Leica M8 User manual

LEICA TRI-ELMAR-M 16-18-21 mm f/4 ASPH. 1
With its impressive angle of view of 107°, this new TRI-ELMAR conquers 16 mm super wide-angle photography in perfect Leica M
style. Due to the minimal distortion and barely perceptible field curvature, it can be recommended for highly demanding architec-
ture photography even at the 16 mm setting. Used on the digital M8, it produces the image effect of a 21 - 28 mm lens, still enab-
ling extreme wide-angle views. The ultra compact shape is achieved by two aspherical elements. A new design of the interior
focusing significantly enhances the quality in the close-focus range through an adaption of the floating element principle. Brilliant
depth of field can therefore be used from a distance of 0.33 m for hyperfocal photography. Save money by buying the lens in a set
together with the Universal Wide-angle Viewfinder M.
Lens shape 16 mm
Aspheres
Vario group 1 Vario group 2
Internal focussing

LEICA TRI-ELMAR-M 16-18-21 mm f/4 ASPH. 2
Lens shape 18 mm
Lens shape 21 mm

LEICA TRI-ELMAR-M 1:4/16-18-21 mm ASPH. 3
Technical Data
Angle of view (diagonal, horizontal, vertical)
Optical design
Distance setting
Aperture
Bayonet
Filter (type)
Lens hood
Dimensions and weight
for 35 mm (24 x 36 mm):
at 16 mm: 107°, 97°, 74°
at 18 mm: 100°, 90°, 67°
at 21 mm: 92°, 81°, 60°
for digital (18 x 27 mm):
at 16 mm: 90°, 80°, 59°
at 18 mm: 84°, 74°, 53°
at 21 mm: 75°, 65°, 46°, corresponds approx. to a focal length of 21/24/28 mm with 35 mm-format
Number of elements / groups: 10 / 7
Focusing range: 0.5 m to Infinity, range from 0.5 to 0.7 m separated by index
Scales: Combined meter/feet graduation with uniform grey figures below 0.7 m
Smallest object field:
for 35 mm:
at 16 mm: 915 x 1373 mm, approx. 1:38
at 18 mm: 833 x 1250 mm, approx. 1:35
at 21 mm: 725 x 1087 mm, approx. 1:30
for digital:
at 16 mm: 688 x 1032 mm, approx. 1:38
at 18 mm: 626 x 939 mm, approx. 1:35
at 21 mm: 545 x 817 mm, approx. 1:30
Highest reproduction ratio: at 0,7 m
at 16 mm: 1:38
at 18 mm: 1:35
at 21 mm: 1:30
Setting / Function: Preset, with click-stops, half values available
Lowest value: 22
Leica M quick-change bayonet with 6 bit lens identification bar code for digital M models
Male thread, non-rotating and with stop for filter holder or lens hood
screw-on type lens hood (included in delivery),
filter holder for E67 size filters optionally available
Length: approx. 62/72 mm (with/without lens hood)
Largest diameter: approx. 54 mm (53 x 58 mm with lens hood)
Weight: approx. 335 g
Engineering drawing

LEICA TRI-ELMAR-M 16-18-21 mm f/4 ASPH. 4
0 5 10 15 20
Y'[mm]
0
20
40
60
80
100[%]
Aperture Stop 4.0
Aperture Stop 4.0
05101520
Y'[mm]
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20
40
60
80
100[%] Aperture Stop 5.6
05101520
Y'[mm]
0
20
40
60
80
100
Aperture Stop 8.0
[%]
05101520
Y'[mm]
0
20
40
60
80
100[%] Vignetting
4.0
5.6
8.0
05101520
Y'[mm]
-5
-4
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-1
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1
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5[%] Relative Distortion
0369121518
X'[mm]
0
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12
Y'[mm]
Effective Distortion
05101520
Y'[mm]
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20
40
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100[%] Aperture Stop 4.0
05101520
Y'[mm]
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100[%] Aperture Stop 5.6
0 5 10 15 20
Y'[mm]
0
20
40
60
80
100
Aperture Stop 8.0
Aperture Stop 8.0
[%]
05101520
Y'[mm]
0
20
40
60
80
100[%] Vignetting
4.0
5.6
8.0
05101520
Y'[mm]
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
0
1
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5[%] Relative Distortion
0369121518
X'[mm]
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Y'[mm]
Effective Distortion
05101520
Y'[mm]
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100[%] Aperture Stop 4.0
0 5 10 15 20
Y'[mm]
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20
40
60
80
100[%]
Aperture Stop 5.6
Aperture Stop 5.6
05101520
Y'[mm]
0
20
40
60
80
100
Aperture Stop 8.0
[%]
05101520
Y'[mm]
0
20
40
60
80
100[%] Vignetting
4.0
5.6
8.0
05101520
Y'[mm]
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
4
5[%] Relative Distortion
0369121518
X'[mm]
0
3
6
9
12
Y'[mm]
Effective Distortion
MTF graphs 16 mm
The MTF is indicated at full aperture and at
f/5.6 and f/8.0 at long taking distances (infinity).
Shown is the contrast in percentage for 5, 10, 20
and 40 lp/mm accross the height of the 35 mm
film format, for tangential (dotted line) and sagittal
(solid line) structures, in white light. The 5 and
10 lp/mm will give an indication regarding the
contrast ratio for large object structures.The
20 and 40 lp/mm records the resolution of finer
and finest object structures.
tangential structures
sagittal structures
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

LEICA TRI-ELMAR-M 16-18-21 mm f/4 ASPH. 5
Distortion 16 mm
Vignetting 16 mm
05101520
Y'[mm]
0
20
40
60
80
100[%] Aperture Stop 4.0
05101520
Y'[mm]
0
20
40
60
80
100[%] Aperture Stop 5.6
05101520
Y'[mm]
0
20
40
60
80
100
Aperture Stop 8.0
[%]
05101520
Y'[mm]
0
20
40
60
80
100[%] Vignetting
4.0
5.6
8.0
0 5 10 15 20
Y'[mm]
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
4
5[%]
Relative Distortion
Relative Distortion
0369121518
X'[mm]
0
3
6
9
12
Y'[mm]
Effective Distortion
05101520
Y'[mm]
0
20
40
60
80
100[%] Aperture Stop 4.0
05101520
Y'[mm]
0
20
40
60
80
100[%] Aperture Stop 5.6
05101520
Y'[mm]
0
20
40
60
80
100
Aperture Stop 8.0
[%]
0 5 10 15 20
Y'[mm]
0
20
40
60
80
100[%] Vg ett gVignetting
4.0
5.6
8.0
05101520
Y'[mm]
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
4
5[%] Relative Distortion
0369121518
X'[mm]
0
3
6
9
12
Y'[mm]
Effective Distortion
05101520
Y'[mm]
0
20
40
60
80
100[%] Aperture Stop 4.0
05101520
Y'[mm]
0
20
40
60
80
100[%] Aperture Stop 5.6
05101520
Y'[mm]
0
20
40
60
80
100
Aperture Stop 8.0
[%]
05101520
Y'[mm]
0
20
40
60
80
100[%] Vignetting
4.0
5.6
8.0
05101520
Y'[mm]
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
4
5[%] Relative Distortion
0 3 6 9 12 15 18
X'[mm]
0
3
6
9
12
Y'[mm]
Effective Distortion
Effective Distortion
Distortion is the deviation of the real image height
(in the picture) from the ideal image height. The
relative distortion is the percentage deviation.
The ideal image height results from the object
height and the magnification. The image height of
21.6mm is the radial distance between the edge and
the middle of the image field for the format 24mm x
36mm. The graph of the effective distortion illustra-
tes the appearance of straight horizontal and verti-
cal lines in the picture.
Vignetting is a continous decrease of the illumina-
tion to the edges of the image field. The graph
shows the percentage loss of illumination over the
image height. 100% means no vignetting.

LEICA TRI-ELMAR-M 16-18-21 mm f/4 ASPH. 6
0 5 10 15 20
Y'[mm]
0
20
40
60
80
100[%]
Aperture Stop 4.0
Aperture Stop 4.0
0 5 10 15 20
Y'[mm]
0
20
40
60
80
100[%]
Aperture Stop 5.6
Aperture Stop 5.6
0 5 10 15 20
Y'[mm]
0
20
40
60
80
100
Aperture Stop 8.0
Aperture Stop 8.0
[%]
0 5 10 15 20
Y'[mm]
0
20
40
60
80
100[%] Vignetting
4.0
5.6
8.0
0 5 10 15 20
Y'[mm]
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
4
5[%]
Relative Distortion
Relative Distortion
0 3 6 9 12 15 18
X'[mm]
0
3
6
9
12
Y'[mm]
Effective Distortion
Effective Distortion
18 mm

LEICA TRI-ELMAR-M 16-18-21 mm f/4 ASPH. 7
0 5 10 15 20
Y'[mm]
0
20
40
60
80
100[%]
Aperture Stop 4.0
Aperture Stop 4.0
0 5 10 15 20
Y'[mm]
0
20
40
60
80
100[%]
Aperture Stop 5.6
Aperture Stop 5.6
0 5 10 15 20
Y'[mm]
0
20
40
60
80
100
Aperture Stop 8.0
Aperture Stop 8.0
[%]
0 5 10 15 20
Y'[mm]
0
20
40
60
80
100[%] Vignetting
4.0
5.6
8.0
0 5 10 15 20
Y'[mm]
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
4
5[%]
Relative Distortion
Relative Distortion
0 3 6 9 12 15 18
X'[mm]
0
3
6
9
12
Y'[mm]
Effective Distortion
Effective Distortion
21 mm

LEICA TRI-ELMAR-M 16-18-21 mm f/4 ASPH. 8
Depth of field table 16 mm
Magnification
0,5 0,426 - 0,614 0,403 - 0,679 0,374 - 0,813 0,344 - 1,098 0,306 - 2,956 0,272 - ∞ 1/25,9
0,6 0,491 - 0,786 0,460 - 0,904 0,420 - 1,178 0,381 - 1,963 0,333 - ∞ 0,292 - ∞ 1/32,
0,7 0,552 - 0,982 0,511 - 1,183 0,461 - 1,737 0,413 - 4,516 0,355 - ∞ 0,307 - ∞ 1/38,1
0,8 0,608 - 1,209 0,557 - 1,542 0,497 - 2,698 0,440 - 210,2 0,373 - ∞ 0,319 - ∞ 1/44,3
1 0,709 - 1,789 0,638 - 2,682 0,558 - 12,08 0,484 - ∞ 0,402 - ∞ 0,339 - ∞ 1/56,6
1,5 0,910 - 4,969 0,792 - 214,2 0,666 - ∞ 0,560 - ∞ 0,449 - ∞ 0,368 - ∞ 1/87,2
2 1,060 - 45,22 0,899 - ∞ 0,737 - ∞ 0,607 - ∞ 0,476 - ∞ 0,385 - ∞ 1/118
3 1,269 - ∞ 1,041 - ∞ 0,826 - ∞ 0,663 - ∞ 0,507 - ∞ 0,403 - ∞ 1/179
5 1,507 - ∞ 1,190 - ∞ 0,913 - ∞ 0,715 - ∞ 0,534 - ∞ 0,418 - ∞ 1/302
∞ 2,093 - ∞ 1,517 - ∞ 1,085 - ∞ 0,810 - ∞ 0,582 - ∞ 0,444 - ∞ 1/∞
Distance Setting [m]
perture Stop
11 16 224,0 5,6 8
perture Stop 4
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
∞
5
3
2
1,5
1
0,8
0,7
0,6
0,5
Distance Setting [m]
Depth of Field [m]
perture Stop 5,6
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
∞
5
3
2
1,5
1
0,8
0,7
0,6
0,5
Distance Setting [m]
Depth of Field [m]

LEICA TRI-ELMAR-M 16-18-21 mm f/4 ASPH. 9
perture Stop 16
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
∞
5
3
2
1,5
1
0,8
0,7
0,6
0,5
Distance Setting [m]
Depth of Field [m]
perture Stop 8
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
∞
5
3
2
1,5
1
0,8
0,7
0,6
0,5
Distance Setting [m]
Depth of Field [m]
perture Stop 11
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
∞
5
3
2
1,5
1
0,8
0,7
0,6
0,5
Distance Setting [m]
Depth of Field [m]

LEICA TRI-ELMAR-M 16-18-21 mm f/4 ASPH. 10
perture Stop 22
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
∞
5
3
2
1,5
1
0,8
0,7
0,6
0,5
Distance Setting [m]
Depth of Field [m]

LEICA TRI-ELMAR-M 16-18-21 mm f/4 ASPH. 11
Depth of field table 18 mm
Magnification
0,5 0,436 - 0,591 0,416 - 0,639 0,389 - 0,732 0,361 - 0,901 0,325 - 1,527 0,291 - 16,32 1/23,6
0,6 0,506 - 0,746 0,478 - 0,829 0,441 - 1,004 0,404 - 1,383 0,356 - 4,164 0,315 - ∞ 1/29,1
0,7 0,572 - 0,917 0,534 - 1,054 0,487 - 1,369 0,441 - 2,240 0,383 - ∞ 0,334 - ∞ 1/34,7
0,8 0,633 - 1,109 0,586 - 1,322 0,529 - 1,882 0,473 - 4,197 0,406 - ∞ 0,350 - ∞ 1/40,3
1 0,745 - 1,569 0,679 - 2,058 0,600 - 3,975 0,527 - ∞ 0,442 - ∞ 0,375 - ∞ 1/51,4
1,5 0,974 - 3,513 0,859 - 7,995 0,732 - ∞ 0,622 - ∞ 0,502 - ∞ 0,414 - ∞ 1/79,3
2 1,151 - 9,245 0,990 - ∞ 0,822 - ∞ 0,683 - ∞ 0,539 - ∞ 0,436 - ∞ 1/107
3 1,406 - ∞ 1,168 - ∞ 0,937 - ∞ 0,757 - ∞ 0,581 - ∞ 0,461 - ∞ 1/163
5 1,709 - ∞ 1,364 - ∞ 1,055 - ∞ 0,828 - ∞ 0,619 - ∞ 0,483 - ∞ 1/274
∞ 2,523 - ∞ 1,824 - ∞ 1,299 - ∞ 0,965 - ∞ 0,688 - ∞ 0,521 - ∞ 1/∞
Distance Setting [m]
perture Stop
11 16 224,0 5,6 8
perture Stop 4
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
∞
5
3
2
1,5
1
0,8
0,7
0,6
0,5
Distance Setting [m]
Depth of Field [m]
perture Stop 5,6
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
∞
5
3
2
1,5
1
0,8
0,7
0,6
0,5
Distance Setting [m]
Depth of Field [m]

LEICA TRI-ELMAR-M 16-18-21 mm f/4 ASPH. 12
perture Stop 16
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
∞
5
3
2
1,5
1
0,8
0,7
0,6
0,5
Distance Setting [m]
Depth of Field [m]
perture Stop 8
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
∞
5
3
2
1,5
1
0,8
0,7
0,6
0,5
Distance Setting [m]
Depth of Field [m]
perture Stop 11
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
∞
5
3
2
1,5
1
0,8
0,7
0,6
0,5
Distance Setting [m]
Depth of Field [m]

LEICA TRI-ELMAR-M 16-18-21 mm f/4 ASPH. 13
perture Stop 22
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
∞
5
3
2
1,5
1
0,8
0,7
0,6
0,5
Distance Setting [m]
Depth of Field [m]

LEICA TRI-ELMAR-M 16-18-21 mm f/4 ASPH. 14
Depth of field table 21 mm
Magnification
0,5 0,448 - 0,568 0,433 - 0,598 0,410 - 0,656 0,385 - 0,749 0,352 - 0,993 0,320 - 1,704 1/20,5
0,6 0,524 - 0,707 0,502 - 0,758 0,470 - 0,859 0,436 - 1,036 0,391 - 1,622 0,350 - 5,827 1/25,3
0,7 0,595 - 0,858 0,566 - 0,936 0,524 - 1,102 0,481 - 1,430 0,426 - 2,968 0,376 - ∞ 1/30,2
0,8 0,663 - 1,020 0,626 - 1,137 0,574 - 1,401 0,522 - 2,000 0,455 - 7,894 0,398 - ∞ 1/35,0
1 0,788 - 1,390 0,734 - 1,625 0,662 - 2,259 0,591 - 4,542 0,505 - ∞ 0,433 - ∞ 1/44,7
1,5 1,054 - 2,690 0,955 - 3,813 0,831 - 12,41 0,718 - ∞ 0,590 - ∞ 0,490 - ∞ 1/68,8
2 1,268 - 5,055 1,125 - 11,69 0,953 - ∞ 0,804 - ∞ 0,644 - ∞ 0,525 - ∞ 1/93,0
3 1,590 - 42,08 1,367 - ∞ 1,117 - ∞ 0,914 - ∞ 0,709 - ∞ 0,565 - ∞ 1/141
5 1,996 - ∞ 1,650 - ∞ 1,294 - ∞ 1,026 - ∞ 0,771 - ∞ 0,601 - ∞ 1/238
∞ 3,232 - ∞ 2,397 - ∞ 1,699 - ∞ 1,256 - ∞ 0,887 - ∞ 0,666 - ∞ 1/∞
Distance Setting [m]
perture Stop
11 16 224,0 5,6 8
perture Stop 4
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
∞
5
3
2
1,5
1
0,8
0,7
0,6
0,5
Distance Setting [m]
Depth of Field [m]
perture Stop 5,6
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
∞
5
3
2
1,5
1
0,8
0,7
0,6
0,5
Distance Setting [m]
Depth of Field [m]

LEICA TRI-ELMAR-M 16-18-21 mm f/4 ASPH. 15
perture Stop 16
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
∞
5
3
2
1,5
1
0,8
0,7
0,6
0,5
Distance Setting [m]
Depth of Field [m]
perture Stop 8
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
∞
5
3
2
1,5
1
0,8
0,7
0,6
0,5
Distance Setting [m]
Depth of Field [m]
perture Stop 11
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
∞
5
3
2
1,5
1
0,8
0,7
0,6
0,5
Distance Setting [m]
Depth of Field [m]

LEICA TRI-ELMAR-M 16-18-21 mm f/4 ASPH. 16
Leica Camera AG / Oskar-Barnack-Straße 11 / D-35606 Solms / Telefon + 49 (0) 6442-208-0 / Telefax + 49 (0) 6442-208-333
www.leica-camera.com / [e-mail]
perture Stop 22
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
∞
5
3
2
1,5
1
0,8
0,7
0,6
0,5
Distance Setting [m]
Depth of Field [m]