Leica Elmar 5cm f/2.8

Leica Elmar 5cm f/2.8

The Elmar 5cm f/2.8 is the faster successor to Leitz's long-running f/3.5 Elmar, and it carries forward the same idea: a small, collapsible standard lens built around a compact four-element design. Offered in M-mount as model number 11612, it pairs a chrome collapsible barrel with the rangefinder-coupled focusing mount of the Leica M system, and it remains one of the smallest 50mm lenses ever made for the camera [1][2].

Optically the lens uses four elements in three groups, a Tessar-type layout that keeps the optical block short and the barrel slim. The lens collapses into the camera body for transport and is pulled out and locked for use, a defining trait of the classic Elmar line that makes it especially pocketable on a Leica M body. Focusing is via the helicoid in the mount and is coupled to the rangefinder, with a minimum focusing distance of one metre, while aperture selection on the early versions is set on a small ring near the front of the lens. The 39 mm filter thread (E39) is shared with many other Leitz standard lenses of the period, simplifying the use of filters and hoods[3].

The f/2.8 Elmar exists in more than one form. The collapsible chrome version from the late 1950s, in both screw mount and M bayonet, is the classic article that collectors associate with the 11612 number; decades later Leica reissued the design as the rigid Elmar-M 50mm f/2.8, a modern multicoated lens with an updated barrel and built-in hood. The two are easy to tell apart in the hand: the early lens collapses and wears a vintage chrome finish, while the later Elmar-M is a fixed-length lens of contemporary build. Buyers should confirm which version they are looking at, since the model numbers and handling differ even though the f/2.8 maximum aperture and 50 mm focal length are shared.

Optical qualities

Rendering As a four-element Tessar-derived design, the f/2.8 Elmar is known for a classic, restrained drawing style rather than the higher-contrast look of Leica's later double-Gauss standard lenses. Users describe sharp central results that improve on stopping down, with the gentle, slightly lower-contrast character typical of the Elmar family, and a small, easily carried package that suits everyday shooting on film and digital M bodies. Detailed, repeatable measurements specific to this exact version are limited in the available sources, so finer claims about distortion, vignetting and flare are best treated as version dependent.

History

Development and Launch The f/2.8 Elmar arrived in the late 1950s as a brighter companion to the venerable f/3.5 Elmar, extending the collapsible standard-lens concept that had defined Leica's compact fifties since the 1930s. It was produced in both Leica screw mount and the then-newer M bayonet, the latter carried as model 11612.

Production Evolution The most significant change in the lens's life was its later revival as the rigid Elmar-M 50mm f/2.8, which replaced the collapsing chrome barrel with a fixed modern mount and contemporary coatings while retaining the compact four-element optical idea.

Special editions No widely documented military, export or rare factory finish variants are commonly cited for the collapsible f/2.8 Elmar in the consulted sources; the main distinction collectors track is between the original collapsible version and the later rigid Elmar-M.

Collector Notes When evaluating an example, verify whether it is the early collapsible chrome lens or the modern rigid Elmar-M, since handling, coatings and model numbers differ. On vintage collapsible samples, check the collapse-and-lock action, the aperture ring, and the glass for haze or cleaning marks, and confirm rangefinder coupling on the intended body. The E39 filter thread makes period-correct filters and hoods easy to source, but originality of caps and hoods is still worth confirming on collector-grade pieces.