Elmar (lens) explained

The name Elmar is used by Leica to designate camera lenses of four elements.

History

The Elmar lenses originally had a maximum aperture of f/3.5. These lenses were derived from a 50 mm f/3.5 Elmax lens first produced in 1925. The name is a combination of Ernst Leitz and Max Berek.^[1]

Description

Elmar lenses have a maximum aperture ranging between f/2.8 and f/4. Current Elmar lenses have a maximum aperture of f/3.8 or f/4, as in the Elmar-M 24 mm f/3.8 and Tri-Elmar-M 16-18-21 mm f/4.^[1] The term Elmar is sometimes combined with: Super, Tele, APO, Macro or Vario. Leica also uses the name Elmarit for some lenses.

Market positions

Elmar lenses are comparatively slow. As a result they tend to be smaller and lighter than faster lenses of the same focal length.^{[1] [2]}

List of Elmar lenses

For the M39 lens mount:

• Elmar 35 mm
• Elmar 50 mm collapsible
• Elmar 50 mm collapsible
• Elmar 90mm

For the Leica M mount:

• Tri-Elmar-M 16-18-21 mm ASPH.
• Tri-Elmar-M 28–35–50 mm ASPH.
• Super-Elmar-M 18 mm ASPH.
• Super-Elmar-M 21 mm ASPH.
• Elmar-M 50 mm
• Elmar-M 50 mm
• Macro-Elmar-M 90 mm
• Elmar 135 mm

For the Leica R mount:

• Leica 15 mm Super-Elmar-R – 1980 (Carl Zeiss design)
• Leica 100 mm Macro-Elmar-R bellows version
• Leica 100 mm Macro-Elmar-R helical version
• Leica 180 mm Elmar-R – 1976
• Leica 21 mm–35 mm – Vario-Elmar-R zoom – 2002
• Leica 28 mm–70 mm –4.5 Vario-Elmar-R zoom
• Leica 35–70 Vario-Elmar-R zoom
• Leica 35–70 mm Vario-Elmar-R zoom (Minolta design and glass production)
• Leica 70–210 mm Vario-Elmar-R zoom (Minolta design and glass production)
• Leica 75–200 mm Vario-Elmar-R – 1976–1984 (Minolta design and glass production)
• Leica 80–200 mm Vario-Elmar-R zoom
• Leica 80–200 mm Vario-Elmar-R zoom
• Leica 105–280 mm Vario-Elmar-R zoom

For the Leica S mount:

• Super-Elmar-S 1:3.5/24 mm ASPH.
• TS-APO-Elmar-S 1:5.6/120 mm ASPH. (Schneider-Kreuznach design)
• Apo-Elmar-S 1:3.5/180 mm ASPH.
• Apo-Elmar-S 1:3.5/180 mm ASPH. CS
• Vario-Elmar-S 1:3.5-5.6/30–90 mm ASPH.

For the Leica L Mount:

• Super-Vario-Elmar-SL 1:3.5–4.5 / 16–35 ASPH.

See also

• Tessar

Notes and References

1. Book: Taylor, David . Leica M Typ 240 Expanded Guide . Ammonite Press . 2014 . 978-1781450390 . United Kingdom.
2. Web site: LEICA Lens Names . www.kenrockwell.com . 2019-11-27.