Mirek Elsner wrote:
I wonder why Leica had several 180mm lenses. Are they from different era?
Yes, and some had different purposes as well. This is similar to the other manufacturers. I don't think that more than two 180-200mm prime lenses have co-existed in the lineup at any given time. Leica lenses are incredibly well built, however, which is why you can still find and buy all these lenses in great condition.
alundeb wrote:
It also has a reputation for being soft close up. This is not a problem, and should not keeping anyone away for using it close.
Agree. It's normal to see tele lens gets a bit soft at MFD (except macro). Most hassleblad lenses are optimized at infinity too. BTW, I found Leica zoom lenses are quite good at close distance. Here is one shot from 105-280/f4.2 at close distance.
I can vouch for the 180/3.4 APO if you are on a budget. And yes, it was once developed for the army, or marine.
I have an ugly copy but the elements are in perfect order. The lens is too long for my needs but is sharp enough, as mentioned above: Testing it using a micro 4/3 camera says f/5.6 is the sweet spot in that case (with a sensor equal to a 45MP FF sensor if we are talking pixel density) and there is no problem with "sharpness".
alundeb wrote:
It can't be the APO Elmarit. Not at that price. The one I see at $750 is not listed as APO.
You most likely see the same lens. Right under the search bar it says "Listed as Leica Apo-Elmarit-R APO Elmarit R 180mm f/2.8 180 mm F/... in category: Cameras & Photo>Lenses & Filters>Lenses "
I can see now that it is not the APO lens though - it looks different than the one shown on Diglloyd.com.
