Leica lenses for the SL system have been breathtaking in three regards. First, they are really good performers with high sharpness, great micro-contrast and wonderful colors. Second, they are breathtakingly large and heavy. Especially so for a 35mm format camera. And third, they have all been breathtakingly expensive. When I bought an SL2 brand new from a local bricks and mortar Leica dealer it was tough to choose one Leica SL lens that would cover my needs and that was (somewhat?) affordable. I just couldn't swing a bag full of Leica SL prime lenses. I would have cumulatively spent more than I did on my new car... So I bought the 24-90mm zoom lens. It's been a remarkable photographic tool but I wouldn't take it along on a vacation because of its size and weight and so I've been limited in my personal use of my SL system cameras to using third party lenses and legacy lenses when I want to go out and shoot in the streets of Austin, Vancouver or Santa Fe. I've long been dreaming that Leica would come out with a less expensive series of lenses that would be: smaller, lighter, and much less expensive.
Dreams into reality. Leica answered. Today they announced two completely new lenses for the SL system. Lenses that will also be compatible across the L mount system, including on cameras made by Sigma and Panasonic. The two tenses they announced are the 50mm Summicron and the 35mm Summicron. These do not replace the 50 APO Summicron or the 35mm APO Summicron in the line up but are (welcome) additions which offer a different compromise. The new lenses each have three aspherical elements in their nine element, eight group design but are not apochromatically corrected. The other side of the compromise is that these two lenses are half the size, half the weight and less than half the list price of their APO siblings.
New lenses for all of us who don't need the best 35mm or 50mm lenses in the universe. We just want lenses that are better than everyone else's lenses and in a package we can easily carry around on a great camera.
The lens I am most interested in is the 50mm f2.0 Summicron. Why? It's the descendant, in my mind, of the very first M series lens I ever owned; a 7 element, rigid, silver 50mm M Summicron that I bought when I acquired my very first M series camera, the Leica M3. I used that lens for years but also shot many frames of film with the original Leicaflex 50mm Summicron and then the Leica R series 50. I got tons and tons of great images from that collection of German 50mms. I'm also excited to get the new Summicron because it's exactly my favorite focal length and I expect to use the heck out of it in short order.
The new 50mm Summicron is all metal construction, uses the Leica "Hydrophope Aqua-Dura" lens coatings, is dust and moisture resistant and from what I saw of the MTF charts should be a top notch optical performer. A brand new Leica 50mm f2.0 Summicron at a price I can afford, brand new: $1895.
I rarely pre-order stuff but when I got an email from my current favorite Leica dealer: Leica Store Miami, I almost immediately clicked the "Pre-Order" button.
I have no idea when the lens will actually ship but I'm planning on cleaning out the equipment cabinet drawers of all the mountains of 50mm lenses I seem to have collected over the years and downsize my 50mm collection to one very useful lens. This one.
Now, if you shoot with the L mount system and still find this lens too dear I've already done the research that I'm sure will be trotted out by web-based Leica Haters everywhere. The optical formula looks nearly identical to the Panasonic 50mm f1.8 Lumix that came out about a year and a half ago. It's the budget, nifty fifty lens for the L mount system. When I look at images of the new Leica 50mm Summicron and the Panasonic 50mm f1.8 side by side I can't help but see that they also share a very similar size and overall configuration. The Lumix is housed in a plastic shell while the Leica version uses metal. Haters will overlook any differences as being "window dressing" or worse.
My take is that the lenses might share some DNA but Leica states that their new 50mm is "Leica designed" and built in Portugal. The lens coatings will be different and there is also a difference in optical design, based on lens element configuration between the two lenses.
If you are on a budget the 50mm f1.8 Panasonic lens is a great bargain. Stopped down one stop from wide open gives you really great optical performance and then, stopping down further from there you get even better sharpness and few discernible artifacts or "gotchas." The price on that lens (always on sale!) bounced around the $350 price point. And includes a lens hood (as does the Leica...).
By writing this I am not suggesting that anyone abandon a different system which they already use and enjoy. I'm not suggesting that you should buy yet another 50mm lens. I guess what I'm really saying is that Leica is starting to price some "daily user" gear down below the stratospheric levels we've seen recently and that this is great for photographers who want small, light and relatively inexpensive tools.
I think this lens will be the perfect match for the Leica SL and SL2 cameras I enjoy shooting with. We'll see soon.
Here is the Leica press release: https://leica-camera.com/en-US/press/two-new-sl-lenses
