The Leica 35mm F2 APO-Summicron ASPH Focuses Under a Foot

4 years ago
Posted in: aperture blades, close focus, leica 35mm f2, leica 35mm f2 apo, Leica 35mm f2 APO Summicron ASPH, Leica M mount, News
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Author: andres.perales@gmail.com

This is totally different from most rangefinder lenses.

Rangefinder camera users have long lived with one big problem. Unfortunately, most lenses don’t focus closer than a meter away. But Leica’s latest lens is slapping that notion in the face. With the Leica 35mm f2 APO Summicron ASPH, you can focus under a meter. In fact, you can focus to 0.3 meters. The world’s longest name aside, this lens is truly something special. Granted, you won’t be able to do that effectively while looking through the rangefinder. But you’ll get a lens that makes your M system so much more useful.

Leica 35mm f2 APO Summicron ASPH Tech Specs

35mm focal length
Leica M mount
At the 0.7m focusing range, there’s the equivalent of a speed bump. It tells you if you’re going into the close focusing range or not.
10 elements in 5 groups
Close focusing range of 0.3 meters
4 aspherical elements
11 aperture blades
E39 filter thread
Screw-on Lens hood
40.9mm long, which is like 1.6 inches long without the lens hood.
320 grams in weight
Retails for $8,195

The Only 35mm Lens You Need?

We’re close to believing that the Leica 35mm f2 APO Summicron ASPH is really the only 35mm Leica M mount lens you need. Sure, the Leica 35mm f1.4 Summilux is gorgeous. But the Leica 35mm f2 APO Summicron ASPH is a ton more useful. First off, you’re going to get the sharpness that APO lenses deliver. Leica’s 35mm f2 Summicron’s have always been a favorite of many for their bokeh. Then consider the close focusing aspect. As a working journalist, there’s so much that’s possible. It can shoot better product images, and you can get closer to important details in a scene. You’ll go from shooting an environmental portrait to focusing closely in one specialized tool. And you can do that with a single lens.

Best yet, the Leica 35mm f2 APO Summicron ASPH is still a manual focus optic. This means that you’ll slow down and shoot fewer photos. Fewer photos mean less work later on. It also translates to you creating more in-camera and being a lot more specific about your framing.

Does the price seem a little high? Yes, but then we took a look at some of the special features.

11 aperture blades: that’s what Sony G Master lenses do.
Approximately 11.3-inch close focusing: that’s closer than Sigma’s 35mm f1.2 Art lens. (Sony’s G Master focuses a bit closer than Leica’s new lens.)
Around 1.6 inches long without the lens hood. Do you realize how small that is?
320 grams in weight without the lens hood. Sony’s G Master 35mm is 524 grams.

It’s still pricey at over eight grand, but you’re getting a fair amount of innovation here. Leica M lenses are designed to be weather resistant, but they don’t put actual weather-sealing gaskets into the lenses. There are horror stories of photographers and their Leicas surviving hell. I’m pretty confident this will too! I’ve personally taken my M6 and new Leica lenses into some crazy rains, and they survived.

Of course, the other thing is that you’ll need to use either the LCD screen or the Visioflex EVF. I’m personally okay with that. In fact, I’d be all for the future of Leica M cameras having hybrid viewfinders. It’s probably about time for that to happen.