minolta design.

The 24mm Elmarit-R is a Leica made lens from a design by Minolta. I have one and is one

of my favorites. For some reason there is lack of respect for this lens due to its blood line

thus resulting in low 2nd hand prices. I was a Nikon user and shot many years with the

24mm AiS and can say the Elmarit is way ahead in color fidelity and that fabled Leica 3D

look.

I have a 24 Minolta lens and it is nice as well.

My Apologies all , the Elmarit 24mm ASPH I mentioned is the M version.

Manfred

I also have the R 24 and am very happy with it.

 

JJ

I had both and both are very nice lenses. They are mechanically very different, but optically

in the same league.

 

Most sources seem to agree that Leica benefited largely from the Minolta expertise in i.a.

designing retrofocus lenses and zoom lenses. The Minolta design was a floating lens

design and in that sense very much "state of the art" in 1970-1974, cf. http://

www.rokkorfiles.com/24mm.html. It still puzzles me why Minolta replaced the 9 elements

design by an 8 elements design at the end of the 70's (the 9 element design only being

continued in the VFC-version and of course in the Elmarit).

 

To what sources do you refer, Rob in stating that "Leica has redesigned the lens several

times"?

Stefaan: See chapter 5, page 7. <a href="http://www.cs-imaging.net/Puts_Leica_R_19_24.pdf">LINK TO ARTICLE BY ERWIN PUTS</a> Elsewhere he has added that Leica has gone through this redesign several times, as various glass types were superceded by newer ones. I haven't figured out where tose additional comments were, yet. But I'll find them for you.

Obviously Yes!

 

This elmarit, although dicontinued today, is a good lens. even illumination through out the field, sharp at F5.6, it's a nice wide angle.

 

The later model seems to have a better glass but it could be an urban legend!

 

It's among my fav focal :)

 

Enjoy and post!