Leica SL Lenses: New 35 mm and 50 mm Summicrons announced today

A brace of relatively inexpensive 35 mm and 50 mm Summicron lenses today joins the line-up of Leica SL Lenses. Unlike previous SL prime lenses, the Leica Summicron-SL 35 f/2 ASPH and the Leica Summicron-SL 50 f/2 ASPH are both compact and light at just 400g. A range of kits featuring the new lenses and the Leica SL2 and SL2-S is also offered at a substantial discount.

All images: Leica Camera AG Press Office
All images: Leica Camera AG Press Office

The new Leica SL lenses are priced attractively (for Leica products) at £1,950 (35 mm) and £1,700 (50 mm), both including UK tax.

Detailed specifications of the two new Leica SL lenses arrived after this article had been prepared. The full specifications of both lenses are included below. You can view the details or download the sheets. Here is a quick summary:

The 50mm lens comprises nine lenses in eight groups, with six aspherical surfaces. The focus range is 45cm to infinity. The electronically controlled aperture range is from f/2 to f/22, with a choice of half of third stops. The filter thread is 67mm. The lens has a magnesium and aluminium full-metal housing and is dust and splash-protected. Excluding the hood, the 50mm is 83mm long and 74.5mm diameter. Weight is 402g.

The 35mm lens comprises eleven lenses in nine groups, with six aspherical surfaces. The focus range is 24cm to infinity. The electronically controlled aperture range is from f/2 to f/22, with a choice of half of third stops. The filter thread is 67mm. The lens has a magnesium and aluminium full-metal housing and is dust and splash-protected. Excluding the hood, the 50mm is 83mm long and 74.5mm diameter. Weight is 400g.

Kit offers

The new budget Leica SL lenses are incorporated in new kits featuring the SL2 and SL2-S and offering a saving of up to £790. They supplement the previously available kits, which include the Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-70 f/8 mm ASPH. Here is a full list of SL2 kit prices:

Kit Full Price Kit Price Saving
SL2 with 35 f/2 £7,870 £7,150 £720
SL2 with 50 f/2 £7,620 £6,850 £770
SL2-S with 35 f/2 £6,290 £5,500 £790
SL2-S with 50 f/2 £6,040 £5,300 £740
SL2 with 24-70 £8,220 £7,660 £560
SL2-S with 24-70 £6,640 £6,000 £640

All SL kits will also be eligible for an additional price advantage through a voucher scheme from 8 February to 30 April 2023 for both new and existing customers. A Leica account is required to activate the voucher and can be set up at club.leica-camera.com. The voucher is valued at £850 and will be available globally at all Leica Stores, the Leica Online Store and participating authorised dealers.

LATE NEWS

The delivery date for these lenses is currently unclear. I had assumed they would be with dealers today, but that is not so.

Specifications

Here are the specification sheets for both lenses, which you can view here or download for future reference:

Leica Press Release


Review of the 24-70 mm Vario Elmarit

First impressions of the new Leica SL2-S

Long-term review of the Leica SL2

Review of the Leica APO-Summicron SL 50 mm f/2 ASPH




34 COMMENTS

  1. Has anyone actually handled one of these lenses? As a previous owner of the Leica CL and the CL/TL lenses, (which were good optically), I can say that (IMO) they are very light and by comparison, felt cheaply made. They felt nothing like the SL lenses, which were extremely well-built and solid.

  2. Glad to see this. These lenses should have been there from Day 1. It could and probably would have made the SL system more appealing to more people and the lenses given their smaller size and weight could have been used on the APS-C systems as well… Besides that very little marketing, no influencer reviews on YouTube, etc. One could wonder whether Leica wants this to be another Summarit/CL story… With regards to image quality, I guess we have to wait till reliable reviewers get their hands on them, are they a unique Leica design or just re-badged Panasonic lenses? Who knows at this point in time?

  3. Hi Jonathan,
    The development of machines for pressed glass elements is quite a few years old. Quality brands and special lenses – although often not produced in large quantities either – are still ground by hand. At least until a few years ago. The advantage – I have heard – of pressed glasses is that they are more uniform. I don’t know if that’s still true. Maybe they can hand grind just as accurately today. I don’t know if it’s been many years since you’ve been to the factory? A lot may have been changed in production since then. It has gone really fast. But I’m happy to hear that Leica’s glass is hand ground. For me it is a quality. But in the end the most important thing is the finished quality of the lenses. Time will tell. You wrote to me a while ago that Leica is betting a lot on the SL line. I believe it. The first step is these two new lenses. I hope there will be more updates and promises from Leica about new products soon. Then SL will become a value provider of cameras in my industry as well. I am very excited to try it if possible.

    • As per Thor Labs website: “Thorlabs’ aspheric lenses, or aspheres, are available molded, CNC-polished, or MRF-polished, either with or without anti-reflection (AR) coatings. CNC-polished aspheres are available in larger sizes, provide better surface quality, and maintain the M squared values of the input beam better. MRF-polished aspheres provide true diffraction-limited spot sizes and the lowest wavefront error.”

  4. I think this is a great. I tend to want Leica’s best glass but I am almost 69 years old and have saved up for “premium” glass but it does have greatly diminishing returns for many situations.

    I do not care where a lens is made as long as it performs for me. I love Canadian made lenses as people want the made in Germany m lenses – seriously! People, get over the production location and look at the results unless you are too insecure about your photography. There is great glass from Leica, Panasonic, and Sigma. Pick something that suits your creative vision. and budget, and go out and blow the fake creatives out of the water!

  5. It is my assumption that ALL Leica lenses are made in Portugal. And likely, Leica supply lens design and sometimes grinding machines to Japanese brands. As the glass is often bought from third parties since Leica doesn’t have the Leitz Glass lab since 1980’s, some glass is specified by Leica and made ready to drop into the design, other glass elements are made to spec and grinded by Leica portugal.
    Some lenses like Leitz Cine, Noctilux and M APO lenses are assembled in Wetzlar where they have the precision assembly.
    If Pana, Sigma and others buy the same glass from third pary, these might be leica specs and glass recepies, but quality control, additional grinding (eventual coatings as well), and mainly assemblying sets it apart.
    Leica have a few macines for very precise assembly they have made and refined since the 1920’s, and for example painting edges of lenses black before assembling.
    The example is D-Lux where Leica specified optics and delivered machines to Panasonic. Rumor was Leica would scrap 80% of their glass and only use 20% where Panasonic used near by 100%.
    The new SL lenses are a great idea as it allow for economical intro packages – and any Leica fan will eventually be willing to pay 300% to upgrade to APO or similar to get 20% better image quality.

    • Many (but not all) lens elements are no longer ‘ground’ – they are moulded and include moulded aspheric elements. Modern lens elements’ manufacturing relies on very different methodology/techniques to those used years ago. Moulding glass lens elements enables economies of scale / costs reductions not possible years ago. And regarding “painting edges of lenses black before assembling”: Schneider have edge painted their lens elements for many years – hence the well known lens anomaly, “Schneideritis’ – whereby the paint flakes off the edges and migrates onto the lens elements’ surfaces – which has also happened to my Leica R 19mm Mk II 🙁

      • Hi Dunk
        I’ve been through the production facilities in both Wetzlar and Portugal, and most (if not all) of the Leica lenses are still ground rather than moulded.
        The edges of all the elements are still painted by hand by a group of dedicated edge painters!
        All the best
        Jono

        • Apologies Jono … got carried away as was reading about the discontinued Leica R 15/2.8 which has ‘moulded aspheric lens elements’

    • Thanks, Thorsten. That’s a convincing explanation and will make these new Summicrons more desirable in the eyes of buyers. It’s probably enough to justify the 300% premium over, say, the Panasonic 35/50 f/1.8s.

    • Hi there Thorsten
      I pretty much agree with you, but I think that whilst the standard lens elements are ground in Portugal, the Aspherical elements are still ground individually in Wetzlar (at least many of them are) – I was lucky enough to look at production in both sites.
      No idea about the new lenses.

  6. If Leica can produce/sell lighter, more compact, less expensive L-mount lenses, could they produce an SL3-S (or for the romantics let’s call it a CL3) that is still Full Frame, but also lighter and more compact and closer in size to the Q2?

    Would there be any buyers?

      • They need to do a lot of work to the UI to make it a Leica, both hardware and software. To bring that camera into alignment with the UI of the SL, CL, and even the M will require significant work. If Leica do that then they have the camera.

        If they don’t they have a Cadillac Cimarron, or an Allegro Venden Plas.

  7. In order to lower the price point, Leica opted to manufacture these in their Portugal facility rather than Germany.
    It sounds really exciting. Especially if the image quality is “close” to APO. Then I think the price and not least the size will be able to make the difference

    • Now that is interesting. No one has mentioned that, and I’ve spoken to many people who should know. The general assumption is that the lenses have been manufactured in Japan, either by Sigma or Panasonic. But the specification doesn’t match either of these companies’ offerings.

      Where did you read this, and is it a statement by Leica? I want to check. In common with most commentators, I had assumed that even Portugal would be too expensive for manufacture.

      • Hi, yes on reddotforum.
        https://www.reddotforum.com/content/2023/02/leica-introduces-lightweight-summicron-sl-35-and-50mm-f-2-asph-lenses/

        “And despite their light weight, the Summicron-SL lenses are just as rugged as the heavier primes, with the same all-metal barrel construction and rubber focus rings. In order to lower the price point, Leica opted to manufacture these in their Portugal facility rather than Germany. Don’t expect any sacrifice in quality though. This is the same state-of-the-art factory that produces all of the top-notch Leica Sport Optics binoculars and scopes”

        • That’s good, if true. Thanks. It certainly puts a different gloss on the lenses and demand will certainly be higher if people realise they are genuine Leicas.

          • Yes,
            I have compared the MTF on the Leica M35 (regular model) and the new SL and the new SL is better than the Leica M35. !
            I have used the Leica M35 for many years on my Leica MD and I have been happy with it.
            However, the MTF – of course – is not as good as the M35 APO that I have now. But I might be tempted to the SL3.

          • It seems to me, from casual chats, that Leica fans want lenses made by Leica. If they suspect a third party makes a lens, it will not sell in the same quantities. So a belief that these two lenses are made in Portugal (whether right or not) will ensure they are more popular. It’s all part of the Leica Legend.

  8. Would it be fair to say these are based on the Panasonic lenses at several times the price?
    Personally I wish they would hurry up with the Leica 24mm and 21mm they have been promising for years.
    All the best, Mark

    • The simple answer is that we don’t know at the moment. It’s a fair assumption they are made in Japan by Sigma or Panasonic. Panasonic’s 35 mm and 50 mm equivalents are f/1.8s, which adds some doubt. On the other hand, Leica has an ongoing relationship with Sigma (most people assume Sigma makes the 24-70 zoom), so Sigma’s 35/50 f/2s could be the twins. However, a first glance at the specification doesn’t bring up many similarities.

      Leica will always claim that they have sprinkled some Leica dust onto a product, even if it is obviously a rebranded Japanese camera or lens (as with the D-Lux, and V-Lux). But to what extent this leads to superior performance is a moot point. Even if the lenses are based on Sigma products, we wonder if Leica has insisted on a higher glass rejection rate, perhaps improved mechanics and optical performance. But the stark fact remains that, by Leica standards, these are budget lenses and will not compete with the Wetzlar 35s and 50s, especially the APOs. And, as you say, this raises the question of whether the Leica-branded lenses are worth four times the price. I look forward to comparative tests between these lenses and Sigma and Panasonic’s similar offerings.

      UPDATE: It has now been suggested that the lenses are made in Leica’s Portuguese facility and I am checking the veracity of this.

      • It would appear to be the case, but the optical design appears identical to the Panasonic lens, the optical design comparison is on the leica forum this morning, so maybe they are buying the optical units and fitting them into their own chassis in Portugal, hardly the first time Leica have done this.
        Having compared the Panny 35mm f1.8 to the Sigma 35mm f2 I bought the Sigma for my SL and have no regrets at all, it’s a beautiful lens and has one big plus over these others in having an aperture ring.
        I have nothing against the Panny lenses and love my 20-60mm and have preordered a 14-28mm.
        Leica have reworked many Japanese lenses over the years, I don’t see it as a big issue, but they never hold their value like Leica designed lenses.
        All the best, Mark

        • I agree in the LUMIX 20-60 and that wide angle is so useful. I also acquired the 24-105 which I also like. Apart from the 24-90, I do not own any SL lenses, but that’s a cracker of a zoom.

          I saw comparison between then new Leica lenses and the LUMIX 1.8s. Also, the dimensions are near identical, with the same filter size. They also look rather similar. Big difference in weight, though.

          • The difference in weight is most likely because Leica use a metal barrel vs the plastic of Panasonic.
            For the aperture difference, Leica is probably limiting the aperture to F2 via software for marketing purpose (part of the Summicron line) and because the Pannys are weaker at 1.8

          • I agree, and I’ve mentioned the weight difference and the all-metal construction in another comment. I also agree on the f/1.8 and f/2. Panasonic has made a bit of a fetish of f/1.8 on its MFT lenses, so it has become almost a trademark, just as Summicron=f/2. The Panasonic f/1.8 may be slightly slower than the headline rating, while Leica’s new Summicrons could be a bit faster than f/2. As you say, it’s all marketing. Anyway, I think we’ve established that these new lenses are manufactured in Portugal, which is good news for dealers trying to sell them.

      • As a non native speaker in English, I just want to express my admiration on your words about depicting the possible condition and back-story of these two lens. The words are elegant, lovely and the way you built the sentences is a great joy to read.
        I’ve learned a lot from it. 🙂

        • Thank you Thomas. We try to set high standards and to achieve consistency in everything we write here at Macfilos. I am glad you find the site useful.

  9. This is a really interesting move by Leica. The 35 APO and 50 APO SL lenses are out of this world. I’d be really interested to see one of these against its APO cousin in a side-by-side test. The APO SL lenses are just about manageable in size/weight, these will be much better in that respect.

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