Glass Bodies a variant-level encyclopedia of vintage lenses and cameras by iwillpat

Elmar-M 50mm f/2.8

Leica · Leica M · 1994 · Elmar

Also known as: Elmar-M 50mm f/2.8 · 50 Elmar-M collapsible

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Black (11831) Leica M 1994–2007 3761000–3761999 (1996)
3876167–3877166 (1999)
3897576–3898575 and 3911126–3912125 (2000)
3935764–3936763 (2002)
3701552–3702551 and 3723803–3724802 (1995, blocks shared with silver)
3781330–3782329 (1997, shared with silver)
3917273–3918270 (2001, shared with silver)
3963511–3964510 (2003), 3980589–3981088 (2004) and 3993121–3993620 (2005), all shared with silver 		Part of 17,461 lenses
Silver (11823) Leica M 1994–2007 1975-0001–1975-1975 (1994)
3668031–3669030 (1994)
3691931–3692930 and 3726554–3727553 (1995)
3732301–3733300 and 3738701–3739700 (1996)
3919001–3919100 (2001)
3701552–3702551 and 3723803–3724802 (1995, blocks shared with black)
3781330–3782329 (1997, shared with black)
3917273–3918270 (2001, shared with black)
3963511–3964510 (2003), 3980589–3981088 (2004) and 3993121–3993620 (2005), all shared with black 		No separate figure published
  1. A collapsible lens on a modern body needs care. The Leica Wiki's compatibility note is explicit: it cannot be collapsed into an M5 or a CL, and collapsible 50mm Elmars "of any vintage" should be mounted and removed extended only. On a digital M, collapsing it into the body risks the shutter and the sensor.
  2. Ken Rockwell's account of collapsing it disagrees with the Leica Wiki's. He writes that the lens "is designed to collapse on all cameras; there is no restriction on the M9", and that on the CL and the M5 the retraction merely has to be limited to 9.5 mm — a stop he suggests improvising with a band of tape around the barrel. The Wiki says never on those two bodies at all. Both cannot be right; nothing published reconciles them.
  3. 1994 is the year of the lens, not the year it could be bought on its own. Rockwell records that Leica first sold it only inside the M6J kit and did not put it in the catalogue as a stand-alone lens until 1996.
  4. Rockwell counts six diaphragm blades, and calls the barrel a lighter-duty mount than the 1957 lens carried; he also holds that the optics, though again four elements in three groups, are a different and better computation than the 1957 f/2.8 rather than a straight revival of it.
  5. The 17,461 figure covers less than the years it is quoted for. The Leica Wiki's header gives 1994–2007 and fewer than 17,461 lenses; the totals column of its table sums to exactly 17,461 and stops in 2005, with 2006 and 2007 entered as unknown. Either the figure excludes the last two years of production or those years produced nothing.
  6. The general Leitz year list is itself imperfect over this period, which is worth knowing before leaning on it: its 1991 band ends at 3583830 while 1992 begins at 3585831, leaving a gap of two thousand numbers, and its 1993 band begins at 3610381, below the 3610680 at which 1992 ends. Neither glitch touches this lens's own blocks, but it sets a limit on how finely the list can be read.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • Collapsible — the only modern Leica lens that is
  • Click stops at half values from f/2.8 to f/8 only
  • Focuses to 0.7 m, where the 1957 Elmar stopped at 1 m

Serial-range notes

3644476–4057000
The rule: read the serial against the general Leitz year list, then against this lens's own block table, whose product column marks each run silb for silver or schw for black. The bands covering this lens are 3644476–3677030 (1994), 3677031–3730290 (1995), 3730291–3770920 (1996), 3770930–3818624 (1997), 3818625–3857849 (1998), 3857850–3882996 (1999), 3882997–3912247 (2000), 3912248–3941497 (2001), 3941498–3970748 (2002), 3970748–3999999 (2003), 4000000–4010600 (2004), 4010601–4025900 (2005), 4025901–4034900 (2006) and 4034901–4057000 (2007). The two lists agree through 2001 and part company after it.
3935764 and above
From this number on, the model table and the general year list disagree by a year or more. The table dates 3935764–3936763 to 2002 where the year list gives 2001; 3963511–3964510 to 2003 where the list gives 2002; 3980589–3981088 to 2004 where the list gives 2003; and 3993121–3993620 to 2005 where the list still gives 2003. A late Elmar-M therefore has two published dates, and neither source acknowledges the other.
1975-0001–1975-1975
The first block, dated 1994, is not written as serial numbers at all: it uses the M6J's year-and-index form, the numbering the jubilee camera and its matched lens both carry — the Leica Society International's example reads 1976-13. Ken Rockwell records that the lens was at first sold only inside the M6J kit and did not reach the catalogue on its own until 1996, which is consistent with the block standing apart from the ordinary series.
1,975 against 1,640
The same block's total does not match the edition it appears to describe. The Leica Wiki counts 1,975 lenses in it; the Leica Society International records that 1,640 M6J cameras were made, 40 for each of the 41 years of M production, each with a matching lens. The difference of 335 is unexplained, and the Wiki's 1,975 is carried into the 17,461 total for the model.
3741300–3741588
289 lenses in 1996, the only block whose product column names no finish at all. Neither silver nor black can be inferred for it.
3963511–3964510
A block spanning 1,000 serial numbers with a stated total of 100. The totals column is the one that counts: it sums to exactly 17,461, so the model's published production figure takes this row at 100.
Above 3993620
The table stops enumerating at 3993620 in 2005 and carries one further row reading "unknown / unknown / 2006-2007 / unknown". Lenses from the last two years of production have no published block.

Specifications

Formula
Elmar
Construction
4 elements / 3 groups
Aperture range
f/2.8–f/16
Min. focus
0.7 m
Weight
167 g
Filter
39 mm
Years manufactured
1994–2007
Country
Germany

What reviewers say

History

In 1994 Leica put Max Berek’s 1925 lens back on sale. Four elements in three groups at f/2.8, collapsible, 17,461 built over thirteen years — the same arrangement the original Leica carried, in a modern barrel focusing to 0.7 m.

It is the only modern Leica lens that collapses, and that brings a hazard the 1950s versions did not have. The Leica Wiki’s compatibility note is blunt: it cannot be collapsed into an M5 or a CL, and collapsible 50mm Elmars of any vintage should be mounted and removed extended only. On a digital M the consequence of forgetting is the shutter or the sensor.

Its click stops are also unusual: half values from f/2.8 to f/8 and full stops beyond. Nobody has explained why the ring changes behaviour halfway round.

Expand Collapse

This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.

Example photos

Sample photo wanted — shot with a Elmar-M 50mm f/2.8? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $910 across 45 fixed-price listings on 2026-09-11 (middle half $760–$1,100). Tracked since 2026-09-06, 2 days: unchanged from $910.

By day
DateMedianMiddle halfListings
2026-09-11$910$760–$1,10045
2026-09-06$910$760–$1,10045

Asking prices from the listings scanned, not sales; junk-flagged rows and auction lots excluded; other currencies are not converted.

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Listings updated 2026-09-11. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.

Related: Elmar 5cm f/2.8 · Elmar 5cm f/3.5

Sources (5)

Every page here is assembled from public sources, and the gaps are real ones. If you own this lens, know a serial number I'm missing, or can see where I have it wrong, tell me — corrections, serials and sample photos are all worth having.