Stumbled on this rare Leica R vario 30-70mm 2.8

[Haskell]

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I came across this Leica Vario-ELMARIT-R 35-70mm ASPH the other day in NYC and could not help myself from burning a hole in my wallet but I got it for a pretty good deal compared to what people ask on ebay for. I have found a few images from users but not much, anyone have any examples or experience with this glass? I know its a rare lens and was discontinued so its hard finding much work done with it. I plan to shoot motion pictures with an RED EPIC using a R mount.

 

Cheers

 

[mmradman]

It is a very rare R lens, one lucky find.

You can find more about it here, one of the links is Thorsten's review who is regular contributor on LUF.

 

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-wiki.en/index.php/35mm–70mm_f/2.8_Vario-Elmarit-R_ASPH

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[bybrett]

Wow! I bought one of these with my R6 - shot a few weddings with it too. Fabulous bokeh, would love to see what a motion picture guy might achieve with this... Handle with care, discontinued as difficult to assemble - notorious for lens elements getting out of centre. Please show results? Cheers and good luck.

[Haskell]

It is a very rare R lens, one lucky find.

You can find more about it here, one of the links is Thorsten's review who is regular contributor on LUF.

 

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-wiki.en/index.php/35mm–70mm_f/2.8_Vario-Elmarit-R_ASPH

 

YEs I am in touch with Thorsten, he has been very helpful and hoping to meet up with him in the near future.

[Haskell]

Wow! I bought one of these with my R6 - shot a few weddings with it too. Fabulous bokeh, would love to see what a motion picture guy might achieve with this... Handle with care, discontinued as difficult to assemble - notorious for lens elements getting out of centre. Please show results? Cheers and good luck.

 

Thanks! G Yeah I am excited, also very concerned about how the hell I would service such a lens? I will certainly share results. Love to see any examples you got from it, your wedding your mentioned or anything.

 

I had a choice between buying a few primes or this one zoom and I wanted to be able to run and gun with a skeleton crew (or even solo) so I opted for the zoom. I will be shooting up to 300 frames a second and curious how it all performs. I will have the lens adapted for cinema use (non destructive of course).

 

Still only seen a handful of pix, i will keep searching forum. Look forward to contributing.

[*j-w-m*]

I have considered getting one of these for the same purpose since I have 7 R primes and the 70-180 2.8. I'll be interested in your results with the Epic. I have not yet come to terms with the price this lens brings compared to all the other Rs. Seems like part of the value is in its collectibility since only 200 or so were made.

[Haskell]

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I have considered getting one of these for the same purpose since I have 7 R primes and the 70-180 2.8. I'll be interested in your results with the Epic. I have not yet come to terms with the price this lens brings compared to all the other Rs. Seems like part of the value is in its collectibility since only 200 or so were made.

 

I found it for a fair deal, specially considering what I see them on ebay for...regardless is a pricey piece of glass. I imagine it performs similar to the 70-180? In your experience how does the IQ stack up compared to your primes? I would love to build a prime set, you have quite a collection!

[*j-w-m*]

I have only just gotten the 70-180 modified for cinema and used it on one shoot day last week, so I don't have enough information to compare with the primes. The picture quality seems to be excellent though, and it stays focused through the entire zoom range. The exposure is stable when zooming as well. I was shooting some interviews and the zoom range was perfect for that - never would have worked to use primes in this situation.

[Haskell]

Thanks folks for the infos, i will be sure to update more soon.

[mmradman]

BTW who is doing your adaptation, for DSLRs and also film mounts www.leitax.com is gold standard.

[Haskell]

Mat Duclos in california...he has become one of the "Go to" guys for adapting lenses. Peter Sensor is another one. They both do exceptional work. Thanks for the details, thats the one I believe he mentioned he was using.

[*j-w-m*]

I bought my Nikon bayonets from Leitax, replaced those myself, then sent the lenses to Duclos for focus gears and 80mm fronts. Not sure if Leitax handles the gears and fronts but Duclos does a great job with that and turned them around quickly.

[Haskell]

Yes I confirmed Duclos does indeed use those leitax mounts

Still Lens Mount Swapping

 

Still no more images to share from this leica 35-70 rare beast? well I guess I will have to go make some soon. I should pick it up friday.

[Haskell]

She is a masterful piece of glass, what more can I say.

 

 

[atournas]

I surely envy you!

 

Paul