LEICA ELMARIT M 28mm 1st

Review and Photo example of the ELMARIT M 28mm F2.8(1st).

Gallery

LEICA ELMARIT-M 28mm F2.8(1st) Photo Example

Review

ELMARIT M 28mm is a Leica M mount wide-angle lens released in 1964.
Before this lens, there was a screw (L) mount SUMMARON lens with the same focal length, but it was a dark lens with an aperture of 5.6. The aperture of the lens was brightened to 2.8, and it became the Elmarito signature.
3,200 pieces were produced in two years from 1964 to 1966.
The lens hood is 12501, which is the same as the Super Anglon M 21/3.4 and the second generation ELMARIT M 2.8/28.
Due to the old structure of the lens mount, it is not compatible with Leica’s 6-bit lens recognition code modification.

Although the first-generation ELMARIT M lens is over 50 years old, there are no problems with its depiction, and it is no wonder that it is popular. Although the rear element is located close to the film surface, perhaps because the focal length is 28mm, no noticeable color cast occurs even when shooting with the LEICA M typ240, which is sensitive to color cast.

The lens I have is 2197xxx, manufactured in Canada in 1966. There is a slight wobble in the lens barrel, but the lens is clear and the aperture is working properly. The color of the lens stopper is silver, and the feet distance scale is yellow.
Depending on the production lot, the feet scale may be red and the lens topper may be black.
The feet scale can be changed in any way you want as long as you add color, so I don’t think it’s something to be too particular about unless you can guarantee the originality.

I sold most of the M-type lenses I owned to collect Leica R-mount lenses, but I like this lens and still use it.
I have used Leica M mount 28mm (2nd, 3rd, 5th, SUMMARON 5.6/28, HEKTOR 6.3/28) other than the 4th generation ELMARIT-M and SUMMILUX 1.4/28mm, but the depiction of this lens is I like it the most.

In the first generation, the rear element was close to the film surface and entered the camera significantly. The second generation and later models have a retro focus design, which reduces the amount of protrusion of the rear lens, making it suitable for use with a variety of cameras.
I sometimes read that the first and second generation lens barrels are exactly the same, but the second generation lens barrel with a stopper is not the same as the first generation, and the second generation lens barrel with a stopper is about 3mm longer (see below). For the comparison image, I didn’t have a photo taken directly from the side of the lens, so I edited it to make it look straight to the side, but I kept the scale etc.)

Specification

Item	Value	note
focal length(mm)	28
Maximum aperture	2.8
Minimum aperture	22
Lens configuration	5groups 8elements
Minimum distance(m)	0.7
Lens length(mm)	42	Distance from lens mount surface
Lens max diameter(mm)	52.5
Filter diameter(mm)	48 or Series VII
Weight(g)	242	lens only(Actual measurement of owned units)
Release date	1964
Production Number	3,200