The new Leica 28mm f2 ASPH Summicron is a replacement for the previous version of the lens. That version, which we rated at 3/5 stars, is just alright. That’s to say that it’s really only mediocre and we expect a lot more from a Leica. While this new lens isn’t one of Leica’s Apochromatic lenses, the company is still claiming it to be sharper than the previous versions.
What to Know About the New Leica 28mm f2 ASPH Summicron
Here are some important tech specs that Leica provided for us before the announcement:
- 9 elements in 6 groups.
- 275 grams, which is a bit more than half a pound. In more practical terms, that’s around the weight of a stick of butter.
- 55mm long, which is around 2 inches.
- It has an extendable lens hood. This is a deviation from the previous version, which took a square/rectangle hood.
- 10 aperture blades, which is the same as the previous lens
- Stops down to f16
- 1 Aspherical surface
- Close focus is a bit closer than a foot and a half away. But this can only be done via Live View of the EVF. Through the rangefinder, it will focus a bit further than a foot and a half away.
- E46 filter thread; which a lot of Leica users will be familiar with in some way or another.
- The MTF charts that Leica shows us make it out to be very sharp at f2.8 and show a bit of improvement to f5.6. So, when shooting wide open, this lens is designed to have a look.
A Second Chance?
Quite honestly, I don’t remember ever really being a major fan of the last version of the Leica 28mm f2 ASPH lens. It felt alright, but it didn’t really strike me as something that felt unique to Leica in any way. When I describe the feeling of the lens, I don’t mean the physical feeling. But instead, I mean the rendering — which didn’t seem like anything very special.
A while back, I purchased the Leica 28mm f2 Apochromatic SL lens for L-Mount. That’s a lens that I use all the time because of the autofocus speed and the image quality. This new Leica 28mm f2 ASPH for M-mount isn’t at all the same kind of lens. But personally speaking, I was hoping for an apochromatic lens from Leica. When a Leica lens can deliver image quality that just simply pops, it’s a beautiful thing. That’s something that is much more pronounced with L-mount lenses than it is with M-mount lenses.
However, from the MTF charts that Leica is showing us, this lens is designed to have a softer look when shooting wide open. This makes us very curious to see how the images look in real life straight out of the camera. Because of what seems to be a bit of a glow from the lens when shooting wide open, perhaps that will be where we keep it.
We’re very curious to see how it performs in various ways. The Leica 28mm f2 ASPH Summicron-M could be shot on Leica M digital rangefinders, Leica M film rangefinders, or adapted to another Leica camera. You could even adapt it to another camera mount entirely if you’re shooting mirrorless cameras.
Admittedly, I don’t have the highest hopes for this lens. But I am truly hoping for the best for the photography community and Leica lovers.