Leica M mount

This article is about the Leica M lens mount system. For the Leica M digital camera (released in September 2012), see Leica M (Typ 240).

Leica M mount

Leica M3 and M Mount 50mm lens
Type	Bayonet
External diameter	44 mm
Tabs	4
Flange	27.8 mm
Connectors	Focal lens indicator for frame selection in the viewfinder

The Leica M mount is a camera lens mount introduced in 1954 with the Leica M3, and a range of lenses. It has been used on all the Leica M-series cameras and certain accessories (e.g. Visoflex reflex viewing attachment) up to the current film Leica M-A and digital Leica M11 cameras.

This lens mount has also been used by Epson, Ricoh, Minolta, Konica, Cosina Voigtländer, Rollei, Carl Zeiss AG and Rollei Fototechnic on some of their cameras.

Overview

The Leica M mount was introduced in 1954 at that year's Photokina show, with the Leica M3 as its first camera. The 'M' stands for Messsucher or rangefinder in German. This new camera abandoned the M39 lens mount in favour of a new bayonet mount. The bayonet mount allowed lenses to be changed more quickly and made the fitting more secure. Other innovations introduced by the M3 included a single window for the viewfinder (for composition) and the rangefinder (for focusing). With a double-stroke film advance lever (later models have a single-stroke lever). The M3 was a success and over 220,000 units were sold, by the time production ended in 1966. It remains the best-selling M mount camera ever made. The M3 uses 135 film (or 35 mm film), with the canister being loaded behind a detachable bottom plate. The M3 was followed by many other M mount cameras, released over 40 years, with many of the basic concepts remaining in these designs. With the introduction of the Through-the-lens metering (TTL) in the Leica M5 and the digital Leica M8 being the most notable innovations since then.

The lenses for the M mount were also introduced in 1954 and were based on the earlier M39 thread mount. Almost all M mount lenses are Prime lenses. These lenses are divided by Leica based on their maximum aperture number (also known as f-number). They are distinguished by their names:

Name	f-number
Noctilux	f/0.95 or f/1.0 or f/1.2 or f/1.25
Summilux	f/1.4
Summicron	f/2
Summarit	f/2.4 or f/2.5
Elmarit	f/2.8
Elmar, Super Elmar	f/2.8 or f/3.4 or f/3.8 or f/4
Summaron	f/3.5 or f/5.6
Hektor	f/4.5

• 
  M mount female part of the bayonet on a Leica M3 body. The mechanical sensor seen inside the top of the mount is the rangefinder coupling arm
• 
  M mount male part of the bayonet on the Leica Elmar 90mm f/4.
• 
  The Leica M3 shutter speed dial, film advance lever, shutter button and the frame counter.
• 
  The Leica M3 ASA dial, purely decorative reminder of the Film speed showing DIN and ASA comparison dial.
• 
  Leica "red dot" logo.

M Mount camera bodies

Film cameras

Image	Name	Year	Exposure	Notes
	Leica M3	1954–1966	Manual	• First bayonet M mount camera  • 220,000 produced in Germany
	Leica M2	1957–1968	Manual	• Around 82,000 produced in Germany  • Around 1,500 produced in Canada
	Leica M1	1959–1964	Manual	• Around 9,431 produced
	Leica M4	1964–1975	Manual	• Redesigned film loading and film winding  • Introduction of the "red dot"  • Versions: Leica MDa, Leica M4-2, Leica M4-P
	Leica M5	1971–1975	Manual TTL metering	• Redesigned body  • First M mount with electronic Through-the-lens metering (TTL)
	Leica M6	1984–2002, 2022–present	Manual TTL metering	• Basically the M4 with TTL metering  • Leica M6 (1984–1998)  • Leica M6 TTL (1998–2002): Better viewfinder and electronic flash capability
	Leica M7	2002–2018	Manual TTL metering Aperture priority semi-automatic	• Electronically controlled, requires battery to operate fully  • Electronic shutter control and semi-automatic mode
	Leica MP	2003–present	Manual TTL metering	• Vintage design  • Removal of the "red dot"
	Leica M-A	2014–present	Manual	• Rerelease of the M3 design  • Manual exposure only

Digital cameras

Professional

Image	Name	Year	Sensor	Notes
	Leica M8	2006–2009	10 megapixel CCD sensor, APS-H size	• First digital M mount camera  • 3936 x 2630 max resolution  • 2.5″ inch screen
	Leica M9	2009–2012	18 megapixel full-frame CCD sensor	• First full-frame digital M mount camera  • 5212 x 3472 max resolution  • 2.5″ inch screen
	Leica M9-P	2011–2012	18 megapixel full-frame CCD sensor	• Removal of the "red dot", otherwise same as the Leica M9  • 5212 x 3472 max resolution  • 2.5″ inch screen with sapphire crystal LCD glass
	Leica M (Typ 240)	2012–2017	24 megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor	• 5952 x 3976 max resolution  • 3″ inch screen  • Capable of capturing Full HD 1080p video
	Leica M-P (Typ 240)	2014–2017	24 megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor	• Removal of the "red dot" and 2GB of RAM, otherwise same as the Leica M (Typ 240)  • 5952 x 3976 max resolution  • 3″ inch screen with sapphire crystal LCD glass  • Capable of capturing Full HD 1080p video
	Leica M10	2017–present	24 megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor	• 5952 x 3992 max resolution  • 3″ inch screen  • Wi-Fi capability
	Leica M10-P	2018–2022	24 megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor	• Removal of the "red dot", adding touch screen and quieter shutter, otherwise same as the Leica M10  • 5952 x 3992 max resolution  • 3″ inch screen  • Wi-Fi capability
	Leica M11	2022–present	60 megapixel full-frame BSI-CMOS sensor	• 9528 x 6328 max resolution  • 3″ inch screen  • No removable bottom plate  • 64Gb of internal memory

Entry-Level

Image	Name	Year	Sensor	Notes
	Leica M-E (Typ 220)	2012–2015	18 megapixel CCD sensor	• 5212 x 3472 Max resolution  • 2.5″ inch screen
	Leica M (Typ 262)	2015–2019	24 megapixel CMOS sensor	• 5952 x 3976 Max resolution  • 3″ inch screen
	Leica M-E (Typ 240)	2019–present	24 megapixel CMOS sensor	• 5976 x 3992 Max resolution  • 3″ inch screen  • Capable of capturing Full HD 1080 video

Monochrom

Image	Name	Year	Sensor	Notes
	Leica M Monochrom	2012–2015	18 megapixel CCD sensor	• 5212 x 3472 Max resolution  • 2.5″ inch screen  • Black-and-white version of the M9
	Leica M Monochrom (Typ 246)	2015–2020	24 megapixel CMOS sensor	• 5952 x 3968 Max resolution  • 3″ inch screen with sapphire crystal LCD glass  • Black-and-white version of the M (Typ 240)  • Capable of capturing Full HD 1080 video
	Leica M10 Monochrom	2020–present	41 megapixel CMOS sensor	• 7864 x 5200 Max resolution  • 3" inch screen TFT LCD monitor  • Black-and-white version of the M10  • Dedicated ISO dial with ISO 160 to ISO 100.000

No display

Image	Name	Year	Sensor	Notes
	Leica M-D (Typ 262)	2016–2018	24 megapixel CMOS sensor	• No Rear LCD Screen  • The only control on the body is via the shutter speed and ISO dials
	Leica M10-D	2018–present	24 megapixel CMOS sensor	• 7840 x 5184 Max resolution  • No Rear LCD Screen

Increased resolution

Image	Name	Year	Sensor	Notes
	Leica M10-R	2020–present	40 megapixel CMOS sensor	• 3" inch screen TFT LCD monitor  • The only control on the body is via the shutter speed and ISO dials

Other manufacturers

• Epson R-D1 by Epson
• Minolta CLE by Minolta
• Hexar RF by Konica
• Bessa R2A, R3A, R2M, R3M, R4M and R4A by Cosina Voigtländer
• Rollei 35 RF by Rollei Fototechnic
• Recent Zeiss Ikon rangefinder camera by Carl Zeiss AG
• Ricoh GXR by Ricoh
• PIXII by Pixii SAS

M mount lenses

Summary of Leica M lenses

Speed	Name	21mm	24mm	28mm	35mm	50mm	75mm	90mm	135mm
f/5.6	Summaron			Y
f/4.0
	Super-Angulon	Y
	Macro Elmar							Y
	Elmar							Y	Y
	Tele-Elmar								Y
	Tri-Elmar ASPH	16-18-21mm
		28-35-50mm
f/3.8	Elmar ASPH.		Y
f/3.5	Summaron				Y
f/3.4	Super-Elmar ASPH.	Y
Apo-Telyt									Y
f/2.8	Elmar					Y
	Elmarit	Y		Y				Y	Y
	Elmarit ASPH.	Y	Y	Y
	Tele-Elmarit							Y
f/2.5	Summarit				Y	Y	Y	Y
f/2	Summicron				Y	Y		Y
	Summicron ASPH.			Y	Y
	APO Summicron				Y	Y	Y	Y
f/1.4	Summilux				Y	Y	Y
	Summilux ASPH.	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y
f/1.25	Noctilux ASPH.						Y
f/1.2	Noctilux					Y
	Noctilux ASPH					Y
f/1	Noctilux					Y
f/0.95	Noctilux ASPH.					Y

Other manufacturers

• Minolta
• Zeiss
• Cosina Voigtländer
• Zenit M
• Brightin Star
• Funleader

See also

• Leica Camera

• Leica thread mount
• Mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera

External links

• About the M System
• Leica M Lenses
• Leica lens compendium by Thorsten Overgaard