The Leica system has always had a wide angle lens option available, going all the way back to the 3.5cm Elmar and the 2.8cm Hektor lenses in the early days of the interchangeable Barnack Leica cameras. Within a few years of the introduction of the M3, a “Super Wide” lens was introduced, the Schneider produced 21/4 Super Angulon. The Super Angulon was quite radical for its day, with the rear lens elements protruding deeply into the camera, precluding metering with the later metered M cameras. Introduced at Photokina in 1958, four years after the M3 itself, the lens was a sensation for the Leica photographer. My dad purchased a 21/4 Super Angulon at this time, and I have many early memories of this “special lens” with its separate optical viewfinder. The 21 was a tough lens to use properly, and it was several years after I started using the M3 before I achieved the skill level required to use it. In the late 60’s, we acquired a 21/4 Super Angulon-R to use with our Leicaflex SLs. I used this lens for years, as I was hooked on the SLR experience, and the Leicaflex made this lens easier to use as far as framing and composition.

In my late teens, I returned to my Leica roots with the purchase of a Black Chrome M4 camera with my earnings from my part-time job at the camera store. My usual kit for that camera was a 50 Summilux and 35 Summilux, and occasionally a 90mm Collapsible Elmar. I was still somewhat intimidated by the Super Angulon M, preferring to use the R version for wide angle. Some years went by and I purchased the first version of the Mandler designed 21/2.8 Elmarit to use with my M6, about the same time as I began travelling to Germany every other year to attend Photokina. The improved optical performance over the Super Angulon was much appreciated as well as the ability to meter with the M6, as by this time the M6 kit was my go-to travel setup. The R was used for more specialized work; Macro, Sports and Event Photography with its better flash setup than the M. It was about this time that our dear departed friend Tom A. became my regular travel companion to Photokina and LHSA meetings all across the country. Those who knew Tom, knew he was a wide angle junkie. Tom had shot every wide angle made, and even had a custom version of the Super Angulon 21/3.4 made with goggles so he didn’t have to use a separate finder in the shoe! Tom’s ultimate and last 21 was the then new 21/3.4 Super Elmar-M ASPH, which he claimed was the best 21 ever made. Being in Tom’s company only reinforced my own use of wide and super wide angle lenses with the Leica.

Along the way, I had also acquired a Zeiss 18/4 Distagon and the 21/2.8 Elmarit ASPH which replaced my older 21/2.8 Elmarit, and a Voigtlander 15/4.5 Super-Wide Heliar. Last year, I had the chance to acquire the fabled 16-18-21/4 Wide Angle Tri-Elmar (WATE) outfit in virtually unused condition for a very reasonable price. Some major overseas trips were coming up, and I thought the WATE would be the ideal travel com- panion and could take the place of the 21 and 18, and provide a better solution than the 15 Heliar which had too many issues to use on the M9 or M10 on a regular basis. It also gave me a better solution than having to carry multiple specialized optical finders for the 18 and 21. My WATE came with the Frankenfinder (officially known as the Universal Wide Angle Viewfinder), which if you are using an M camera previous to the M10 or M240, is a necessity. Given that the WATE was introduced back in 2006 with the M8, you need a solution like the Frankenfinder to accurately frame and compose with the WATE. It is a beautiful and versatile piece of kit with frame lines for focal lengths 16-28 and a built- in bubble level, but with the M10 and the option of Live View with the rear screen or the Visoflex 020, it is a bit redundant and takes up space in your bag which is better used for other purposes.

Colosseum, Rome

The WATE is only possible with the advanced optical design and mechanical precision practiced by Leica AG in the era of Peter Karbe as head of optical design. In comparison to the original Tri-Elmar 28-35-50 lens, the WATE is not required to actuate the framelines in the viewfinder, eliminating the incredible mechanical complexity of that earlier lens. It is a true zoom lens with a silky-smooth linear movement, incorporating defined stops for the three focal lengths. The lens can also be set at any in-between focal length from 16 to 21, unlike the earlier Tri-Elmar which could only be used at the marked focal lengths. With a constant aperture of f/4, the WATE has ten elements in six groups, two aspherically ground elements, and internal focusing with two variable groups. If you look closely while moving the focal length ring between the marked focal lengths, you can see the front and rear elements moving in unison with each other. At the 21mm setting, the front and rear elements retract into the lens body, moving out in two further positions for the 18 and 16 focal lengths. Amazing! The lens is very compact for a zoom lens, weighing 335 grams, with a filter size E67 with a special filter holder attachment. The lens dimensions are 54mm x 62mm with a close focusing distance of .5m, which exceeds the .7m limit of the Leica M rangefinder. The lens has clearly marked distance scales in feet and meters and aperture scales for each focal length. A rectangular, threaded lens hood is also provided with cap, and the threads are cut to stop the hood in the proper position when it is fully screwed in. According to Erwin Puts, the WATE has medium to high overall contrast wide open with outstandingly good definition over 2/3 of the image height. Stopping down improves the edges and corners to a high level. The lens is very flare resistant even shooting with the sun in the image area, has low distortion and well-controlled curvature of field. Vignetting wide open is on a par with the Noctilux, and improves with stopping down.

Despite being an “old hand” with super wide lenses on the Leica, the WATE does take a little getting used to out in the field. As noted previously, despite having the Frankenfinder available, I found I never took it out of the bag while using the WATE with the M10. The Viso 020 was what I initially used for accurate framing and composing. My first trip with the WATE was to Wetzlar last June, where I had time and the luxury of being in familiar territory for my first serious use of the lens. My pictures came out just fine and were of excellent quality which I used in my tour brochure. The next major trip was our Mediterranean Cruise last October, which took us to ten cities in 2 ½ weeks. Excursions in these cities were more like a marathon in nature, so I soon came to realize how to optimize my camera setups on the run. When covering a lot of locations in one day, jumping in and out of vans and busses, you learn to work fast and efficient. You don’t quite know what to anticipate, so the first impulse is to carry more gear than you need to allow you to cover any situation. Wrong. You learn very quickly that you need to pare down what you are carrying. You need to travel light and learn to be efficient. Ultimately, I ended up carrying the M10, the WATE, a 28 or 24mm lens, and a 50. I left the 35mm and 75mm lenses, along with the Frankenfinder and travel tripod back in the cabin safe. The only other gear I had in my bag were spare batteries and cards, along with my Sony NEX 6 and kit lens that I used as my “decoy camera”. A decoy camera is the one you have on your shoulder, keeping your Leica in your bag until needed when you want to be discreet. The decoy camera comes in handy when travelling in questionable areas such as Barcelona, which Rick Steves calls the pick pocket capital of Europe.

Basilica Notre-Dame de la Garde, Marseille, France

Where the WATE really shines is in enabling you to take the sweeping landscape pictures you envision in your mind’s eye, and interior shots where a wide angle and especially a super wide angle lens comes in very handy. As noted previously, I left the Frankenfinder behind and used the Viso 020 to compose and frame my images. I soon began to use the Live View on the rear screen itself, leaving the Viso finder in the bag, becoming comfortable in working this way on the fly. With Live View, you can check your focus with the focus magnification tool and also check your verticals and horizon lines with the grid line tool option selected in the control panel. The only other useful aid to composition would have been an electronic spirit level, not available in the M10. For this feature, you need to use the M10-P or the M240 series cameras.

Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain

In practice, I was very pleased with the results I obtained with the M10 and WATE combination. Best practice in use was to preset the camera for hyper focal distance, choose aperture ahead of time, use auto ISO or preset your ISO and shoot in aperture priority. I obtained a very high rate of keepers in this way, and only had to choose which composition I liked best. With the excellent high ISO performance of the M10, I had few worries about the technical quality of my images. As I was travelling light and working quickly, there was no opportunity to use a tripod or even a table top tripod. Having three focal lengths to choose from, I would take a quick look at the Live View display, choose my focal length, reframe the image and shoot. I would then quickly check my focus by zooming the image on review, and move on to the next shot. I would also recommend shooting a little loose with your image framing, as you can always tweak your framing, alignment and cropping in post processing for the final composition of your image. Vignetting is not a problem in use, and can easily be dealt with in post processing with digital images. The WATE is free from annoying digital artifacts, such as “Italian Flag” Phenomenon which plagues other super wide lenses on the digital M, such as the CV 15 Super-Wide Heliar, the Zeiss ZM 21/2.8 and 4.5 lenses, as well as both versions of the Super Angulon.

The WATE is a game changer, and is almost indispensable for my kind of travel photography. It provides very high optical performance in a compact, beautifully made package. All controls on the lens are very smooth and the lens balances well on the M. For many years the 21 was the widest focal length available to Leica photographers for the M. With the WATE, you now have 18mm and the almost unthinkable 16mm available on a ready basis. Even though there is only 2mm in focal length separating the widest focal lengths, in practical photography there is a big change in angle of view and perspective between them. The WATE has earned a permanent place in my bag, packing big performance in a small package. After extended use of the WATE, I have sold both my Zeiss ZM 18 Distagon and 21/2.8 Elmarit ASPH. Have a look at my images accompanying this article, and I think you will agree. Along with a 28, 50 and short tele, you now have a very compact four lens kit which can cover almost any situation you would encounter while travelling.