Dan Kerin

 Leica 135mm F/4 Tele-Elmar

The Leica ecosystem is one of the largest among current camera manufactures, however one area that rangefinders have always fallen short is in the telephoto field. Leica has always supported telephoto lenses dating back to the 135mm F/4.5 Elmar in 1931. That being said rangefinder cameras are not well suited to using longer focal lengths. Leica did introduce the Visoflex system to support the use of longer focal lengths however this was a bulky contraption which was more suited to studio work. Because of this, older Leica telephoto lenses can be found at great value prices.

The 135mm F/4 Tele-Elmar proceeded the 135mm F/4 Elmar in 1965. The new ‘Tele-Elmar’ had a 5 element in 3 group sonnar design. This makes the lens a little heavier than the ones before. From using this lens it still balances well on a Leica M camera. It has a long focus throw which means focusing this lens on a Leica is not as hard as it may first seem. If speed is not an issue and you want more control over your focus, I would recommend the previous model as that has an even longer focus throw. Like with many lenses being produced around this time it was designed by Dr Walter Mandler. If you have read some of my other reviews this lens follows the same principles, simple design great results. The lens had a production run from 1964 until 1995, with a total of 28,300 being produced. Lenses produced in 1964 and 1965 came with a red focusing scale which was later changed to yellow making these lenses quite collectable.

The above photographs were taken using this lens paired with a Leica M4 and using Fujifilm Velvia 100 shot wide open at f/4. When planning these photos the weather was meant to be better however I decided to continue anyway as we would be leaving Kanchanburi the next day. Using the 135mm was defiantly a challenge and I would have used it on the Leica M3 however at the time this camera was loaded with black and white film. Even wide open at f/4 the performance is good.

The photographs below were shot using the Leica M240. These were shot stopped down at f/8 so overall sharpness is increased. I think if you use a digital camera this lens will be much more user friendly, especially with the aid of focus peaking. Though I no longer use a digital Leica I have used a Leica M to Nikon Z adapter on my Nikon ZFC and it works great too.

I rarely use this lens, though it has been a good lens to have for when I want to try something new. Considering how inexpensive older 90mm and 135mm l would recommend anyone to purchase one even if you don’t intend on using it. I say this because sometimes a new focal length can help us see the world in a different eye and working around the limitations can support the creative process.