100mm Macro Elmar R - Short Mount for bellows

[dkCambridgeshire]

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Just been browsing UK dealers' lists and came across a mint, boxed 100mm f4 Macro Elmar R bellows lens - and it brought back happy memories of my first Leica purchase 25 years ago. This was the lens that first impressed on me the superb build quality of Leitz/Leica lenses. I recall being fascinated by the beautifully engineered collapsible lens hood and the mysterious Series 7 filter retaining ring (not knowing at that time what the ring was for ). In 1987 I bought the lens to use with my Canon T90 and Canon Autobellows - I had an adaptor specially made by SRB for the then enormous sum of £35.

 

Good results when used with my Canon T90 notwithstanding, the Macro Elmar's build quality left me yearning for a proper Leica camera and bellows to match the lens. Some weeks later I bought the Universal Focusing Bellows R - also beautifully made (OK, probably made by Novoflex but heaps better build quality than Canon's offering) - and then as soon as funds permitted I bought a Leicaflex SL and a Leica R4 S Model 2 ... shortly followed by a Mk I 50mm Summicron R ... and then a secondhand 90mm Summicron R which the late Reg Byford assured was the former property of the MD of the Photax company of 'Interfit lighting' fame. I thought to myself at that time, "If the lens was good enough for him then it must be a good 'un .." - and sure enough it was and still is - not so much for the sharpness but for the bokeh when used at full aperture.

 

And thus commenced my fascination with all things Leitz and Leica. I have since sold the short mount 100mm Macro Elmar after acquiring both the later focusing model and the 100mm Apo Macro Elmarit R - but am very tempted to buy another bellows version because IMO its build quality is not just superb - it's superlative.

 

To some, the lens may be a bit of a dinosaur but to me it will always be very special. However, it's not only the built-in hood design and engineering that impressed me so much; the optical quality is superb too - the lens produces beautiful 'blacks' when using colour slide stock.

 

Best wishes

 

dunk

[jc_braconi]

part of my website :

[dkCambridgeshire]

part of my website :

 

But the photo shows the later version of the 100mm Macro Elmar with the focusing mount code 11232 - I was referring to the original bellows version code 11230. Both have the same optics but the hood on the earlier lens is much deeper and thus probably more efficient.

 

Best wishes

 

dunk

[dkCambridgeshire]

In this week's Amateur Photographer 'Nature Photography Supplement' there is a feature titled 'Flight of Fancy' documenting renowned nature photographer Stephen Dalton's work. Several of the high speed flash photographs illustrating the article were taken using a Leitz 100mm Macro Elmar R bellows lens with a Leicaflex SL. I recall that in one of his books Stephen Dalton mentions using a modified Leitz 135mm Hektor lens for some of his high speed flash photographs. His 'high speed' flash in the 1970s operated at 1/20,000 sec. but these days he uses flash at 1/60,000 sec.

 

Best wishes

 

dunk

[jc_braconi]

But the photo shows the later version of the 100mm Macro Elmar with the focusing mount code 11232 - I was referring to the original bellows version code 11230. Both have the same optics but the hood on the earlier lens is much deeper and thus probably more efficient.

 

Best wishes

 

dunk

On the illustration pict the hood is collapsed and what we see is the UV filter.

 

here a pict taken with this lens and R8/DMR