The Leica-M lens - history

The Leica M3 35mm rangefinder film camera of 1954 was the first model from E.Leitz Gmbh of Wetzlar in Germany to use a new patented lens bayonet mount. Previous models had all employed the L39 screw threaded lens mount. The new bayonet made changing lenses faster and more secure, a short 30 deg turn being all that was needed to lock the lens on the camera.

The first lenses fitted with the M mount were the 50mm f/3.5 Elmar, the f/2 Summitar* and the f/2 Summicron (1); both the latter were first offered in collapsible mounts and it was not until 1956 that an f/2 50mm Summicron (2)became available in a rigid barrel. The larger maximum aperture f/1.5 Summarit - the foreunner of the f/1.4 50mm Summilux - was also launched with an M mount in 1954. Longer telephoto lenses launched in the same year with a bayonet mount include the f/4 90mm Elmar (1) and the f/4.5 135mm Hektor.

Of all these lenses, the most significant in photographic history of the 35mm format was arguably the 1954 f/2 50mm Summicron (1) lens which included in its 7 element 4 goup design 3 elements of Lanthanum glass. The improvements to image contrast and small motif detail resolving ability compared with earlier designs, represented a huge leap in lens design and many of these objectives are still used today by enthusiast photographers.

Any Leitz or Leica M mount lens as well as most screw thread lenses fitted with appropriate adapters can be used with all Leica M camera models dating from 1954 to the present including Leica's digital M8.2 and Epson RD1s cameras. Newer lens designs using modern element coating technology and aspheric elements have improved imaging quality and the range of objectives offered for use with Leica-M type cameras. Other manufacturers such as Carl Zeiss and Cosina Ltd have also designed and produced a range of CZ ZM and Voigtlander VM bayonet fitting lenses for their Zeiss Ikon and Zeiss Ikon SW and Voigtlander Bessa rangefinder cameras which also fit the Leica M camera models.