Pixiq

Lenses with focal lengths that correspond approximately to the diagonal of the negative format are called normal lenses. In the 35mm format of 24 x 36 mm the diagonal measures about 43 mm (1-3/6 inches). For practical reasons and for reasons of better quality, however, more than 75 years ago Leitz decided to use a standard focal length that is nearly 10 mm (just over 3/8 inch) longer. And that is still the case today. Standard lenses for Leica cameras have a focal length of 52mm (nearly 2-1/16 inches). This holds true even when the engraving around the front element of the lens reads only 50mm. Even today, most top-quality 35mm cameras are sold with a normal or standard lens with a focal length of 50mm. A total of three different lenses in this focal-length group are available for the Leica M camera. Among them are the fastest production lenses for 35mm cameras on the world market, as well as the Summicron-M lens, which is world famous for its superior performance.

Nearly every photographer started taking pictures with a normal lens. There are famous professionals who prefer this focal length, because it combines many advantages. For instance, despite their high speed, these lenses are still compact and lightweight allowing handheld photographs with outstanding image quality under poor light conditions. Those who constantly carry a Leica camera will appreciate the “ready-to-shoot” versatility of normal lenses. This use of standard lenses is uncomplicated and requires no special training.

For the novice, taking pictures with this lens is easy because its angle of view of about 45° most closely corresponds to the natural coverage of the human eye. Considering their many advantages, these lenses are certainly worth their price.

The retractable 50mm f/2.8 Elmar M lens includes a screw-mounted lens hood. The other three standard lenses are supplied with a permanently installed lens hood, which can be pulled out.

50mm f/2.8 Elmar-M

This new 1994/95 design, with its excellent technical specifications, is named after the legendary Elmar. Although, based on its design, this lens’ use and imaging performance have been adapted to today’s demands. It has been designed with a rectilinear focusing mount to allow exposure compensation with the lens aperture when Leica M cameras with TTL exposure meter are used, or to facilitate aperture pre-selection for the aperture priority automatic exposure control of the Leica M7, without inadvertently resetting the focus. This also applies when a polarizing filter is used. At the same time, lens changes become more convenient and faster.

The optical system is a triplet, i.e., a conventional four-lens system with two freestanding elements and one cemented rear element. By using glass having a high refraction index with anomalous partial dispersion (index of refraction, greater than 1.8) in conjunction with a new optical computation, the same number of lenses as used in the predecessor resulted in improved imaging performance, which is retained into the close-up range with minimal stopping down. Even at maximum aperture, the lens’ performance is excellent. Curvature of field virtually does not exist; the very minor coma disappears when stopped down to medium aperture values. As is true of any optical system, the 50mm f/2.8 Elmar-M is subject to system-related vignetting. This drop in light toward the image corners becomes visible in particular with low exposure and uniformly bright image field (e.g., a full-size building wall or a cloudless sky). Starting with f/5.6 the lens is free from vignetting. When not in use, the lens may be collapsed into the camera housing. This reduces the depth of the camera by 16 mm, thereby making the Leica M compact and portable. If a picture is to be taken, the 50mm f/2.8 lens is pulled out quickly and securely locked by a quick turn to the right. This lens is sold with a very compact screw-mount lens hood, as well as with a classic silvery chrome-plated or black-anodized brass lens cap. The 50mm f/2.8 Elmar is suitable for numerous photographic applications, especially wherever low weight and compact dimensions have priority over maximum speed.

50mm f/2 Summicron-M

This six-element Gauss type lens with five plano surfaces (four of them are in the two cemented elements) is offers the best combination of features and the highest degree of performance in the class of high-speed normal lenses. It is therefore considered to be the world standard for superb image quality. Yet, it is still small, lightweight, and handy.

Its high contrast, outstanding detail reproduction, and its extraordinary sharpness all the way into the corners of the picture, are the particular performance characteristics of this lens. Even at full aperture, image quality is excellent. By stopping down only slightly, residual astigmatism present in a narrow zone disappears completely. Distortion is exceedingly minor.

These outstanding performance characteristics hardly change across the entire focusing range. That is why the 50 mm f/2 Summicron-M lens with its crisp contrast and flat field performs very well in the close-up range. Stopping the aperture down to f/2.8 or f/4 increases the performance of the lens in this range even further.

At full aperture the 50mm f/2 Summicron-M lens is free from coma and it shows only a negligible tendency for reflections (or repeated images) of light sources that appear in the picture. The vignetting that is inherent in the system is hardly noticeable in practice. At apertures of f/4 or smaller, the lens is completely free from vignetting and the image is very evenly illuminated across the entire field.

50mm f/1.4 Summilux-M

This lens is a modified Gauss type that has high contrast and very good correction for coma at full aperture. This meets the requirements of the application for which it was designed—available light and nighttime photography, with emphasis on high-contrast performance. Residual astigmatism is minor. Stopping down the aperture enhances performance even further. Its neutral reproduction and exact differentiation of colors are especially remarkable.

The 50mm f/1.4 Summilux-M is a lens with unusually good reflection characteristics, which means that it has practically no disturbing ghost images and no ap-erture reflections in extreme backlighting situations or when light sources are included in the picture.

In the close-up range, the Summilux-M shows good contrast across the entire field, even at full aperture. However it is not entirely free from curvature of field in this working range. A trace of barrel-shaped distortion may also become apparent with critical subjects that have characteristics such as straight lines near the edges of the picture.

At f/1.4, the effect of vignetting that is inherent in every optical system may become noticeable with short exposures of uniformly bright surfaces such as blue skies, building walls, and the like. However, vignetting diminishes rapidly as the lens is stopped down. At f/4 and smaller apertures, the lens is free from any vignetting that is inherent in the optical system.

50mm f/1 Noctilux-M

Wide open, the fastest lens in the Leica M system (the world's fastest lens for 35mm range-viewfinder cameras currently in production) already has good resolution and good contrast in the center of the image and in a large portion of the field. The small amount of residual astigmatism that is still present in the zone area at full aperture disappears entirely when the lens is stopped down, and then the Noctilux-M delivers very good overall performance in both near as well as distant ranges.

Thus it is also well suited for scenic photographs, where many times there are miniscule details that still have to be resolved. Then its slightly warmer rendering of colors (as compared to other Leica M lenses) even reduces unwanted blue haze in the distance. At full aperture, the 50mm f/1 Noctilux-M lens shows the strong vignetting in the corners of the image that is inherent in the optical system. As the illustrations in this book prove, this loss of brightness in the corners is not at all objectionable under extremely poor lighting conditions. By stopping the lens down to medium apertures, vignetting is eliminated and even illumination is assured across the entire image. In the near focusing range, i.e., closer than 2.5 m (8' 2-1/2"), high contrast is preserved in the center of the image.

However, as focusing distances grow shorter, curvature of field begins to appear, so that this lens cannot be recommended for certain technical applications, such as interior architectural photographs of large uniform surfaces like room walls. In practice, the 50mm f/1 Noctilux-M lens is free from nearly all reflections. Under unfavorable photographic situations, e.g., when there are light sources right in the picture, its tendency to produce distracting aperture reflections or ghost images is extremely low.

Having developed a high-refraction glass (index of refraction n = 1.9005) in its own glass research laboratory, Leitz was able to design a lens with a performance that approaches the limits of what is physically possible. Even without aspheric elements. The 50mm f/1 Noctilux-M is unsurpassed for candid photography and for powerful photojournalism under any lighting conditions. It distinguishes barely visible nuances of color in the subject and it cleanly resolves the finest structures, even under extremely unfavorable lighting conditions.