| Mount Name: | Leica M mount |
| Type: | Bayonet |
| External Diameter: | 44 mm |
| Tabs: | 4 |
| Flange: | 27.8 mm |
| Connectors: | Focal lens indicator for frame selection in the viewfinder |
The Leica M mount is a camera lens mount introduced in 1954 with the Leica M3, and a range of lenses. It has been used on all the Leica M-series cameras and certain accessories (e.g. Visoflex reflex viewing attachment) up to the current film Leica M-A and digital Leica M11 cameras.
This lens mount has also been used by Epson, Ricoh, Minolta, Konica, Cosina Voigtländer, Rollei, Carl Zeiss AG and Rollei Fototechnic on some of their cameras.[1]
The Leica M mount was introduced in 1954 at that year's Photokina show, with the Leica M3 as its first camera. The 'M' stands for Messsucher or rangefinder in German. This new camera abandoned the M39 lens mount in favour of a new bayonet mount. The bayonet mount allowed lenses to be changed more quickly and made the fitting more secure. Other innovations introduced by the M3 included a single window for the viewfinder (for composition) and the rangefinder (for focusing). With a double-stroke film advance lever (later models have a single-stroke lever). The M3 was a success and over 220,000 units were sold, by the time production ended in 1966. It remains the best-selling M mount camera ever made. The M3 uses 135 film (or 35 mm film), with the canister being loaded behind a detachable bottom plate. The M3 was followed by many other M mount cameras, released over 40 years, with many of the basic concepts remaining in these designs. With the introduction of the Through-the-lens metering (TTL) in the Leica M5 and the digital Leica M8 being the most notable innovations since then.[2]
The lenses for the M mount were also introduced in 1954 and were based on the earlier M39 thread mount. Almost all M mount lenses are Prime lenses. These lenses are divided by Leica based on their maximum aperture number (also known as f-number). They are distinguished by their names:[2]
| Name | f-number |
|---|---|
| Noctilux | or or or |
| Summilux | |
| Summicron | |
| Summarit | or |
| Elmarit | |
| Elmar, Super Elmar | or or or |
| Summaron | or |
| Hektor | |
| Image | width=20% | Name | width=10% | Year | width=20% | Exposure | width=40% | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leica M3 | 1954–1966 | Manual | First bayonet M mount camera 220,000 produced in Germany | |||||
| Leica M2 | 1957–1968 | Manual | Around 82,000 produced in Germany Around 1,500 produced in Canada | |||||
| Leica M1 | 1959–1964 | Manual | Around 9,431 produced | |||||
| Leica M4 | 1964–1975 | Manual | Redesigned film loading and film winding Introduction of the "red dot" Versions: Leica MDa, Leica M4-2, Leica M4-P | |||||
| Leica M5 | 1971–1975 | Manual TTL metering | Redesigned body First M mount with electronic Through-the-lens metering (TTL) | |||||
| Leica M6 | 1984–2002, 2022–present[3] | Manual TTL metering | Basically the M4 with TTL metering Leica M6 (1984–1998) Leica M6 TTL (1998–2002): Better viewfinder and electronic flash capability | |||||
| Leica M7 | 2002–2018 | Manual TTL metering Aperture priority semi-automatic | Electronically controlled, requires battery to operate fully Electronic shutter control and semi-automatic mode | |||||
| Leica MP | 2003–present | Manual TTL metering | Vintage design Removal of the "red dot" | |||||
| Leica M-A[4] | 2014–present | Manual | Rerelease of the M3 design Manual exposure only |
| Image | width=20% | Name | width=10% | Year | width=20% | Sensor | width=40% | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leica M8[5] | 2006–2009 | 10 megapixel CCD sensor, APS-H size | First digital M mount camera 3936 x 2630 max resolution 2.5″ inch screen | |||||
| Leica M9[6] | 2009–2012 | 18 megapixel full-frame CCD sensor | First full-frame digital M mount camera 5212 x 3472 max resolution 2.5″ inch screen | |||||
| Leica M9-P[7] | 2011–2012 | 18 megapixel full-frame CCD sensor | Removal of the "red dot", otherwise same as the Leica M9 5212 x 3472 max resolution 2.5″ inch screen with sapphire crystal LCD glass | |||||
| Leica M (Typ 240)[8] | 2012–2017 | 24 megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor | 5952 x 3976 max resolution 3″ inch screen | |||||
| Leica M-P (Typ 240)[9] | 2014–2017 | 24 megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor | Removal of the "red dot" and 2GB of RAM, otherwise same as the Leica M (Typ 240) 5952 x 3976 max resolution 3″ inch screen with sapphire crystal LCD glass Capable of capturing Full HD 1080p video | |||||
| Leica M10[10] | 2017–present | 24 megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor | 5952 x 3992 max resolution 3″ inch screen Wi-Fi capability | |||||
| Leica M10-P[11] | 2018–2022 | 24 megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor | Removal of the "red dot", adding touch screen and quieter shutter, otherwise same as the Leica M10 5952 x 3992 max resolution 3″ inch screen Wi-Fi capability | |||||
| Leica M11 | 2022–present | 60 megapixel full-frame BSI-CMOS sensor | 9528 x 6328 max resolution 3″ inch screen No removable bottom plate 64Gb of internal memory | |||||
| Image | width=20% | Name | width=10% | Year | width=20% | Sensor | width=40% | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leica M-E (Typ 220)[12] | 2012–2015 | 18 megapixel CCD sensor | 5212 x 3472 Max resolution 2.5″ inch screen | |||||
| Leica M (Typ 262)[13] | 2015–2019 | 24 megapixel CMOS sensor | 5952 x 3976 Max resolution 3″ inch screen | |||||
| Leica M-E (Typ 240)[14] | 2019–present | 24 megapixel CMOS sensor | 5976 x 3992 Max resolution 3″ inch screen Capable of capturing Full HD 1080 video | |||||
| Image | width=20% | Name | width=10% | Year | width=20% | Sensor | width=40% | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leica M Monochrom[15] | 2012–2015 | 18 megapixel CCD sensor | 5212 x 3472 Max resolution 2.5″ inch screen Black-and-white version of the M9 | |||||
| Leica M Monochrom (Typ 246)[16] | 2015–2020 | 24 megapixel CMOS sensor | 5952 x 3968 Max resolution 3″ inch screen with sapphire crystal LCD glass Black-and-white version of the M (Typ 240) Capable of capturing Full HD 1080 video | |||||
| Leica M10 Monochrom [17] | 2020–present | 41 megapixel CMOS sensor | 7864 x 5200 Max resolution 3" inch screen TFT LCD monitor Black-and-white version of the M10 Dedicated ISO dial with ISO 160 to ISO 100.000 |
| Image | width=20% | Name | width=10% | Year | width=20% | Sensor | width=40% | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leica M-D (Typ 262)[18] | 2016–2018 | 24 megapixel CMOS sensor | No Rear LCD Screen The only control on the body is via the shutter speed and ISO dials | |||||
| Leica M10-D[19] | 2018–present | 24 megapixel CMOS sensor | 7840 x 5184 Max resolution No Rear LCD Screen | |||||
| Image | width=20% | Name | width=10% | Year | width=20% | Sensor | width=40% | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leica M10-R[20] | 2020–present | 40 megapixel CMOS sensor | 3" inch screen TFT LCD monitor The only control on the body is via the shutter speed and ISO dials | |||||
| Summaron | |||||||||
| Super-Angulon | |||||||||
| Macro Elmar | |||||||||
| Elmar | |||||||||
| Tele-Elmar | |||||||||
| Tri-Elmar ASPH | 16-18-21mm | ||||||||
| 28-35-50mm | |||||||||
| Elmar ASPH. | |||||||||
| Summaron | |||||||||
| Super-Elmar ASPH. | |||||||||
| Apo-Telyt | |||||||||
| Elmar | |||||||||
| Elmarit | |||||||||
| Elmarit ASPH. | |||||||||
| Tele-Elmarit | |||||||||
| Summarit | |||||||||
| Summicron | |||||||||
| Summicron ASPH. | |||||||||
| APO Summicron | |||||||||
| Summilux | |||||||||
| Summilux ASPH. | |||||||||
| Noctilux ASPH. | |||||||||
| Noctilux | |||||||||
| Noctilux ASPH | |||||||||
| Noctilux | |||||||||
| Noctilux ASPH. | |||||||||