By Tati Taylor 20 days ago, Cameras & Lenses
Would you like to purchase the best Leica lens but have no idea which model to pick? Are you stuck choosing between Zeiss and Leica M? Don’t have a single clue what Summilux or Summicron even means? The article below will help you learn everything about the best Leica lenses on the market and make it easy for you to select the one that suits you the most.
The best Leica lenses are among the most advanced optics available today, as most of them come with innovative features. Regardless if you’re a beginner or an enthusiast photographer, getting at least one Leica lens is always a great idea since you can be sure it’ll provide terrific quality and more than make up for its cost.
Mount: Leica L | Diaphragm blades: 9 | Autofocus: Yes | Min focus distance: 0.6 m | Max magnification: 0.1 x | Filter thread: 0.82 mm | Dimensions (WxL): 88 x 124 mm | Weight: 1065 g
⊕ Weather sealing
⊕ Multilayer coating
⊕ Highly compatible
⊕ Super-fast max aperture
⊖ Rather heavy
⊖ Costs quite a lot
While not a pure Leica zoom lens, the Summilux-SL 50mm f/1.4 offers terrific sharpness across the entire zoom range and even at open apertures. Developed for full-frame mirrorless cameras, this lens has an upgraded build with a shorter flange distance.
It’s also equipped with 2 aspherical components and 4 partial dispersion components that serve to reduce aberrations and distortions. The max aperture of f/1.4 helps take your photo-taking capability to the next level by producing a shallow depth of field and being able to work even in low light situations.
Mount: Leica L | Diaphragm blades: 9 | Autofocus: Yes | Min focus distance: 0.4 m | Max magnification: 0.11 x | Filter thread: 60 mm | Dimensions (WxL): 70 x 77 mm | Weight: 428 g
⊕ Long list of compatible cameras
⊕ Lightweight
⊕ Terrific bokeh
⊕ High sharpness
⊖ Lacks image stabilization
⊖ Poor functionality
Summilux is often mentioned among the best Leica lenses and for good reason. It offers a classic focal length, great max aperture, and the ability to shoot even in the most challenging lighting conditions. This lens for mirrorless cameras grants you precise control over the depth of field and the implemented AF mechanism can be overridden whenever you need to fine-tune the focus point.
Furthermore, the built-in focus system allows maintaining the lens size during focusing, while also keeping the 60mm filter mount in place, which is great if you plan to employ polarizers or graduated filters.
Mount: Leica M | Diaphragm blades: 12 | Autofocus: No | Min focus distance: 0.7 m | Max magnification: 0.15 x | Filter thread: 52 mm | Dimensions (WxL): 63.3 x 49 mm | Weight: 344 g
⊕ Lightweight
⊕ Small
⊕ High durability
⊕ Amazing sharpness
⊖ Noticeable aberration and color fringing
This is probably the optimal option for all enthusiast photographers that can’t afford the more expensive Leica M Mount lenses. Back in the 20th century, when the max aperture of regular fast lenses was usually f/2 or f/1.4, the 50mm f/1.2 model quickly won the adoration of professional photographers around the world.
This lens comes as an upgraded version of that classic model and is a terrific fast standard choice for M-mount rangefinder cameras. Thanks to its bright f/1.2 max aperture, Voigtlander is perfect for poor lighting conditions and provides superior depth of field adjustments.
Mount: Leica M | Diaphragm blades: 9 | Autofocus: No | Min focus distance: 1.5 m | Max magnification: 0.1 x | Filter thread: 49 mm | Dimensions (WxL): 58.5 x 104.7 mm | Weight: 450 g
⊕ Non-existent ghosting
⊕ Pleasantly light
⊕ Small size
⊕ Reliable
⊖ Subpar sharpness
If you’re interested in Leica telephoto lenses, then the 135mm f/3.4 should be right up your alley. Providing terrific APO quality, it serves as a terrific replacement for both previous M lenses that shared the same focal length. This lens is capable of taking crisp, clear, and sharp images even at wide-open aperture.
Unlike most other telephoto lenses, this prime offers longer focal length and an apochromatic build. The visual compression provided by the telephoto properties is complemented by the optimized optical layout and produces minimum distortions.
Mount: Leica L | Diaphragm blades: 8 | Autofocus: Yes | Min focus distance: 0.3 m | Max magnification: 0.07 x | Filter thread: 39 mm | Dimensions (WxL): 61 x 21 mm | Weight: 80 g
⊕ Ideal traveling companion
⊕ Ultra-lightweight
⊕ Minimum distortions
⊕ Small body
⊖ Expensive
The Elmarit-TL 27mm lens offers an aperture range of f/2.8-16. It’s equipped with both manual and autofocusing modes, 4 aspherical elements, and a minimum focus distance of 30cm.
This is also the most compact Leica wide angle lens for APS-C cameras and it’s great at dealing with spherical aberrations and distortions, allowing you to enjoy a clear, sharp image. Finally, the AF mechanism lets you instantly switch to manual focusing whenever you need full control over a shot.
Mount: Leica M | Diaphragm blades: 11, Rounded | Autofocus: No | Min focus distance: 0.85 m | Max magnification: 0.01 x | Filter thread: 67 mm | Dimensions (WxL): 74 x 91 mm | Weight: 1055 g
⊕ Fastest aspherical 75mm model around
⊕ One-of-a-kind soft bokeh
⊕ Top-notch depth of field shallowness
⊕ Zero flares and ghosting
⊖ Extremely expensive
This is the fastest aspherical 75mm model around. Equipped with a paper-thin depth of focus, an impressively shallow depth of field, and a one-of-a-kind bokeh, this Leica camera lens offers fantastic performance.
Equaled only by its 50 mm colleague, Noctilux is a top-notch portrait-length prime lens, which is famous for being capable of emphasizing the subject, while also providing exquisite performance in poor lighting.
Mount: Leica M | Diaphragm blades: 10 | Autofocus: No | Min focus distance: 0.7 m | Max magnification: 0.22 x | Filter thread: 39 mm | Dimensions (WxL): 52 x 30.7 mm | Weight: 175 g
⊕ Featherweight
⊕ Clear and sharp image
⊕ Great colors
⊕ Ideal for traveling
⊖ Manual focusing
⊖ High price
Whether you get the Elmarit-M 28mm f/2.8 with a metal hood or not, you’ll get to enjoy one of the best Leica lenses available in 2024. It offers tremendous performance and technical specs, allowing you to take sharp photos with rich colors and without any flares, hazing, or compromises.
In addition to being small and lightweight, this wide-angle model comes with an 8-element, 6-group optical build that is equipped with a single aspherical component to reduce spherical aberrations and distortions to the minimum.
| Image | Name | Features | |
|---|---|---|---|
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Leica Summilux-Sl 50mm F/1.4
Premium |
CHECK PRICE→ | |
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Leica Summilux-TL 35mm f/1.4
Professional |
CHECK PRICE → | |
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Voigtlander 50mm f/1.2
High-speed |
CHECK PRICE → |
Leica is a popular German photography brand that has received a lot of acclaim for its products. Their optics offer a unique design, which is supported by increased durability. Being on the market for more than 100 years, Leica has deservingly earned a place in the camera equipment Hall of Fame.
When shopping for the best Leica lenses, you should expect to allocate somewhere between $400 and $12000. Moreover, $12000 isn’t even the highest price you’ll see since Leica products can cost even more if you’ll go vintage shopping. However, if you’ll only look at newer lenses, then those are the price points that you should stick to since you don't have to go broke to get a high-quality Leica lens. You should also keep in mind that ""R Mount"" optics are typically cheaper compared to their M-mount counterparts.
Leica M cameras come with viewfinder windows that you have to look through when composing your shot. Since the rangefinder is just a basic window, the camera superimposes frame-lines of different focal lengths onto that window. You can compose the photo while using those lines as a reference to what the lens will capture. If you’ll look at the front of the camera, you’ll notice that the big viewfinder window on the top left doesn’t align with the lens itself, which is where the shot is actually taken.
Modern mirrorless cameras wouldn’t be the same without rangefinders. While some design possibilities are nearly identical, the inclusion of a rangefinder in a mirrorless camera allows you to use an optical viewfinder to focus and frame the shot. It relies on a combination of optical and mechanical systems to project a double image to the center of the viewfinder. Once both images are aligned, the shot will become focused.
M lenses aren’t the only option you have for a rangefinder camera. However, most photographers use them because they provide a better pairing result compared to adapted SLR optics and have superior manual focusing performance, which can’t be achieved with the majority of native mirrorless lenses built with a digital focusing mechanism. Products from the full-frame Sony A7II line are a popular choice for photographers who own several Leica M lenses but want to stay clear from expensive electronic rangefinders.
There’s no denying the fact that Leica products come at a high price. However, Leica isn’t the only option on the market if you’re interested in M-mount lenses. You can purchase Zeiss and Voigtlander lenses for a smaller cost, with most of them offering performance on par with the best Leica lenses.
As usual, the demand shapes the market and since Leica products are one of the few options you have in your niche, you have no choice but to pay the prices they ask if you want to enjoy the quality provided by Leica optics.
It’s hard to pick a single answer to this question since Noctilux is the best option if you want to take photos with a dreamy atmosphere, while the Summilux-M offers similar functionality but slightly higher quality, and the Summicron is often the go-to choice for other photographers looking for a 50mm lens.
A lot of photographers sincerely believe that Leica optics offer the best build and glass quality on the market. Another reason why they adore using Leica products is the beautiful, unique bokeh the lenses produce in the unfocused parts of the photos.
While mostly used by enthusiasts for mirrorless cameras with interchangeable lenses, Leica products are also commonly found in gear sets of popular professional photographers due to the solid quality and reliability they offer.
