Leica Super-Elmar-M 18mm F3.8 ASPH

Leica Super-Elmar-M 18mm f/3.8 ASPH.

The Leica Super-Elmar-M 18mm f/3.8 ASPH. is a sharp, compact rangefinder lens, but it requires huge 77mm filters.

Leica Super-Elmar-M 18mm f/3.8 ASPH. Review

The Leica Super-Elmar-M 18mm f/3.8 ASPH. is a sharp, compact rangefinder lens, but it requires huge 77mm filters. The Leica Super-Elmar-M 18mm f/3.8 ASPH. ($3,250) is a compact lens that covers an ultra-wide field of view when paired with a full-frame rangefinder or mirrorless camera. It's expensive, but its compact design and sharp optics don't disappoint. There are some drawbacks, especially if you often use filters, but on a whole, it delivers the quality that you expect from a Leica lens. It's not the absolute best value in this focal length, as the Zeiss Distagon T* 4/18 ZM ( at Amazon) offers most of the performance at less than half the price. But the Zeiss lags behind the Leica in performance, especially at the edges of the frame. If you're willing to pay for it, the Super-Elmar-M is a solid wide-angle option.  The lens measures 2.3 by 2.4 inches (HD) and weighs 10.9 ounces. It includes a compact lens hood, but you'll need to remove that to mount the optional filter holder ($99.95), and then use big 77mm filters. The reason for this is the curved front element of the lens; it extends...

The last 18mm you will ever need!

The quality of Leica lenses is superb and this is no exception. The focus is silky smooth and the aperture ring has a perfect balance of ease/resistance. The lens is sharp, more than I expected, fine detail is rendered beautifully all the way to the edges.