Leica APO Summicron SL 35mm F 2 ASPH Review | 54 Data compared

The ⁠Macfilos review highlights the Leica APO-Summicron-SL 35 f/2 ASPH as an optically flawless, professional-grade prime lens that sets a new performance benchmark for the classic 35mm reportage focal length. Evaluated by Jonathan Slack across various lighting and weather conditions, its standout pros include exemplary, corner-to-corner image sharpness even when shot wide open at f/2, an absence of chromatic aberrations, and minimal flare under harsh backlight. The lens features a robust, weather-sealed metal body, a 0.3m minimum focusing distance (1:5 magnification), and an advanced Dual Synchro-Drive motor that yields silent and rapid autofocus on both Leica SL and CL bodies. Optically, its high-contrast transition between the point of focus and out-of-focus areas creates a creamy, ultra-smooth bokeh that successfully mimics the depth-of-field look typically found on faster f/1.4 lenses. Conversely, the review addresses a few distinct cons, most notably its prohibitively expensive price tag, which may deter buyers who argue that an f/2 aperture lens should not cost this much. Additionally, at a weight of over 700 grams, it is not a lightweight option, though it handles well on supported...

The Leica APO-Summicron-SL 35mm F2 ASPH is a premium, weather-sealed prime lens designed for L-mount mirrorless cameras, offering exceptional optical quality in a smaller and lighter body compared to traditional f/1.4 alternatives. Tested on the 47MP Panasonic Lumix DC-S1R, it achieved an overall DXOMark score of 39, highlighting excellent central sharpness right from its maximum f/2 aperture, high light transmission measured at a true T2.0, and almost non-existent geometric distortion at just 0.1%. Additionally, its highly complex 13-element construction incorporates nine low-dispersion elements that efficiently suppress lateral chromatic aberration, and it features a fast, quiet Dual Synchro Drive autofocus system tailored for both stills and video production. Despite its high-end performance, the lens has notable trade-offs, particularly regarding its outer-field sharpness and extreme price tag. While central acutance is outstanding, the sharpness falls off significantly toward the borders and corners between f/2.8 and f/4, trailing behind competing f/1.4 systems from Sony Zeiss and Canon which offer more uniform sharpness across the frame at those apertures. Vignetting is also prominent at -1.8EV in the extreme corners at f/2, and though it...

The Leica APO-Summicron-SL 35mm f/2 ASPH is reviewed as a game-changing, compact, and rugged prime lens that transforms the full-frame mirrorless Leica SL system into a highly capable single-lens travel setup. Optically, the lens is praised for delivering spectacular edge-to-edge sharpness, vibrant colour rendering, and a distinctive "three-dimensional" rendering style. Its advanced design yields a narrow, exceptionally sharp focus area coupled with a rapid transition into smooth background bokeh, effectively giving the f/2 aperture the visual depth and subject isolation typically associated with an f/1.4 lens. Furthermore, its impressive minimum focusing distance of just 0.27 metres allows for dramatic, highly detailed close-up photography. While the lens offers exceptional benefits, it also presents a few notable drawbacks. A primary concern for lightweight enthusiasts is that despite being significantly smaller than Leica's native Vario-SL zoom lenses, the lens still weighs roughly 750 grams and extends 102 mm in length, making it bulkier and heavier than ultra-compact alternatives like Leica M-mount glass. Additionally, the reviewer noted that extreme scarcity and low product availability made the lens highly difficult for consumers to secure. However,...

The Leica APO-Summicron-SL 35mm f/2 ASPH is recognized as a technically elite L-mount lens, offering outstanding edge-to-edge sharpness, exceptional build quality, and an apochromatic design that eliminates color fringing. It features fast, silent autofocus and provides a "creamy" bokeh, making it highly versatile for various photography styles. However, the lens is noted for its high price of AU$7,300 and its large, heavy, and non-discrete form factor compared to other 35mm primes. Further drawbacks include minor vulnerability to direct flare and the absence of a dedicated aperture ring on the lens barrel.

The Leica APO 35 Summicron f/2 ASPH SL is a highly praised, weather-sealed L-mount lens that balances exceptionally well on the Leica SL2-S camera body due to its smaller size relative to other native Leica SL glass. Built with all-metal construction and five aspherical elements, the lens delivers stunning image quality, phenomenal colors, and a smooth, medium-format style rendering. It is highly corrected to eliminate distortions, fringing, and chromatic aberrations without relying heavily on software fixes. The lens provides safe, 100% accurate focusing, a large and smooth manual focus ring, and yields files with enough detail and dynamic range to easily support artificial upsizing to 47 megapixels. Despite its premium features, the lens has a few notable drawbacks, primarily its steep retail price of $5,195, which makes it a major investment. Its autofocus performance, powered by a Dual Syncro Drive motor, is accurate but noticeably slower than options like the Leica 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom and competing autofocus systems from Sony or Canon. Additionally, the autofocus has a tendency to hunt at times when shooting in low-light conditions. Lastly, while it...

The Leica APO-Summicron-SL 35 f/2 ASPH is an exceptionally sharp, weather-sealed prime lens that delivers exemplary image quality across the entire frame, even when shot wide open at f/2. Utilizing a dual synchro-drive motor, it provides fast, silent autofocus alongside a smooth "focus by wire" manual focusing ring. Its specialized apochromatic (APO) design virtually eliminates chromatic aberration and produces high contrast at the point of focus. This rapid contrast drop-off creates a beautiful, creamy bokeh and provides a quick transition to out-of-focus areas, effectively matching the shallow depth-of-field look of a wider f/1.4 lens without the associated bulk. Additionally, it features a highly versatile 0.3-meter minimum focusing distance (1:5 magnification ratio) and a standardized E67 filter thread that matches other lenses in the SL lineup. Despite its outstanding performance, the lens carries a few notable drawbacks, primarily its very high retail price for a modest f/2 maximum aperture. At over 700 grams, it is a relatively heavy lens, though it still handles well on both Leica SL and CL bodies. While flare resistance is generally excellent, minor flaring can occasionally...

The LensTip review of the Leica APO-Summicron-SL 35 mm f/2 ASPH. highlights this lens as a highly advanced autofocus optic designed for the full-frame L-mount mirrorless system. Dynamically tested as part of LensTip's ongoing SL-mount evaluation routine, the lens is praised for its exceptional build quality and premium engineering. It features a very solid, weather-sealed metal casing alongside a highly accurate, completely silent autofocus system driven by its modern focusing mechanisms. Optically, its strongest asset is its sensational image resolution and sharpness in the center of the frame, which remains outstanding even when shot wide open at f/2. Furthermore, the lens provides good image quality across the edges of both APS-C and full-frame sensors, shows negligible longitudinal chromatic aberration, corrects lateral chromatic aberration brilliantly, and exhibits minimal focus breathing and moderate distortion. However, the lens does come with noticeable drawbacks that users should consider. Physically, it stands out as a massive and heavy instrument, weighing 750 grams and having a complex 13-element design that makes it bulkier than standard 35 mm prime lenses. Optically, LensTip observed a slight focus shift...

The Leica APO-Summicron 35mm f/2 ASPH is a highly compact, 300g M-mount lens featuring 10 optical elements (including four aspherical surfaces) and an inward-opening square lens hood reminiscent of the Leica Q line. The reviewer praises the lens for its exceptional image quality, stating that it delivers "airy," crisp definition, outstanding color accuracy, and high contrast that handles harsh light flawlessly without any "Leica glow" wide open. Additional pros include an extended close-focus range down to 0.3 meters with a satisfying tactile haptic click resistance when passing the 0.7-meter threshold, excellent flare resistance, a complete lack of chromatic aberration or noticeable vignetting, and a uniform, non-distracting bokeh that makes it a perfect tool for street, documentary, and landscape photography. Despite its near-flawless optical performance, the lens features a notable design limitation regarding its rangefinder coupling mechanism. Leica replaced the traditional full-coverage coupling ring with a smaller, carved-out area utilizing a stick-like push-pull mechanism. This creates a prominent con where the rangefinder coupling does not engage properly on certain film bodies—such as the Leica MP—causing the focusing ring to remain uncoupled...