LEICA ELMARIT TL 18mm

A review and Photo example of the Elmarit TL 18mm with the LEICA TL.

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Table of contents

Gallery

The following cameras were used to take the sample photos:

• LEICA TL
• LEICA TL2

Review

1．Overview

The Elmarit TL 18mm F2.8 was released in 2017 and is the last genuine Leica L-mount lens for APS-C size sensors.

The main specifications are as follows, and details are listed in the table.

• Aperture value: 2.8
• Lens construction: 8 elements in 6 groups
• 2 aspherical lenses with 2 surfaces
• Aperture blades: Unknown
• Minimum focusing distance: 0.3m
• Hood: None
• Lens color variations: Silver and black

2．Usability

The Elmarit TL 18mm F2.8 is an extremely thin and compact pancake lens, available in two colors: black and silver. Its barrel is a perfect match for the compact bodies of the T/TL series and CL.

A standard design for the digital age, with only the focus ring and focal length display located on the lens barrel.

The compact size and minimal lens movement allow for fast autofocus, and the lens operation is extremely quiet when focusing, making it negligible when shooting video. With the Leica T, setting it to P mode/Auto ISO ensures optimal shooting settings based on the amount of light, making it less of a hassle.

I saw a press release stating that the LEICA TL2’s autofocus speed is approximately three times faster than the LEICA TL, but perhaps because the LEICA TL already had satisfactory autofocus speed, the ELMARIT TL 18mm didn’t feel dramatically faster.

The focal length is 18mm, and since this lens is designed for APS-C size sensors, it equates to a focal length of 27mm in 35mm format.

Its minimal bokeh and wide focal plane make it well-suited for wide-angle snapshots. Its minimum focusing distance of 30cm also makes it suitable for table photos of meals and other events. However, perhaps due to the compact lens barrel design, this drawback is evident in the image quality, which is not as sharp as the Summicron TL 23mm, a lens from the same series. Furthermore, there are occasions when uncorrected Raw images show noticeable distortion. This is corrected on camera when shooting in JPEG format.

The backlight resistance is not bad, but a hood is not included, so as shown in the photo below, a UN Square Hood 39mm (P0.5) UNX-8133 is attached.

This lens is on the inexpensive side among Leica lenses, but as of 2024 it has already been discontinued, and it is becoming less common on the used market, and the price is rising.

3．Summary

In conclusion, the Elmarit TL 18mm F2.8 is pancake-sized and easy to handle, and the image quality is satisfactory for normal use. However, it is regrettable that there is no Leica L-mount APS-C sensor camera anymore.
The body size is too large to use as a full-frame crop, making it look unbalanced.

Specification and Series lens

Leica APS single focal length lens

Lens name	ELMARIT	SUMMICRON	SUMMILUX	APO MACRO ELMARIT
Focal length(mm)	18	23	35	60
35mm equivalent focal length	27	35	50	90
Max aperture	2.8	2	1.4	2.8
Min aperture	16	16	16	32
Aperture blade	–	9	–	–
Lens Construction	8elements 6groups	9elements 6groups	12elements 8groups	10elements 9groups
Min distance(m)	0.3	0.35	0.4	0.16
Lens length(mm)	21	37	77	134
Lens diameter(mm)	62	63	70	70
Filter Size(mm)	E39	E52	E60	E60
Weight(g)	80	154	428	320
Release date	2017.12	2014.5.26	2016.3.31	2016.9.24
List Price	¥142,500	¥230,000	¥310,000	¥320,000

Reference links

• LEICA Official Page

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Update history

• 2024.07.01
• 2024.03.06
• 2023.07.24