APO-Elmar-S 180mm f/3.5

The Leica APO-Elmar-S 180mm mm f/3.5 (144 mm in 35 mm format), also available with a central shutter, sets new standards of quality for handheld telephoto photography. As the contrast performance cannot be improved any further by stopping down, wide open is a working aperture, and optical errors are practically unknown to this ultrahighperformance lens. 

Thanks to its high speed, this lens is outstanding for the creative use of selective focus in portraits. In studio work, the greater camera-to-subject distance helps by creating more space for setting up the lighting. At the same time, its closest focusing distance of only 1.5 meters makes it ideal for fascinating close-up studies. 

Technical details

The design of the apochromatically corrected APO -Elmar-S 180 f/3.5 consists of nine elements in seven groups. Of the six lenses made from glasses with anomalous partial dispersion, two have particularly low dispersion and are instrumental in the elimination of chromatic aberrations. 

Three lens elements made from glass with a high refractive index almost completely eliminate monochromatic aberrations.

Excellent telephoto lens

• New quality standards in freehand telephotography
• Innovative central shutter for maximum design freedom when using additional light
• Excellent imaging performance over the entire range and at all aperture settings
• Extremely fast
• Creative use of sharpness and blurring for the plastic extraction of motif details
• Best image quality up to the edges due to aspherical optics
• Weather- and dust-sealed lens