Leica M Lenses

When I bought my first Leica M, a Typ240, I bought a 28mm Elmarit and 50mm Summarit. I quickly expanded to a 35mm and decided to buy the more expensive 35mm Summicron. Today, I sport a 21mm Super Elmar, 35mm and 50mm Summilux. If you are getting into Leica, a collection of Summicrons is a great place to start. they are light, easy and forgiving to focus and not too expensive. Or a Summilux. I recommend a 35mm as the range is more versatile than a 50mm.

Answering Questions about Leica

Where do the Leica Lens names come from?

Leica names their lenses based on their F Stop, or speed/aperture. Specifically Leica M lenses:

f/0.95, f/1 and f/1.2

f/1.4
f/2
f/2.2

f/2.5

f/3.5, f/3.8 and f/4
f/4.5
f/5.6

How Leica Lenses are Made

This video sums up why Leica lenses are so expensive. You can’t put a price on their craftsmanship.

I don't recommend getting a 50mm lens as a first Leica lens

Coming from DSLRs I think it is very tempting to get a 50mm as it is the prime lens size most DSLR users get. So we tend to be used to it and think it is what we want. But what new Leica lens buyers forget is that you can’t zoom in or out on the prime Leica lenses. So with a 50mm you prevent yourself from having a wider filed of view. That can be easily fixed by getting say a 28mm as well. But, I think when learning a new camera system, get one lens, see how it al works and expand from there. Hence I recommend the 35mm focal length. It does everything you need. 35mm is ideal for street photography, urban landscapes, close up or far away subjects. There is so much you can do with the frame. You can have the close, shallow depth of field look of a 50mm, but have more in the frame.

The new Leica Summilux F1.4 ASPH, Focus down to 40cm

The history of Leica optical design dates back more than 150 years and speaks to innovative engineering, uncompromising precision and outstanding quality. This applies especially to Leica M lenses. One of the most versatile among them has now been redesigned to provide even more flexibility for creators: the Leica Summilux-M 35 f/1.4 ASPH.

Leica 28mm F1.4 ASPH Summilux Lens Review

I’ve had the Leica 28mm F1.4 Summilux for 3 months at the time of writing this review. In that time I’ve trialled it for landscapes, close ups, low light. All the samples in this review are unedited, I want to show you a true indication of what the lens is capable of, and let you edit them for yourself to your liking.

Leica APO-Summicron 35mm F2.0 ASPH

Maximum performance in a compact construction: the APO-Summicron-M 35 f/2 ASPH sets new benchmarks. What is new and special about the 35mm Summicron APO is that now we can focus down to 30cm to our subject whereas previously it has been 70cm.

Collectors Edition? Leica Noctilux-M 50mm F1.2

Classics never die I guess. I tried the 50mm 0.95 Noctilux some time ago on my MP and review and thoughts here. With the Noctilux-M 50 f/1.2 ASPH. Leica is re-issuing a lens that occupies a very special place in the company’s history.

Leica 21mm Super Elmar

Model Number 11145 46mm Filter Thread F3.4 to F16 Apature Range Four Low Dispersion Elements One Double Sided Aspherical Element Angle of View [diagonal/horizontal/vertical] 90°/80°/50° (when used on a 35mm sensor or film camera 8 Lenses in 7 groups With the manual focus, you can focus as close as 70cm or 2.3’ 263grams (this is important to consider for landscape photography) Metal screw on lens hood.