The Leica APO-Tele-Elmar-S 180mm f/3.5 CS Lens is a superior-quality telephoto characterized by an extremely wide lens opening to enable portraits with a shallow depth of field. This reference-class lens, with special grades of glass and aspherical surfaces, displays consistently high image performance utilizing an inner focusing system with a floating element.

The APO Tele-Elmar-S 180mm f/3.5 CS is equipped with an integrated Central (leaf) Shutter. Photographers can activate the shutter via the camera's main switch and it enables flash units to be used at a shutter speed of 1/500 second. The shutter also has an electronically-controlled drive guaranteeing reliable, fast exposure times and low energy consumption.

It displays maximum performance across the entire image field at all apertures. With a broad effective range of focus (minimum distance of 5-feet), it is possible to produce images at a 1:7 scale. With its special lens elements, vignetting, distortion and chromatic aberrations have been minimized to such a high degree that images don't require post-production computer enhancement.

The APO-Tele-Elmar-S 180mm f/3.5 CS is equipped with a Leica-designed microprocessor for precise autofocus and iris diaphragm control with silent gearing and it has a focus ring with enough drag to let the user to override the autofocus at any time.