I forgot to bring string. I forgot to breadcrumb my journey. Surely I have fallen down the well now. So, what is the Leica Tri-Elmar and what do I think about it? Should every M user have one?

 

But do you have time for three Leica lenses in one?

(image: Tri-Elmar at 50mms from a Jpeg)

Just a warning! I'm going to be a bit hazy on dates of manufacture and selling dates here because, well, it doesn't really matter. I think I'll write about the lens itself instead. 

Nearly everyone currently using Leica M rangefinder cameras, digital or film, knows that nearly all the lenses that were designed to be used on those cameras are primes. Most fall in the range between 21mm and 135mm. Rangefinders aren't very easy to work with for any lenses longer than that and none of the built in finders will show the full range of anything under 28mm. When you get down into the wide angle weeds you'll need to either match up your 18, 21 or 24mm lens with a dedicated bright line optical finder that will fit in the camera's hot shoe or you'll need to spring for a shoe mounted EVF finder which converts your glorious rangefinder camera into a slow and kludgy mirrorless camera of sorts. 

But not a lot of Leica M users are familiar with two (three if you count a rev2.0 version of one of the lenses) Tri-Elmar lenses which give a Leica M camera user who prefers standard focal lengths a 28, 35 and 50mm lens in one. A different Tri-Elmar is one that offers 16, 18 and 21mm focal lengths in one lens. Neither of these are zoom lenses. There are three marked focal lengths on the lens barrel of the Tri-Elmars and one clicks into one of the three positions to choose the focal length wanted. Miraculously the camera is able to automatically trigger the bright lines in the camera's finder for each focal length and, equally miraculously, the rangefinder works accurately for all three of the focal lengths. 

I owned the original 28, 35, 50mm Tri-Elmar way back during the time I worked with an M3 camera and an M4 camera. I can't remember why I eventually sold off the lens but I'm thinking it was because the lens has a maximum aperture of f4.0 and the fastest film I was working with back then was Tri-X, and always at 400 ASA. No fancy pushed films for me. And on both of those older cameras I needed to either guess or use an external viewfinder for the 28mm focal length...

I believe the original 28/35/50 Tri-Elmar was introduced in 1975 and continued in  production till 2000. The original had a filter size of 55mm and was finally replaced by a newer version that had a 49mm filter size --- this made its use with the M rangefinder window easier as it intruded less into the frame. The internal design was also made less complicated. The original 55mm version was designed by one of Leica's most famous lens designers; Dr. Mandler. The lens was designed with eight elements in six groups and used five "HR" elements (HR= high refractive index) and two aspherical elements. The main gripe most users had with the lens was its limited close focusing distance of one full meter. 

Being a newer construction and using a slimmer design the second 49mm filter ring version is harder to find and pricier if you do find one. I think about 75 copies of the first version were also made for the Leica Historical Society of America (aka: the hysterical society) and sold at a premium. Those, I believe, were only made in the silver finish.

So, my friend, who should probably remain nameless, found one of the first versions for sale on the web. He thought it might be a fun lens to adapt to his Leica SL2. On a whim he dropped the lens by my house to see if I might be interested in it. I guess he had already done his post sale research and decided to go on looking for the slimmer, newer version. Now I'm actually testing out the lens on a Leica M240 M-E camera body and, well, having a blast with the lens.

Below are some samples from this morning. Popped up larger one can see amazing detail in the brick walls. But that's as it should be with any Leica lens used around f8.0. Further investigation will be required. The lens I have in hand is very clean and well maintained. The lens clicks between the three focal lengths with a healthy detent at each and while the focus ring is a bit stiffer than the one on something like the one on the Voigtlander 50mm APO it's not uneven or scratchy. It functions pretty much as it should. 

The lens is just slightly longer, overall, that the two 50mm models I have and it's thinner than the 50mm APO VM.  The one "feature" that's hard to get used to is that, unlike a zoom lens, there is not a linear progression between the focal lengths. It doesn't go 28 > 35 > 50mm. It goes: 35 > 50 > 28. You'd need to work with the lens for a while to get used to that. The focus ring is closest to the camera followed by the focal length ring and then the aperture ring is all the way up near the front of the lens. 

Neither of the two 28/35/50mm lenses is "coded" so neither will automatically set a lens profile in any of the modern, digital M cameras. The rangefinder cams tell the camera which focal length is in use so the camera can bring up the right frame lines. You can set actual profiles for the lens in most digital M camera menus but you'll need to choose the focal length yourself. There are three profiles for the lens in the M240; one for each focal length. Set the focal length and choose the correct profile. Kind of tedious in actual use.

The limitation of f4 seemed like a big deal back in the 1980s but it seems almost irrelevant in 2025. Unless you are a bokeh hound and want buttery soft backgrounds. But as far as noise goes most of the modern Ms, at least since the M240, are able to use much higher ISOs to compensate for the slower f-stop. The price for a mint-y first edition of the lens seems to be between $2,000 and $2,500. They show up from time to time. 

I was iffy about purchasing the lens before I took it out and shot with it. Now I'm in the "maybe" camp. It seems like it might be a fun travel lens; all three of the most used focal lengths in one very small package and, judging by the samples, it's a very, very good performer--- at least if you have good light. 

I'd also be interested in putting the lens on an SL2-S and seeing if the lens really comes alive when paired with a "see in the dark" sensor and good image stabilization. It's certainly an interesting option.

Preliminary assessment? Everyone should have one and Leica should reissue. If they can. But please, not for $12,000+. 

That's all I have about this lens today. Next up, my favorite fabric softener. And, a short time after that a poem by Elisabeth Barrett Browning that reminds me of cropping after the fact. Remember that sunscreen and ... have a great day!

28

50

35

50

"All good things start out in bubble wrap..."