Glass Bodies a variant-level encyclopedia of vintage lenses and cameras by iwillpat

Elmarit-M 90mm f/2.8

Leica · Leica M · 1990 · Four elements in four groups — nothing cemented

Also known as: Elmarit-M 90mm f/2.8 · 90 Elmarit-M

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Black (11807) Leica M 1990–2007 — Part of a run whose total is disputed — see the note below
Chrome (11808) Leica M 1990–2007 — No separate figure published
Titanium (11899) Leica M 1990–2007 — No figure published
  1. The 24,520 figure should not be quoted flat. The Leica Wiki's serial table for this lens lists, against each Elmarit-M 2.8/90 allocation, the block immediately PRECEDING it in Puts's Leica Pocket Book — the 3,000-unit block it dates to 1988, 3462071–3465070, is in fact the 35mm Summilux Aspherical — so the 36 rows that sum to 24,520 are misattributed by one. Read correctly, Puts lists 28 blocks totalling 21,533 across 1985–2000, where his edition ends. The wiki's own header hedges it as "< 24,520" in any case.
  2. A second prototype of the E46 lens, serial 0000002 and dated circa 1988 — two years before the production run opened — was lot 193 of Leitz Photographica Auction 40. Its barrel differs slightly from the production model and the engraving, "Leitz Elmarit-M 1:2.8/90 E46", sits beneath the aperture ring rather than on the front ring. It realised €9,000 including buyer's premium against an estimate of €6,000–7,000.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • Four elements in four groups, all air-spaced
  • E46 filters; 27 degrees diagonal

Serial-range notes

3520296–3521295
1990: 1 batch, 1,000 numbers. Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
3555468–3557467
1991: 1 batch, 2,000 numbers. Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
3609680–3610679
1992: 1 batch, 1,000 numbers (black). Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
3622533–3623532
1993: 1 batch, 1,000 numbers (black). Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
3647976–3648975; 3656831–3657830
1994: 2 batches, 2,000 numbers. Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
3678031–3679030; 3695701–3696500; 3711003–3712002
1995: 3 batches, 2,800 numbers (black). Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
3759500–3759999; 3768100–3768219; 3769430–3769929
1996: 3 batches, 1,120 numbers (black). Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
3776430–3776979; 3780280–3780529; 3794510–3795009; 3803410–3803659; 3805860–3807859; 3811860–3812109
1997: 6 batches, 3,800 numbers (black; chrom; chrom+titan). Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
3823625–3825124; 3855600–3856299; 3856800–3857349
1998: 3 batches, 2,750 numbers. Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
3860127–3860376; 3864667–3864966; 3869917–3870166
1999: 3 batches, 800 numbers (black). Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
3882997–3883246; 3890257–3890506; 3898576–3899075; 3905126–3905375
2000: 4 batches, 1,250 numbers. Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
3917023–3917272; 3924671–3924920; 3930514–3931013
2001: 3 batches, 1,000 numbers (black). Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
3944314–3944563
2002: 1 batch, 250 numbers. Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
3970421–3970670; 3973739–3973988
2003: 2 batches, 500 numbers. Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
3992871–3993120
2005: 1 batch, 250 numbers. Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
3462071–3465070
1988: 1 batch, 3,000 numbers (black). Leica Wiki batch table, archived.

Specifications

Formula
Four elements in four groups — nothing cemented
Construction
4 elements / 4 groups
Aperture range
f/2.8–f/22
Diaphragm blades
10
Min. focus
1 m
Filter
46 mm
Years manufactured
1990–2007
Country
Germany

What reviewers say

History

The last ordinary 90 in the M catalogue: four elements in four groups, all air-spaced, f/2.8, E46 filters, and somewhere over twenty thousand lenses across seventeen years — the exact figure is not safe to quote, for reasons in the note above. It replaced the thin Tele-Elmarit in 1990 and stayed on sale until 2007, by which time the fast APO-Summicron and the small Macro-Elmar had divided the focal length between them.

Its construction repeats a pattern that runs through this catalog: the ELCAN, the thin Tele-Elmarit, the APO-Summicron 90 and this lens all avoid cemented pairs. On the ELCAN that was for survivability, on the APO for optical freedom; here it is simply what a well-corrected four-element telephoto wants.

Expand Collapse

This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.

Example photos

Sample photo taken with the Elmarit-M 90mm f/2.8
Hello there — shot on an Elmarit-M 90mm f/2.8 (Tom Mills) — Tom Mills, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Sample photo wanted — shot with a Elmarit-M 90mm f/2.8? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $380 across 36 fixed-price listings on 2026-10-19 (middle half $270–$850). Tracked since 2026-09-06, 10 days: down 45% from $690.

By day
DateMedianMiddle halfListings
2026-10-19$380$270–$85036
2026-10-18$380$270–$81035
2026-10-17$380$270–$85036
2026-10-16$380$300–$85035
2026-10-15$380$270–$85036
2026-09-21$800$380–$1,10032
2026-09-19$810$380–$1,10033
2026-09-18$810$380–$1,10033
2026-09-11$680$300–$95036
2026-09-06$690$380–$95037

Asking prices from the listings scanned, not sales; junk-flagged rows and auction lots excluded; other currencies are not converted.

Show 88 more listings

Buying from Yahoo! Auctions outside Japan. It is a domestic marketplace: sellers ship within Japan, and most will not register an overseas buyer. A proxy service bids on your behalf, receives the item and forwards it, for a fee and a wait. Buyee, Jauce and ZenMarket each accept a Yahoo auction number directly. Listed alphabetically for information — none is recommended over another, and none of these is an affiliate link.

Listings updated 2026-10-19. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.

Related: Elmarit 9cm f/2.8 · Macro-Elmar-M 90mm f/4 · Summarit-M 90mm f/2.5 · Tele-Elmarit-M 90mm f/2.8 (the thin one)

Sources (6)

Every page here is assembled from public sources, and the gaps are real ones. If you own this lens, know a serial number I'm missing, or can see where I have it wrong, tell me — corrections, serials and sample photos are all worth having.