Leica M11
(Credit: Jim Fisher)
Editors' Note, October 14, 2025: With this update, we have moved some lenses that are no longer available into the Used Market section and added the TTArtisan 28mm F5.6. The other picks have been vetted for currency and availability.
The Leica M camera system offers a different way to capture the world than most other digital cameras. M cameras use a bright optical viewfinder with a fixed angle of view and a central focusing square, called a rangefinder patch. I've been using Leica M cameras for more than 17 years and always enjoy picking one up and looking at the world through a bright optical viewfinder. The M system has been around for around even longer, since the 1950s, and Leica's legacy goes back further. The company literally invented the full-frame 35mm format, that is an industry standard to this day.
With a few exceptions, a current-generation digital Leica M11 supports both M-mount and older Leica Thread Mount (LTM) lenses without any sacrifices in functionality, in large part thanks to their mechanical designs. Even better for longtime system owners, the M11, M11-P, and M11 Monochrom all look and handle just like the M3 film camera that kicked off the line back in 1954.
Which Brands Make M Lenses?
Leica, Voigtlander, and Zeiss are the oldest brands making M lenses today. They all share German roots, though a Japanese manufacturer, Cosina, now owns the Voigtlander imprint. Leica manufactures its M lenses in Europe, while Zeiss's ZM rangefinder lenses are made in Japan.
In recent years, a few boutique brands have joined them. Some, like the one-man shop MS Optics, concentrate on short production runs of lenses with ultra-slim designs or extra-bright apertures. Light Lens Lab also makes lenses with short production runs, but concentrates on remaking rare and collectible vintage lenses for reasonable prices.
Others concentrate on value alternatives to Leica. 7artisans, Kipon, TTArtisan, and Venus Laowa are newer names to photographers, but have all released M lens designs in recent memory. Their lenses tend to be less expensive than other brands. TTArtisan, for example, sells a 50mm F0.95 lens for $218—Leica's Noctilux-M 50mm F0.95, for comparison, costs $12,495.
Can You Use M Lenses on Mirrorless EVF Cameras?
Leica's M rangefinder cameras use specialized image sensors that are tuned to get the best results out of M-mount lenses. You can opt to use M lenses with mirrorless cameras from Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, and Sony if you want via a simple mechanical adapter. With some, you'll see false color and vignetting in the corners, but this is only a real concern for lenses that have recessed rear elements that sit very close to the sensor plane.
We've even seen some adapters that add autofocus to purely manual lenses. The first-generation Techart Pro Leica M adapter is an interesting product, but a bit of a pain to use in practice. Its second-generation effort is more pleasing to use and is available for more brands of mirrorless cameras; we tested the version for Nikon Z bodies.
Although you can adapt almost any fully manual lens, M lenses are typically smaller and lighter than those for vintage SLRs, and adapters are shorter, too. These aspects and the Leica aesthetic make M rangefinder lenses more desirable for use on modern digitals compared with vintage SLR lenses.
Regardless of what type of camera you use, you have a wealth of M lenses to pick from, both new and old. We've highlighted some of our favorites that we've reviewed over the years here, along with some advice for shopping for vintage optics.
Wide-Angle Views
For most rangefinder owners, a moderately wide to standard prime is your primary lens. Most M camera viewfinders show framing guides for select focal lengths from 28mm through 135mm. Some film models, like the discontinued Voigtlander Bessa R4 and Konica Hexar RF, offer wider-angle coverage, but you'll need to search for them on the used market and send film out or spend time processing it yourself.
With most rangefinders, wide lenses require external viewfinders for framing, either optical or electronic. There are ample options to choose from, though, including the only in-production zoom lens for M cameras, the Leica 16-18-21mm Tri-Elmar, and Venus Laowa's 9mm F5.6 FF RL, currently the widest rectilinear lens you can get for a full-frame system.
You'll need to take some care when shopping for a digital camera, as a handful of wide lenses exhibit odd color shifts at the corner of the frame. Most of the worst offenders are only available secondhand, but be aware that it's a concern with some lenses that have been around since the film days, including the Zeiss C Biogon T* 21mm. A free software app, appropriately named Cornerfix, is useful if you want to compensate for the effect.
The camera you use plays a factor, too. Some digital models do a better job suppressing color shifts. Others may not show odd colors but will smear details in the corners. Leica's purpose-built digital M cameras include on-sensor corrective optics—microlenses—and thin protective material over the sensor to get the most out of wide-angle lenses.
That means you can't expect the same performance from the same optics when using lenses, particularly wide ones, with mirrorless cameras from Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, or Sony. Kolari Vision, a small shop best known for infrared camera conversions, can modify select full-frame mirrorless cameras for a fee. It promises that corner resolution will be more in line with a Leica body once it's done.
Standard Prime
A 28mm lens is about as wide as most photographers will go for a standard lens on a Leica camera—it's the widest you'll get with a modern digital and older film rangefinder, as well as matches the view of today's smartphones. For a generation of photographers making their first pictures with iPhones, it's a comfortable angle of view.
You might prefer a lens with a slightly tighter view. For rangefinders, look to a 35mm as a moderately wide standard or a 50mm if you lean toward isolating a subject.
Oddball focal lengths do make their way into the system, though. Leica sold the 40mm Summicron-C in the 1970s as the standard lens for the compact CL film camera, but there are no frame lines to support it in any M series camera, film or digital. The lens has its devotees, myself included. Today, Voigtlander sells a few 40mm lenses, the bright Nokton F1.2 and Nokton F1.4 and the compact Heliar F2.8.
It's at 50mm that you'll find lenses with the brightest f-stops. Leica's Noctilux line was born out of the focal length and has progressed from F1.2 to the current-generation F0.95. Third parties, including MS Optics, TTArtisan, and Voigtlander, have also marketed lenses with apertures larger than F1.4 in recent memory. If you want a fast 50mm lens, the M system gives you plenty of choice.
Short Telephoto
Lenses with focal lengths longer than 50mm offer narrower angles of view and fall into the realm of telephoto. Leica cameras include framing guides for 75mm, 90mm, and 135mm optics in the viewfinder.
I recommend 75mm and 90mm options a bit more strongly for rangefinder photographers. Frankly, it's a bit of a pain to frame shots in the relatively tiny area covered by the 135mm lines in the viewfinder, and the long focal length requires you to take more care to focus precisely.
The Visoflex EVF comes in handy if you want to get images in perfect focus with lenses like the Noctilux-M 75mm F1.25 ASPH. and Summilux-M 90mm F1.5 ASPH. at the widest aperture.
Vintage Optics Made New
You can also buy a new lens that's based on an old design. Leica, Light Lens Lab, Lomography, and Voigtlander have all produced modern takes on some vintage lenses for photographers who don't want to use an actual antique.
The Leica Summaron-M 28mm F5.6 and Noctilux-M 50mm F1.2, Lomography Minitar, and Voigtlander 50mm Heliar draw images like lenses of yesteryear, but are built with modern methods. You won't have to fret about sending them in for service. Collectors take note, the re-issue of the 1930s Thambar-M 90mm F2.2 was only in production for a short time, so it's worthwhile to pick one up if you find it available for sale and are interested in the concept.
Regardless of whether you're buying new or used, or for a 35mm film body, digital Leica, or another brand's mirrorless camera, there are good reasons to shop for M-mount lenses. You can enjoy the latest lenses with clinically perfect optics, or seek out older lenses and optical formulas for images with character.
Navigating the Used Market
Many reach to older M glass for projects that demand a bit of a vintage look. Prices, availability, and condition vary, but since M lenses are all mechanical, you can use one from the 1950s on a current-generation digital camera without any adapters.
If you're versed in buying old photo gear, you already know to watch out for problems like oil on aperture blades and stiff focus rings, but those flaws may be worth it to get softer, less contrasty photos and videos with unpredictable flare.
If you do seek out older glass, be prepared to deal with the occasional lemon. I've bought and returned M lenses for various reasons—I had my eyes on a goggled Leica Elmarit 135mm F2.8 at one point but found its focus calibration to be way off. Rather than foot a repair bill, I opted to return it.
That's a luxury you get when you buy from a photo specialty retailer—the big online shops all have pretty lively used departments. That may not always be true if you go the eBay route, so check the listing. Internet discussion forums also serve as a marketplace among members; Leica Forum and Rangefinder Forum are two popular destinations for M system photographers.
If returns aren't an option, or you have a piece of gear you want to bring into good working order, repair shops are your best route. DAG Camera Repair and Golden Touch specialize in Leica.
We've highlighted some of our older reviews of lenses no longer in production below (from smallest focal length to largest focal length) for creators who don't mind shopping secondhand for camera gear. Retailers such as B&H, eBay, Gear Focus, KEH, MBP, and Popflash Photo, are good places to start your search.
