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Model history (3)

Specification

Sources of data

• Leica lenses booklet (PUB. 11-34d) (January 1963).
• Interchangeable lenses are giving your LEICA new perspective booklet (PUB. 11-34) (April 1960).
• Leica lenses booklet (PUB. 11-34b) (October 1961).
• Leitz General Catalogue (October 1961).

Manufacturer description #1

From the LEICA photography magazine (1958, No. 4):

One of the most interesting of the new lenses announced by Leitz at this year's Photokina is a 21mm superwide-angle lens whose speed is f/4. Minimum aperture is f/22; the linear diaphragm scale has click-stops. The Super-Angulon, as the new lens is called, has an acceptance angle of 92° - about twice that of the standard 50mm lens. Like all Leitz wide-angle lenses the 21mm lens couples to the camera rangefinder. But, a special accessory Optical Bright-Line Viewfinder is needed.

While the average photographer will not find use for a 21mm lens on every photo trip, the Super-Angulon is extremely handy to have when the situation calls for it. For architectural and close-quarters photography, for emphasizing space and distance, for special perspective effects - the 21mm is unsurpassed. It will make pictures which are literally impossible for other lenses. And its truly astonishing depth of field permits focus-free shooting which simplifies picture-taking under stress.

The 21mm Super-Angulon is available in both screw-mount for IIIg and earlier Leicas, and bayonet-mount for "M"-model Leicas. In either mount, the cost is $240.00, including tax. Optical Viewfinder for 21mm lens is $28.50. A special lens hood is $4.50.

Manufacturer description #2

From the LEICA photography magazine (1959, No. 1):

The 21mm Super Angulon 1/4 is a specialized tool for both photographic work and photographic play. With it you can take wall-to-wall architectural interiors, do dramatic commercial illustration work, or create cheerfully libelous caricature portraits of friends (or ex-friends-to-be).

This extreme wide-angle lens covers a field of 92° - more than twice that of a 50mm lens. The lens focuses as close as 16 inches, although rangefinder focus ends at 2 feet 4 inches when the lens is used on the M 2 (with the M 3, it ends at 3 feet 4 inches).

Because of its tremendous depth of field, the Super Angulon permits you to go as close to your subject as 11 inches by stopping down to f/22 and setting the focus at 1 foot 4 inches. The latter setting is marked on the lens mount, although rangefinder focusing does not extend this far.

The distance scale of the Super Angulon is cali-brated both in feet and in meters. It can be used with all screw-in Leica filters for Leica lenses with 42mm front diameter, except the swing-out type polarizing filter. The clamp-on lens shade can be attached in reversed position with the lens on the camera or in the plastic lens case.

The Super Angulon is easy to handle. Despite its special-purpose aura all you need to succeed with it is a little common sense. If you should take a portrait at close focus settings below 4-5 feet, you would, of course, get a "distorted" perspective of your subject. Actually, it would not be distortion, but an unusual perspective. Look carefully at a subject from a distance of only 16 inches or so and you will observe the effect.

So, unless you are deliberately making a caricature, just back up a reasonable distance of 5 or 6 feet when making pictures in which people appear. Naturally, you will include far more than head and shoulders, but you will get a more normal perspective.

The Super Angulon offers excellent definition when fully open at f/4 and definition stays excellent all the way through f/22. This makes the Super Angulon an ideal tool for photographers who supply advertisement illustrations and who often want tremendous depth of field combined with high definition.

Manufacturer description #3

An ultra-wideangle lens with tremendous depth-of-field. At f/8 its zone of sharpness extends from 28 inches to infinity, and at a shooting distance of 5 feet it covers a subject more than 8 feet wide! Especially valuable for close-in shooting of architectural, industrial and other cramped indoor situations, as well as for landscapes and all subjects requiring the widest coverage possible. Capable of the most surprising pictorial effects, this lens offers the ambitious photographer a truly challenging creative tool.

From the editor

A Jos. Schneider design based on their well known Super Angulon wide-angle lenses.

The lens was produced in the following variants:

• SUOON / 11002 - screw mount,
• SUMOM / 11102 - screw mount with factory-installed bayonet mount adapter for Leica M1, M2, M3 cameras.

The rear of the lens protruded well into the camera, requiring a special rear cap.

The lens accepts both 39mm screw-type and 42mm slip-on filters.

Notes

• All LEICA lenses having a focusing lever are automatically locked at the infinity position. This feature enables the camera to be used for infinity scenes and subjects without danger of the lens becoming accidentally out of focus due to unintentional movement. To release the lever for focusing on nearer planes press the knob at the end of the lever.

Lenses with similar focal length