Leica APO Summicron 35mm Review
If you’ve been around the block long enough to know your f-stops from your bus stops, you’ve probably heard whispers about the Leica APO-Summicron-M 35 f/2 ASPH. It’s part of Leica’s absurdly sharp, absurdly expensive APO line, designed to make even the most clinically precise engineer shed a single tear of optical joy. At roughly the price of a decent used car, this lens isn’t just gear—it’s a statement, a precision instrument disguised as a piece of old-school glass. But is it worth mortgaging your other hobbies? Let’s dive in.
Build Quality
In true Leica fashion, the APO-Summicron-M 35 f/2 ASPH feels like it was machined by engineers with OCD levels of tolerance control—and I mean that as the highest compliment. The housing is anodized aluminum, and the lens feels dense, compact, and perfectly weighted. It’s the kind of lens that when you pick it up, you half expect to hear it whisper in German, “Ich bin präzise.”
There are no plastic compromises here—every ring, click, and component is engineered to tolerances that make aerospace hardware jealous. Leica’s red dot gleams proudly, the engravings are deep and precise, and the aperture ring clicks into place with the satisfying authority of a finely crafted mechanical watch.
This is the kind of lens that makes you want to keep your fingerprints off it—not because you’re precious, but because it deserves respect.
Manual Focus and Handling
Manual focus on this lens? Chef’s kiss. Leica’s signature short-throw focus ring operates with silky, perfectly damped resistance. There’s zero play or slack, and the tab at the bottom helps with intuitive zone focusing.
If you’ve spent your evenings in the lab adjusting potentiometers and soldering boards, this is the optical equivalent—a mechanical interface that rewards precision and feels satisfying every single time.
The focus throw is around 90°, making it snappy for street photography but still precise enough for those razor-thin depth-of-field shots. On an M-body, it balances beautifully, turning the camera into a stealthy, pocketable powerhouse. You’ll find yourself nailing critical focus without even realizing it.
Optical Performance
Ah yes, the juicy part. Leica didn’t slap the APO label on this lens for marketing bravado—this thing performs. In fact, the optical performance might make you question the physical limits of glass, light, and reason itself.
Sharpness? Off the charts. Wide open at f/2, center sharpness is surgical, and by f/2.8, it’s clinically perfect across the frame. Edge-to-edge sharpness this good almost feels like cheating. Engineers will appreciate this—there’s minimal field curvature, barely any chromatic aberration (thanks to apochromatic correction), and virtually no distortion.
Bokeh? Smooth, creamy, and surprisingly aesthetic for a 35mm f/2. Sure, it’s not your go-to portrait bokeh monster, but subject separation is delicious, especially up close.
Color Rendering? Leica’s signature and rich color tonality are present and accounted for. It’s the kind of rendering that makes even mundane scenes pop with depth and realism, like the world got a firmware update.
Flare Control? Excellent. ASPH elements and coatings keep flare in check, though shoot directly into the sun and you’ll still get that cinematic Leica glow—intentional or not.
Benefits and Drawbacks
Benefits:
- Utterly mind-blowing sharpness, even wide open
- APO correction means near-zero chromatic aberrations
- Compact, beautifully built, “heirloom-quality” engineering
- Silky, satisfying manual focus
- Excellent contrast, color, and rendering
- Perfect for street, documentary, landscape, and travel photography
Drawbacks:
- Price: Your wallet will need therapy
- Not the most “character-driven” lens; this is clean, modern rendering
- Makes you hyper-critical of your other lenses (seriously, it’s a gateway drug)
Conclusion
The Leica APO-Summicron-M 35 f/2 ASPH is like a Formula 1 car—precision, speed, and performance packed into an elegant, minimalist frame. If you’re the kind of engineer who appreciates schematics for their beauty, or a photographer who nerds out over MTF charts, this lens is dangerously tempting. It’s unapologetically expensive, meticulously engineered, and optically superb. It’s not a quirky, vintage, flare-prone lens that adds “character”—this is modern performance distilled into mechanical art. Perfect for pixel peepers, street shooters, or anyone who wants to future-proof their kit. If your wallet, spouse, or conscience permits—buy it. But fair warning: after this, your other lenses might just feel like toys.
Samples
Here are some recent photos I captured using my Leica APO-Summicron-M 35 f/2 ASPH lens. These sample shots highlight the lens’s performance across different conditions, settings, and subjects. To view the complete collection of my photos taken with this lens, the link.
