105MM SCREW MOUNT LENSES



10.5cm f/6.3 Elmar 

Prototype

2 prototypes of 10.5cm f/6.3 Elmar were known360. The pyramid-shaped lens was introduced in 1930 in an uncoupled, unnumbered mount, and only a few experimental specimens were produced360. The design of this lens, along with its aperture, laid the foundation for the 10.5cm f/6.3 Elmar lens introduced in 1932360.

One of the prototypes, dated circa 1930, illustrated below, was offered but remained unsold at the 36th Leitz Photographica Auction on June 13, 2020387. 

The lot had the following description: "the famous prototype of the 'Mountain' Elmar 6.3/10.5cm ELZEN, ex Leica Museum and still with the original red museum inventory sticker 'M 899'; with the exception for the mount, all elements made out of black-painted brass, despite the similar outer appearance, this prototype is considerably smaller than the serial production lens, it is only 77mm high (vs 93mm of the production lens), the visible part of the front element is of the same size, the front rim is slightly larger (25 on the prototype vs 24mm on the production lens), the focal length is also marginally shorter (around 10cm); only two prototypes in this form are known to exist. The other example can be seen in P.H. van Hasbroeck 'Leica, A History illustrating every Model and Accessory' on page 219, the offered lens can be seen in Lager II 'Lenses' on page 89 and in L. Netopil 'Prototype Leica' on pages 131, 136-139..."387. The same prototype was illustrated on page 41 of "Leica. Tsushin No. 6: Mechanism and Prototype" magazine in 2002570. The author of the article claimed that "it has a black finish, treated to resemble black chrome. Since black chrome plating wasn't possible at the time, it was probably finished using Leitz' special plating technology"570. This lens was illustrated in Mr. Lars Netopil's "Rare Leica" book in 2014594. In April of 2025, this lens was part of a prominent Austrian collection.

The other very similar prototype of 10.5cm f/6.3 Elmar lens, dated circa 1931, was offered but remained unsold at the 32nd WestLicht Camera Auction on March 10, 2018391. The lot was described as "famous un-coupled prototype of the 'Mountain Elmar', in all-black finish, illustrated in in P.H. van Hasbroeck 'Leica in Colour' page 132 and in 'A History illustrating every Model and Accessory' page 219 - ex Kisselbach collection"391.



Production

The 10.5cm f/6.3 Elmar was designed as an accessory lens for travelers and mountaineers, which was why it is often referred to as the 'lightweight' or 'mountain' Elmar360. Introduced in 1931 (or 1932, with serial number 107891439), this lens featured a standard four-glass construction, with the two rear elements cemented together360. Most variants were supplied with a reversible lens hood and cap360.

Despite being one of the most elegant and refined lenses made by Leitz, and although it boasted a fine optical design, light weight, and affordability, it achieved only limited commercial success360. The low weight of just over 200 grams was attained at the cost of maximum aperture360. Additionally, image quality suffered due to camera shake, often caused by the use of low shutter speeds360. The lens was a slow seller and for a time Leitz mentioned an 'attractive price' in its promotion143. The limited availability of high-speed films at that time contributed to the commercial failure of the 10.5cm f/6.3 Elmar, with sales reaching only about four thousand lenses between 1932 and 1937360. 

There were several variants of this lens360:

  • Variant 1 had uncoupled but standardized mount, with serial number below 100000 on most specimens360. Supplied with reversible lens hood and cap360. In black and nickel finish360. The optical design was created by Max Berek360. In his "Geburtstage der Leitz-Foto-Konstruktionen ab 1927" book, Wilhelm Albert dated the "birthday" of this variant ("Objektiv Elmar 1:6,3 f=10,5 cm ohne E.-Kupplung") as December 10, 1931, and noted himself as designer573. The variant was listed in the Leitz Wetzlar brochure of April 1932 under code name ELZEN542. It was specifically designed for use with Leica I Model C542.
  • Variant 2 was similar to Variant 1, but with a coupled rangefinder mount and with serial numbers well above 130000360. In his "Geburtstage der Leitz-Foto-Konstruktionen ab 1927" book, Wilhelm Albert dated the "birthday" of this variant ("Objektiv Elmar 1:6,3 f=10,5 cm mit E.-Kupplung (Stoßstange)") as December 10, 1931, and noted himself as designer573. The variant was listed in the Leitz Wetzlar brochure of April 1932 under code name ELZENKUP542. It was specifically designed for use with Leica II Model D542.
  • Variant 3 was similar to Variant 2, but with a special coupling of the slip-ring type360. 
  • Variant 4 came with a fixed lens hood and built-in aperture selector in black and nickel finish360. 
  • Variant 5 came with reversible lens hood; in black and chrome finish360. From 1933542.
  • Variant 6 was similar to Variant 5, but came with an infra-red marking (IR) on the depth-of-field scale360.
  • Variant 7* Specimens in all-chrome finish apparently existed, but in Paul-Henry Van Hasbroek's opinion this finish would not had been applied by Leitz360.


Code Names

Black and nickel finish lenses were code-named ELZENKUP187.

Black and chrome finish lenses were code-named ELZENCHROM187. The black front of the chrome lens was a bit longer than the nickel one187.


Viewfinders 

Viewfinders that were available to be used with this lens were VIDEO, VIDOM and RASAL542. The folding SIZOO optical sports viewfinder, designed specifically for use with this lens, never reached serial production542.


Lens Hoods

FIZEN was the lens hood for this lens542.


Production Table

Production chronology table from the 2001 article titled "105 Elmar Serial Number" that was published on pages 12-13 of the Viewfinder, Number 34, Issue 4 239 :

Production By Year

Allocated Production

 

Serial Numbers

Allocated Production

1932

500

 

128501-129000

500

1932

897

 

136001-137000

1000

1933

103

 

162001-163000

1000

1933

722

 

251001-252000

1000

1934

278

 

300001-300475

475

1934

181

 

 

 

1935

600

 

 

 

1936

219

 

 

 

1936

365

 

 

 

1937

110

 

 

 


According to Helmut Lagler, overall, there were 15616 lenses manufactured, between 1932 and 1936, with serial numbers ranging from 107891 through 300500439.