Dan Kerin

 Leica 35mm F/2.8 Summaron

During my time testing the Leica M2, I was also fortunate enough to use a lens which paired very with the M2. The Leica 35mm f2.8 Summaron. The Summaron began its life in 1958 as a screw mount lens, intended for use on the older Barnack style Leica cameras. During late 1958 this lens was manufactured in Leica M mount for use on the newly released Leica M3. As the M3 did not have 35mm framelines and an external 35mm viewfinder was required to be used. However, in the same year the lens was also produced with ‘googles’ which allowed the user to view 35mm framelines through the M3 viewfinder without the need of an external viewfinder. Over 30,000 of these lenses were made and paved the way for 35mm becoming the new ‘standard’ focal length in photography. The lens has 6 elements in 4 groups and a 10 bladed aperture. Optically this is a very simple lens and some may be put off by its maximum aperture only being f2.8, but this is a great lens especially when paired with older Leica M cameras.

When I say this is a great lens paired with older Leica M cameras, I am referring to the chrome brass cameras such as the M2, M3 and M4. When paired with these cameras the combo just have a such a timeless appearance. This being said this lens will work perfectly on any M mount Leica which is one of the big advantages of the Leica M system. I was using this lens paired on a Leica M2 which I really enjoyed using. The combination of the simplicity of the M2 and the small size of the Summaron lens made it a joy to carry around all day. The focus throw isn’t too long which makes focusing quick and easy, though this lens does contain an infinity lock which is something to bear in mind when focusing near infinity. When I started using this lens, I paired it with the IROOA hood but after an hour or so I ditched it to reduce the overall size of the setup. Like many Leica lenses this lens has a 39mm filter thread which allowed me to use an orange filter I picked up which really helped create some interesting results on this sunny spring day.

Unfortunately, I was only able to shoot two rolls of film using this setup as a customer came by the shop and brought this exact setup after I raved about how well it works. Having only shot with the Leica 35mm f2 Summicron ASPH a couple of months ago this is a polar opposite to that lens, and in a good way. While the ASPH lens does have more contrast and having half stop aperture clicks can help nail exposure it lacked character. I didn’t shoot much wide open but like many lenses of this period the centre is very sharp with falloff towards the edges. Once stopped down to f4 this disappears and the lens becomes incredibly sharp. Another interesting feature is as I removed the hood halfway through the shoot I didn’t find the lens to flair in bright sunlight like you would expect from older lenses. This could be in part that the front element is recessed within the lens body acting as a built-in hood.

In my opinion this is possibly one of the best value for money Leica lenses and hands down the best value for money Leica 35mm lens. I know the 35mm f3.5 Summaron I have also reviewed is consistently cheaper than this lens but f3.5 is a little limiting while f2.8 is just on the borderline between being usable and too slow.  These lenses can still be had for around £1000 at the time of writing while the f2 Summicron versions of these lenses have shot up in price to well over £3000! While you can get a much newer 35mm Summicron ASPH for a couple hundred pounds more I prefer older lenses for their historic importance as well as their renditioning which newer lenses just cant match. 

UPDATE - During September 2024 we got another one of these lenses in and I went up to London again to shoot with the lens some more. Safe to say my initial thoughts are still valid and I still think this is a great lens!