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Leitz 400mm f/5 Telyt

The Leitz 400mm f/5 Telyt is a long-focus telephoto lens from Leitz's Visoflex/reflex housing system, designed for wildlife, sports and distant subject work with Leica rangefinder bodies fitted with a reflex housing, and later with Leicaflex SLR bodies via adapter. As an "unspecified" listing it covers the 400mm f/5 Telyt family as a whole rather than a single mount variant.

At recent UK auction, hammer prices for the 400mm f/5 Telyt have spanned a very wide range, from £60 up to £3,500, reflecting major differences in condition, completeness and variant. More recent saleroom results in 2023 and 2025 have been modest at £60 and £162, while clean examples offered by specialist Leitz auctions historically sold for £1,100–£1,600, with an outlier at £3,500 in 2006; the median across the recorded sales sits around £1,150. In today's 2026 market a typical user-grade copy is worth noticeably less than those specialist-sale peaks, so price very much depends on which version and condition you are looking at.

Variants

Variant Years Edition Sales Price Range
LTM — — 1 £31 – £31
Visoflex — — 1 £600 – £600
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Sales History

Prices shown are UK auction hammer results — the wholesale level achieved in the saleroom. Neither buyer’s nor seller’s commission is included. Dealer and retail asking prices are typically higher.

Date Price Source Variant
Nov 2025 £162 Flints Auctions —
Oct 2025 £31 Chiswick Auctions LTM
Aug 2023 £60 Special Auction Services —
Aug 2022 £138 Flints Auctions —
Jun 2019 EUR 1,200 Leitz Auction —
Nov 2013 EUR 600 Leitz Auction Visoflex
May 2012 EUR 1,200 Leitz Auction —
May 2010 EUR 1,100 Leitz Auction —
Dec 2009 EUR 1,600 Leitz Auction —
May 2009 EUR 1,400 Leitz Auction —
Nov 2006 £480 Christie's —
May 2006 EUR 3,500 Leitz Auction —
May 2003 EUR 521 Leitz Auction —

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