In 1975 Leitz Canada designers computed the 180 mm f/3.4 Apo-Telyt-R lens for scientific purposes that required a very high information content. It is a seven-element system with four groups, corrected for the infrared region and it performs best at infinity. At the same time Canon introduced a new 300 mm f/2.8 lens with synthetically grown fluorite crystals, a solution that Leitz did not wish to use.
With the 180 mm f/3.4 Apo-Telyt-R, Leitz offered a high perfor- mance lens that undoubtedly inspired a friendly competition with other prominent companies. Reduction of the weight of lenses was the primary concern and goal as such lenses grew in popularity for hand-held photography in available light. Sub- sequently, new lenses were introduced: in 1977 (180 mm f/4 Elmar-R) and in 1980 a new computation was made for the 180 mm f/2.8 lens.
For a short period there was a choice of three 180mm lenses (f/4, f/3.4 and f/2.8) that were close in price: in relation to the standard 50 mm f/2 Summicron-R lens the ratio was: 2.4:1, 2.9:1 and 3:1.
The second version of the 180 mm f/2.8 Elmarit-R lens could not outperform the 180 mm f/3.4 Apo-Telyt-R lens. And the shortest focusing distance of 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) was unre-
markable. In addition, the ergonomics were no longer state-of- the-art as more and more companies introduced internal focu- sing.
In 1998 Leica introduced the new 180 mm f/2.8 Apo-Elmarit-R, a system that can be described as "Return of the Empire".
The price ratio to the 50 mm Summicron now became 3.5:1, just as it was in the thirties.
A lens with the focal length of 280 mm for the Visoflex system was introduced in 1961, and in 1970 a 250 mm lens was intro- duced for the Leica R-system.
Both versions offered commendable but not top performances. The same challenge of optimal weight, high performance and short near focusing distance existed here as it did with the 180
mmfocal length, and the first computations by leitz were not entirely convincing.
This changed abruptly with the introduction in 1984 of the 280
mmf/2.8 Apo-Elmarit-R, an outstandingly good performer with internal focusing and a weight of almost three kilograms (6.6 pounds). These characteristics required the use of a tripod and they restricted the lens to static photography. With a price ratio of 10.6:1, it was not a lens for the normal Leica user.
