LEICA SUMMARON-M 1:5.6 / 2 8mm

The Leica M can be used with a wide range of lenses that extend far beyond the current portfolio. Lenses with a vintage character are often used to achieve certain image effects that are difficult to reproduce using the latest digital post-production methods. The extremely compact Summaron wide-angle lens, which has been tried and tested for more than 50 years, is particularly popular and is now being reissued with an M bayonet including 6-bit coding and a slightly revised design.

Original, not retro.

The model for the Summaron-M is a screw-thread lens that was manufactured in the Leitz factory in Wetzlar from 1955 to 1963. Its unmistakable and digitally almost unreproducible image effect makes the lens a classic, whose optical calculations have now been carried over into the present unchanged for the new edition. However, it is clear at first glance that the Summaron-M is not a simple replica: its design is reduced to the essentials without losing the character of its legendary model.

Recognizable at first glance.

The extremely compact wide-angle lens enables a unique image effect through the combination of high depth of field, natural contrasts, excellent detail resolution and visible vignetting. With a look reminiscent of analogue photography, subjects photographed with the Summaron-M stand out clearly from other images.

Perfect for the road.

The Summaron-M is the smallest lens in the M system. With a length of less than 2 cm, it is strikingly unobtrusive and therefore ideal for street photography. The clear depth of field scale in combination with the large adjustment angles allows precise pre-focusing. Alternatively, the large depth of field creates the conditions for spontaneous hyperfocal photography from the hip, where the photographer can react to a subject more quickly than with any autofocus system.

A tribute to craftsmanship.

The lens hood is reminiscent of the beginnings of rangefinder photography. Not only its design, but also the complex manufacturing process was adopted from the historical model of the Summaron-M. The lens hood is first milled from solid brass and then shaped in a rotary bending process. In this process, numerous grooves are turned into the inside of the lens hood.

Technical details.

The Leica Summaron-M 1:5.6/28 mm has the same optical structure as its predecessor, with six lens elements arranged symmetrically around the aperture in four parts. In contrast, however, the current model is equipped with the M bayonet including 6-bit coding to enable communication between the camera and the lens.