Leica Summicron 28mm Long-Term Review
An in-depth look at one of Leica's most important lenses
Deciding if the Leica Summicron 28mm is right for you shouldn’t be a question of worth. It should be a question of value. And some of you may have just leaned in and thought, “Wait a minute… that’s the same thing!”
Is it though?
You see, when you’re talking about worth, you’re really focusing on the monetary equivalent of something. How much can something be exchanged for. When you talk about value, you can include worth but you can also include significance, meaning, and importance.
So if I’m going to review one of the most popular lenses in Leica line-up, I want to make it a conversation around value.
Editor’s Note: this review is based on the 2016 version of the Summicron 28mm lens (11672). There is a 2023 version that shares the same optical formula, which I reference later.
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Why Is This Summicron 28mm Special? The Short Answer
With the Summicron 28mm F2.0 ASPH., Leica has created a lens that delivers top-tier image quality in nimble package that takes advantage of all the strengths of a rangefinder camera. And it does so with a perspective that rewards daring photographers willing to think critically about their frame and story.
The optical design makes for something that consistently delivers high quality results, across the aperture range, and even on high-resolution sensors. More importantly, the design of the lens allows users to develop a feel for the lens that can unlock more instinctive shooting in the field.
What furthers the look and design is that this lens is built around one of the most popular street photography focal lengths, a genre that’s synonymous with Leica itself. And so, you have this mix of factors that make for a product that I believe sits among the most important in the entire M lens lineup.
How Is The Image Quality?
This Summicron 28mm is a very modern lens that shows almost no chromatic aberration, has distortion well under control, and delivers images without any strange colour shifts. I’ve used this in all kinds of lighting situations over the years and there was a generous amount of latitude before you saw any flares creep in. Now, what about sharpness?
Here’s another metric where this tiny beast overdelivers.
Sharpness is just not something you worry about with this lens. I’ve seen people mention a noticeable drop in sharpness at the edges when you’re shooting wide-open with previous versions of this Summicron. In my experience, I never saw a significant drop in sharpness at the edges of the frame when shooting at F2.0.
When I cherry-picked some situations and punched in, there looked to be a mild drop contrast and sharpness. But this felt like such a minuscule amount that to me, it didn’t quite match the rhetoric I’ve seen online. And let me also say, when you drop to F2.8 this seems to disappear entirely. So if you’re asking me, sharpness isn’t something you worry about on this lens.
The Leica Summicron 28mm has 10 aperture blades that come together for clean, tapered bokeh in the images. When you look at the point of focus to where it falls off, it feels more smooth and linear than what you’d see from a Summilux lens. It doesn’t have that creaminess that exaggerates the depth of an F1.4 Leica. But this should come as no surprise given the design of this lens.
All in all, the look of this lens is natural. It plays more into the world of documentary than it does cinema. It’s something that’ll appease a lot of avid iPhone photographers, where the wider perspective and cleaner results feel familiar. But unlike the 1x view of an iPhone this 28mm is wide enough to invite curiosity and exploration, but not so wide that it feels uncomfortable.
What Is The Shooting Experience Like?
I’ve had this Summicron for nearly four years and more than any other lens, it’s the one that I credit most with pushing closer while elevating the story of a frame. As if it was imbued with the ghost of Robert Capa, whenever I had this lens with me, I was always inching closer and closer to my subjects. And that’s because this lens has a generous 75-degrees of field of view that rewards photographers getting within 2 meters of their subject.
I spoke about this last week but in summary, a 28mm shines when you can close the gap and be effective with techniques like framing, blocking, layering, and leading lines. There’s room on this canvas to approach a frame from many different creative points. But it’s not so large that it feels overwhelming.
Where this Summicron elevates the shooting experience is in its design. The focus tab, distance scale, and healthy focus zones make for something that you can develop a second nature with. This is the lens I referenced when building my Ultimate Leica M Focusing Guide because you can grow into the advanced techniques.
By stopping down the aperture ring, you’re granted larger ranges of focus for your subject which makes it easier to gauge relative distance and shoot instinctively. Going further, you can imagine the focus tab becoming the hand of a clock, where you can move this between positions without looking to anticipate distance. Again, this Summicron is designed in a way to leverage to full capabilities of a rangefinder experience.
Gun to my head, I still believe that a Summilux lens is one of the best gifts you can get for your Leica M camera. Pick the focal length you enjoy and choose your Summilux version from that family that caters to your taste. However, if your favourite focal length happens to be 28mm, my gut feels like an exception should be made for this Summicron.
I believe that this lens best embodies the strengths of what Leica lens can feel like in the field. If we’re talking about the ability to truly maximize all aspects of the rangefinder experience into a single lens at the fastest aperture possible, I believe that conversation brings you to a Summicron. And if you’re asking me, of all the Summicrons on the market, I think the 28mm aspherical is the best experience of them all.
How Does The Lens Feel?
Balance is what I felt most when I had this 28 on my camera. Whether it was my M6 or M11, it would sit comfortably and never tip the centre of gravity too far forward. This made for an enjoyable shooting experience in the hand where I’m not fighting the lens to compose an image. And if you’re like me, where sometimes you’ll find yourself darting in and out of environments—high and low—trying to get as much from a scene, you’ll appreciate how nimble this lens feels.
The focus ring felt stiff out of the box but in just a few short months, it got into a comfortable space where I could range focus quickly but not shift the focus tab accidentally. The aperture ring is easy to adjust and clicks in a satisfying way. I’m sure some might prefer a stiffer ring here, but it seems perfectly fine to me.
With nine elements and a metal construction, this lens comes in just under 290g with the lens hood attached. And speaking of the lens hood, let’s just take a moment to appreciate the design. I love how this version of the Summicron looks, with angular, screwn-on hood. It locks in easily without the worry of over-tightening.
On the front, you have a 46mm filter thread which I use for a UV filter. There’s always gonna be a vocal minority that swear against filters because they believe it detracts from the image. For me, I just prefer having a high quality UV filter to offset dust and debris entering or damaging the front lens elements. I’m using this Summicron in all sort of environments and these filters have saved me a lot more money and heartache than I care to count. So if you’re asking me, get a great filter if you get this lens so you can shoot even more liberally than you were planning.
How Can This Summicron Get Better?
Well, the Summicron I’ve been talking about so far has already has a better version. At least, from an objective standpoint.
You see, the one I own was first released in 2016, nearly 16 years after the first version of this lens. I’ve shared at length how capable this version is, but Leica sought to improve this product further. In 2023, they released a new version with close-focusing down to 0.4m and a built-in lens hood.
The former advancement is great. The latter? Not so much.
Look, I’m just a little romantic for the old-school lens hoods with the cut-out opening. They have character! The reality is the optical formula of these two lenses remains the same. The question you need to ask yourself is if the close-focusing is important to your storytelling. If it isn’t, well, you may be able to save a bit on your investment while getting something that looks more classic.
How Does This Summicron Compare To The Market?
There’s so many options to choose from, how do you know if this 28mm lens is the one for you? Well, if you want the absolute best look from a 28mm lens, where you may look to make a career from shooting this perspective, the Summilux version really feels like the one saving up for.
Relative to the Summicron, if you’re looking for something lighter, easier to focus, and even more affordable to get started, there’s the Elamrit 28mm F2.8.
What if you want something more vintage to use solely in well lit environments? Then there’s the Summaron 28mm F5.6, which also looks like a lens you’d just want own because of small the profile is.
And let’s not forget the wide array of lens options from other manufacturers like Voightlander or Zeiss, that offer affordable ways to experiment with this perspective.
The 28mm field is a competitive space in the Leica world and when I went through all the choices on the table, the Summicron felt like the best balance for someone that shoots often. It’s well-made, delivers a consistently great images, and manages to even hold its own in lower light situations.
If you’re thinking about which option is right for you, I’d say you really focus on where you find yourself capturing most often and how much you’ll be shooting in this perspective. Those two variables will make the decision a lot easier for you.
What Are My Final Thoughts?
In late 2022, after finding out this lens was on my list, a dear friend from India was visiting for the holidays and gifted it to me. I was shocked, but at the same time I had this feeling of, “Okay, I gotta show you what I could do with this.” Perhaps reciprocity is the word? I felt like I had to rise up in a way to show what I’d do with such a generous paintbrush.
I’d go on to shoot the !@#$ out of this glass.
Over the last four years, I’ve travelled nearly 500,000km with this lens and shot it in all types of light, weather, and environments. I’ve come to deeply understand and appreciate what this Leica Summicron can do. It’s become my second favourite focal length and paradoxically, the one I use most often for my personal work. As a result, I have some clear thoughts.
This isn’t a lens you’d get for a signature look per se. There are no weird artifacts or aberrations that give this a quirky character and there isn’t a dreamy falloff that makes this a bokeh machine.
It’s a fast, precise tool that feels like a trusted companion for your journey.
This Summicron gives you a wide canvas and you start to ask yourself, how will you fill the frame? What will you put in? What will you take out? Where will you stand? Are you willing to get closer? It comes together for something that just feels at home on a rangefinder camera. More than anything, this a lens that makes the experience of photography fun! You pick this thing up and want to keep shooting.
If you’re asking me, I believe this is a lens for the adventurers at heart. The ones that love to play with distance and depth, weaving through the world like a romantic trying to chase down that next great frame.
The unfortunate truth is that if you’re unwilling to engage with your environment, you won’t find much joy in this lens. But if you can venture out of your comfort zone, you will be rewarded. This is a lens that delivers a rich amount of depth and versatility while being light and nimble. It culminates into a vision that elevates a storyteller that can draw inspiration from street photography masters and the Dutch Golden Age.
Quite simply, this Leica Summicron 28mm is a top-tier lens that’ll reward the daring.
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GB
Great review, Gajan! The 28mm Summicron has become my most used lens as well. It's most definitely a "story-tellers lens" in the way that it places a subject within the context of their surroundings in a very pleasing manner. And it's not just the wide 28mm focal length, but also the natural focus fall-off and unique rendering that seems to make life look just a little more beautiful. And I agree with you on going the F2 Summicron route at 28mm, while preferring Summilux for longer focal lengths. Thanks for the great read.
Great article. Nice pics. I have the newer version of the 28mm summicron and agree that the summicron hits the sweet spot for size, weight, and performance for my usage at least.