Leica Elmar 50mm S

Introduction

When speaking of the Elmar 4 elem. Design, it has to be considered that it was born as a variant of the original Leitz Anastigmat (the first lens mounted on the Leica 1. Dream of collectors), then renamed Elmax: this was an original Leitz design (Max Berek) with FIVE elements, the last being a triplet; then, the last group was redesigned, stretched to two elements, and entered THE ELMAR. The 9cm Elmar is part of the the first wave of Leica’s new 35mm camera system, which, only three years prior, received their first interchangeable lens mount. This was a time of critical innovation that begot near-modern expectations of portable cameras. My copy of the 9cm Elmar is black and brassed with chrome trim from 1946.

If you are looking for a new, affordable 50mm Leica optic, then inevitablythe choice boils down to either the ƒ2.8 collapsible 50mm Elmar-M or the ƒ2.050mm Summicron-M.

Many users are attracted by the smaller size and 'retro' styling ofthe Elmar-M, but worry about the lens being any good. Is it as sharp as the Summicron? Is it as mechanically robust?…

Elmar vs. 'Cron

For a year I had both lenses - both the latest formulation Elmar-M and a 1993 version M Summicron (with focus tab & no built-in lens hood). Both were in mint condition and with mint glass etc. Observations follow:

Sharpness at ƒ5.6-ƒ11 is difficult to tell apart. You have to go to extremely high magnification to see the Summicron's benefits, making the Elmar-M more than sharp enough everyday use.
Differences in contrast are easy to see however, withthe Summicron definitely more contrasty at all apertures. Whilethis is an advantage in the polluted, constantly overcast NorthernHemisphere, it isn't so good in sun-blasted Australia.
The Elmar-M doesn't cope with flare so well when photographing into the sun or a strong backlight. Mind you, the 'Cron can flareunder these conditions as well, it's just that it isn't as bad.Mind you, neither lens is as flare resistant as the Noctilux orSummilux.
The Elmar-M isn't as weather resistant as the Summicron.I found this out the hard way when shooting outdoors in the rainand I noticed the lens interior had fogged up. Oops.
Having to de-collapse the Elmar-M every time you prepare thelens for a photo is a pain. For the occasional snap-shot it's okay, but if you are shooting a lot and stowing your camera each time, then the extend-the-lens-before-you-shoot make-sure-the-lens-clicks ritual can get on your nerves.
Despite this, the Elmar-M barrel extension lock is surprisingly robust. Occasionally a tiny smear of Vaseline on the detent knobs at the rear of the lens barrel cylinder will help keep the mechanism smooth and reliable for hundreds of clicks.
When collapsed the Elmar-M makes the M/lens combo robust and v.compact. With the lens body safely tucked into the camera's lens cavity, there is less chance of damaging the lens barrel if you have a habit of banging your Leica about. However if you use the Elmar cylindrical Hood (strongly recommended to help keep fingers away from the glass), when collapsed the lens isn't much shorter than the Summicron without a hood (or with a rubber hood rolled back).
Oddly enough, the Summicron's extra stop isn't significant for outdoors work. Indoors however, even the 'Cron's ƒ2.0 isn't enough!

Mainly due to it's compactness & lower contrast, in the end I decided to keep the Elmar-M and sold the 'Cron. I now use the Elmar-M to complement my 50mm M Summilux, with the 'Lux doing the bulkof my everyday 50mm work and the Elmar-M used for fun or knocking around.

Links / Reviews

To read User Reviews of the Elmar-M, see the following link:

<photographyreview.com/…>

For general discussions of Elmar-M vs. Summicron, see the followinglinks:

<Photo.net: #004u4x> (Apr 2003)
<Greenspun.com: #0089eK>
<Greenspun.com: #004HpW>

50mm DR Summicron

Wondering which particular 50mm M lens is the 'best'?

Many imagine it's the 50mm DR - see the following op.ed. piece by Seth Rosnerin LHSA Viewfinder Vol. 34, where he is convinced his 1960s DR 50mm Summicron (11118/11318) provides greater resolution and generally gives a 'better quality' image than the latest 50mm Summicron (11819) formulation:

<lhsa.org/pdf/341newmusing.pdf> (PDF 140 KB)

(N.B. this link may be broken due to a change in web policy by the LHSA in March 2004.)

BTW Mr Rosner forgets to mention that you must set the DR to infinity when mounting and dismounting,otherwise it won't mount properly or focus-couple accurately. Additionally, there are reports of incompatibility problems with some versions of the DR 50 whenused with the newer M6 TTL and M7. See Stephen Gandy's detailed notes on his 'Leica M50/2 Dual Range Summicron' page,as well as this May 2002 online discussion at <Photo.net: #003OvN>.

Before you get too misty-eyed about the DR, in May 2002Andrew Schankprovided the following reality-check:

Leica Elmar 50mm Serial Numbers

I had the 50 DR and it is an excellent lens for sure, but I didn't find it to be as good as the current 50 [Summicron], especially when wide open. It flares easier as well, not having the benefits of multicaoating.
I find it interesting that certain lenses attain such cult status basically based on something written somewhere by someone I never heard of. The DR 50 is also very heavy, and prone to fogging like all of the older chrome lenses. Mine actually eventually had the internal coatings fail and was basically beyond economical repair.
So in answer to your question, I shot with both extensively and prefer the current 50 [Summicron] based on my results. If I had to chose between the two, I'd pick the current 50. By the way, the DR feature was more of an issue back then when the regular 50 only focused to about 40 inches. The current 50 focuses to 0.7 meters, about 24 inches, without fooling with goggles and stage two focusing cams, etc.

After reading the above remarks, in June 2002 Mr Rosner responded:

[…] Mr. Schrank correctly states that the 50 DR/Rigid is more flare-prone than the current 50 Summicron. It also carries its slight contrast advantage better into the corners of the image. The contrast difference virtually disappears at medium apertures. On the other hand, the DR/Rigid resolves better than the current lens on and off-axis and maintains or increases the resolution advantage as the lenses are stopped down.
The Rigid and the DR without the close-focus finder weigh only very slightly more than the chrome version of the current lens (made of brass rather than alloy and significantly stronger as a result).
I find Mr. Schrank's reference to the DR's cult status amusing. If there is such a thing as cult status, it is not achieved by something written somewhere by someone he has never heard of. It is achieved by recognition by professional and serious amateur photographers over a period of 46 years of heavy-duty use as the best all-around 50mm lens.

Voigtländer Heliar 50mm ƒ3.5

Despite the rave reviews, you can forget about the VoigtländerHeliar 50mm ƒ3.5 collapsible lens. It is strictlya collector's item at the moment and is only available with purchase of the101 Heliar Edition Bessa T camera body.Nevertheless Erwin Puts has done a glowing review of the 50/3.5 Heliar in comparision with the Leica Elmarit-M, seehere.

In June 2002Jeffery Smithnoted the following about his Heliar 50mm:

The Heliar 50/3.5 is a phenomenally good lens if you can live with the slow speed. It is quirky and takes some getting used to (you can change the f-stop by rotating the lens hood). The optics of this lens are exceptional, and I feel that I am getting to the point that I can recognize which images I have shot with the Heliar based on their appearance. I have some test shots posted at:
1. <jeffery-nola.com/images/Heliar_1.jpg>
2. <jeffery-nola.com/images/Heliar_2.jpg>
3. <jeffery-nola.com/images/Heliar_3.jpg>
I find the images taken with the Heliar to be clear, sharp, and with no suggestion of light fall-off anywhere.

Other 50mm lenses

In late Feb 2002 Cosina announced the LTM Color Skopar 50mm ƒ2.5 lens- a compact 7-element, 10 aperture blade 'high quality' lens and maybe a good compromisebetween the quality of the 50mm Summicron and (lower) cost of the Elmar-M? Beforeyou get your hopes up however, early reports about the 50/2.5 aren't very encouraging(see the following August 2002 online discussion at <Photo.net: #003Z6H>).

Speaking of collapsible lenses, here is something to think about. Maybe one day Leica should release as a separate M-mount lens the 50mm ƒ3.5 Anastigmat they used on the 'O' yuppie-nostalgia model. Apparently this lens is very, very good - much better than the Elmar-M andyet just as compact. See the discussions at:

<Greenspun.com: #007fZF>
<Greenspun.com: #0099r4>

For more info on 50mm Leica lenses in general, See Stephen Gandy's M lensguide at:

<cameraquest.com/mlenses.htm>

Also see this April 2004 summary of Leica 50mm lens featuresand differences byFeli di Giorgio at:

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The Most Important 35 of All Time:

the Leica A of 1925-1936

Well, here it is folks, the most important 35 mm camera of all time: the Leica A of 1925-36. Why you ask? Simple. It was the first commercially successful 35 mm camera. Without it, the millions of other 35mm cameras would not have followed -- at least not in their present form. Oskar Barnack actually invented 35 mm photography as we know it. Over 57,000 A's were made, when at the time they were very expensive. Leica's great sales from the start is a testament to the camera's filling a need, as well as to its great design. Keep in mind that commercially loaded film was not available. You had to load your own film cassettes from long 35mm rolls! While the American made Simplex was probably the 1st production 24x36 35mm camera in 1913 sold to the public, the 1925 Leica A was responsible for popularizing the 35mm film format.

What's that vertical thing on the camera? The add on vertical rangefinder! The Leica A had a fixed, collapsible lens and depended upon scale focusing. What's that? The photographer set the focus distance on the lens -- and if the setting was too far off they were rewarded with out of focus pictures. For precise focus, just attach the vertical rangefinder, look through the window on the back of the rangefinder, rotate the wheel to bring the two images into alignment, read the distance scale on the rangefinder, and then transfer the measured distance on the rangefinder to the distance scale on the lens. It was so fast and easy, it was almost like having an autofocus camera -- for 1925. Strangely enough, Leica actually produced the rangefinder BEFORE the camera as a way to measure distance. Though usually not thought of as a rangefinder camera, the Leica A is arguably the 1st 35mm Rangefinder by virtue of its add on rangefinder, which was available from Day One!

The Leica A would not have succeeded without an excellent lens, and the classic uncoated 4 element triplet design 50/3.5 Elmar more than did the job. Notice that the lens and camera fittings are nickel coated, not chrome. The lens collapsed inside the body when not in use for more compact carrying. To shoot, pull out the lens and rotate it to lock it into shooting position. Forgetting to pull out the lens yields hopelessly out of focus pictures. The 'hockey puck' locked the lens on infinity, pushing it down unlocks the lens from infinity position. While calibrated in f/stops as we know them today (as opposed to completely different systems not used today), the Leica A's marked f/stops were not today's standard f/stops: f/3.5, 4.5, 6.3, 9, 12.5, 18. The Leica A's 50/3.5 Elmar established long Leica traditions of infinity lens locks, lens focusing levers, and of course sharp lenses.

Barnack's design genius got it right from the start:

Barnack chose what was to become the standard 35 mm film format: 24x36mm
Small compact lightweight camera body
A self capping cloth horizontal running focal plane shutter -- similar to today's Leica M6TTL and M7
High top speed (1/500th) for action stopping ability
50 mm as the 'normal' lens focal length
A sharp lens capable of recording great detail
A fast lens (for its time) which meant the capability of hand held candid photography
The classic Leica focusing lever for faster focusing
The classic Leica infinity lock
Film 'daylight' re-loadable cartridges
Up to 36 shots (sometimes more) without reloading
A built in 50mm viewfinder to frame shots
A built in frame counter which would automatically count forward after being manually set to frame one
An accessory shoe for extras to extend the camera's capabilities
Film advance on the right top of the camera
Film rewind on the left top of the camera
Shutter release on the top right of the camera
Shutter speed dial on the top right of the camera
Removable baseplate film loading

Controls Left to Right: Rewind Knob, Viewfinder for 50/3.5 Elmar fixed lens, Accessory Shoe for add on rangefinder, Rotating Shutter Speed dial with speeds from 1/500 to 1/20th plus Z (or B), Rewind Control Lever, Shutter Release, Film Counter rotating around the Film Advance Knob. Notice that the 1925 Leica A set a new standard as far as the shape and style of control for 35mm cameras.

The removable baseplate film loading established a pattern followed to this day in the Leica M7. It proved to make for a wonderful compact camera body to hold and use, but rather difficult to use load film. Leica film loading was vastly improved by adding a back door in the Leica M3 of 1954 and even more with the easy loading M4 of 1967. The round cut out on the back was for technicians to check the lens focus.

This 1926 vintage Leica # 2940 has the 'Dimpled' Shutter release, and the '3 Feather' arrow on the Film Advance Knob. The baseplate release key also differs from later Leicas.

Leica Elmar 50mm F3.5 Red Scale

For a first effort which literally established a new engineering genre, the Leica A is truly remarkable.

Leica Elmar 50mm F2.8

This Leica A is shown with its vertical rangefinder and original carrying case. It's worth mentioning that Leica A's in original condition are much rarer than their production numbers would seem to indicate. As Leica brought out model after model built on the same basic body, the factory offered conversions updates to the newest model. It is not unusual to see Leicas with early numbers converted to Leica II or III's. There is no way to be sure how many Leica A's were converted to other Leica models, but in my own experience I estimate 3 out of 4 early Leica A's in the 1st 10,000 cameras I've encountered were converted. Unlike many cameras that have come and gone since 1925, you can still buy film for the Leica A just about anywhere -- not bad, not bad at all.