SUPER-ELMAR-M 3.8/18
This is a record of using the Super Elmar M 18mm with a Leica M digital camera.
Table of contents
＜ギャラリー / Photo example from LEICA M9＞
Impression
This is the widest angle lens among the genuine M-type Leica single focal length lenses.
This lens lets you experience the fun and difficulty of using wide-angle lenses with rangefinders.
I thought that 21mm was the limit.
With a wide-angle lens for SLR cameras, you can get a good shot if you get close enough and take a quick shot, but that would be a one-patterned photo without any ingenuity.
Compared to the Koshina Zeiss Distagon 18mm, which was released around the same time, I think the lens does a good job of correcting aberrations, but there were times when I felt the results lacked correction and vignetting.
For less frequent users, the ATOLL 17mm from lomography, a cheap Chinese-made lens, may be sufficient.
Recently, lens design has been changing in the direction of optically correcting aberrations other than those that are easy to correct based on the premise of digital processing, but I feel that this lens is a type that has done its best with its optical design.
When I used LEICA’s genuine viewfinder and ZEISS’s viewfinder, ZEISS’s viewfinder had higher magnification and was easier to see.
I used a third-party screw-in filter when shooting, so I have never used the square hood in actual shooting, but I don’t recall having any difficulty with backlighting.
I sold it because I started using the R-mount 15mm and it was no longer in use.
Specification
Leica M-mount lens with a focal length of 18mm.
It is very lightweight compared to ultra-wide angle lenses on SLRs.
The hood is screwed on and the notch serves as a stopper to position it, but the one I had had loose screws so it sometimes rotated in the camera bag.
I stopped using the hood after I bought a third-party screw-in UV filter instead of attaching the hood.
I guess they don’t recommend wearing a filter because of the risk of being kicked around, but I have a hard time protecting the front element when using it on a 35mm full size camera.
The M8/M8.2-specific UV/IR filter (code no. 13422) can be screwed onto the tip of the lens to attach the hood. This is provided because the M8/M8.2 sensor size is APS-H and has no peripheral area.
| Item | Value | note |
| focal length(mm) | 18 | |
| Maximum aperture | 3.4 | |
| Minimum aperture | 22 | |
| Lens configuration | 9elements 5groups | |
| Leaf blade | 010 | |
| Minimum distance(m) | 0.7 | |
| Lens length(mm) | 58 | Distance form mount frange |
| Lens max diameter(mm) | 61 | |
| Filter diameter(mm) | – | |
| Weight(g) | 310g | |
| Release date | 2009.03 | |
| List price(Yen) | – |
Reference links
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