REVIEWS - Leica 50mm F2 Summicron-M APO

OVERVIEW

When the Leica 50mm F2 Summicron-M APO was released, it struck me as being grossly overly priced, especially with the Leica 50mm F1.4 Summilux-M ASPH being such a good lens. As time marched along, nothing changed those opinions. In early 2016 I bought a Leica M Monochrom Typ 246. The majority of the M-246 pictures were stopped down landscapes at F5.6. In these settings the Leica 50mm F1.4 Summilux-M ASPH's corner performance can be lacking, and it started to bug me. When something bugs me, I tend to spend money. Enter the Leica 50mm F2 Summicron-M APO.

BUILD QUALITY

The build quality is typical Leica with a nicely dampened focus feel, a focus tab, a nifty twist & lock lens hood and the metal front lens cap. There is no wobble or play in the lens barrel. There are no rattles when carrying lens. Fit and finish are excellent. The 50mm APO is nicely sorted, but from outward appearances there is nothing afoot to explain why the 50mm APO costs 2X as much as a Leica 50mm F1.4 Summilux-M ASPH.

LENS HANDLING

Lens handling is where the 50mm APO begins to set itself apart. While we see cameras getting smaller, like the Sony A7r-series vs dSLRs, lenses have bucked that trend. The Zeiss Otus 55mm is an uncompromising lens, but a behemoth. And for Leica fans, there is the coveted Noctilux. The 50mm F.95 Noctilux-M ASPH weighs nearly 2 pounds! How is that a good idea on a M-sized camera...?... So one of the things I like most about the 50mm APO is its size / performance ratio.

Being a short lens, there is not much weight hanging beyond the camera body. Thus, the Leica M Monochrom Typ 246 and 50mm APO balance nicely. The 50mm APO's focus throw is ~90º, so the lens is pretty quick to focus. The aperture ring sits at the front of lens, making it easy to find by touch. While the lens hood execution is very nice, the hood itself is quite shallow. Whether the hood helps could be debated.

The 50mm APO has proven easy lens to focus - as 50mm lenses go. The depth of wide at F2 is quite wide, so absolute focus precision is not required. Focusing the 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH and 50mm Summilux-M ASPH are far more demanding. I am still not convinced that the 50mm APO is worth its price tag, but its compact size and easy to use nature are growing on me.

OPTICAL PERFORMANCE

If describing the 50mm APO in one word, the word would be "sharp". The Leica 50mm F1.4 Summilux-M ASPH has been my de-facto 50mm lens for many years. Sharpness can be a bit challenged in the corners, and the 50 'Lux is known for a mid-zone dip in its sharpness as well. While I love the 50 'Lux for portraits, its landscape performance could be better. The 50mm APO's corner and edge performance definitely outclasses the Leica 50mm F1.4 Summilux-M ASPH.

The 50mm APO has a wider depth of field at each aperture stop versus the 50 'Lux ASPH. This results in having lots of DOF for landscapes, even at F4 and F5.6. That might not be great for portraits, but it is great for landscapes. As a landscape lens, the 50mm APO is probably as good as it gets (on 24 megapixel Leica sensors). As a portrait lens, my feelings are a bit mixed.

The 50mm APO is excellent for sharpness, but its bokeh performance does not match the Leica 50mm F1.4 Summilux-M ASPH. The 50mm Summilux-M ASPH's bokeh is smoother at F2, and obviously wins the F1.4 race. The 50mm 'Lux's transition in and out of the depth of field is quicker, so it has better subject separation. For portraits and such taken in the F1.4 to F2.8 range, I prefer the 50mm 'Lux. Also, I feel the 50mm 'Lux has a stronger or more noticeable 3D look to its rendering. The 50mm APO can have a 3D feel as well, just not as pronounced (in my experience).

And for a somewhat random data point, below is a comparison of the Leica 50mm F2 Summicron-M APO and the Zeiss Otus 55mm F1.4 Distagon. Comparing these two lenses is silly given that one barely weighs a half pound, while the other comes in at over 2 pounds. The Otus might be a tad bit sharper at F2, but the biggest difference (in my opinion) is the bokeh. The difference in bokeh at F2 is quite pronounced -

Images taken handheld; Leica 50mm is 5mm wider, thus the wider field of view.

If planning to buy the Leica 50mm F2 Summicron-M APO with the expectation of a buttery smooth F2 bokeh, do not buy the Leica 50mm APO. The 50mm APO's bokeh is not jarring or nasty looking, but it is also not very abstracted. If I were buying a 50mm lens to use at F1.4 to F2 for the expressed purpose of portraiture and such, the Leica 50mm F1.4 Summilux-M ASPH would be my choice. As for the Otus, that is one crazy big lens.

STUDIO USE

Using Leica M’s in a studio environment is not one of my normal review topics. While I have Leica M’s with strobes, usually the results are mixed at best. With the Leica M’s short lens hoods, they are very susceptible to flaring to or veiling with the off-axis light sources. Likewise, light bouncing off the white background back into the lens (and sensor) often washes out the images. Compared to years past, the Leica M10-P is doing much better than Leica M-P Typ 240. And worlds better than the Leica M8 and M9’s - those were epic disasters...

All that said, the Leica 50mm F2 Summicron-M APO does very well in a studio setting with the Leica M10-P. Even with the 50mm APO's dinky little lens hood, somehow it fends off flaring and veiling quite well. Surprisingly well in my opinion. With the .7 meter minimum focus distance, it is difficult to fill the frame with smaller objects, but for larger objects or ensembles, I can make it work. The 50mm APO’s wide depth of field works very for product shots. I would not buy the 50mm APO because it does well in the studio, lets just call that a happy upside.

Normally I use the Leica 75mm F2 Summicron-M APO with a custom 3D printed lens hood (read more here). The 75mm APO obviously does a better job of filling the frame when shooting smaller objects, but 75mm APO can get tripped up with the veiling and ghosting - hence the 3D printed jumbo sized lens hood. Whereas the 50mm APO somehow gets by with its little hood and the 50mm APO has crazy amounts of depth of field, so getting everything sharp from the front edge to back edge is usually pretty easy.

CONCLUSION

As a landscape lens, the 50mm APO lives up to Leica's marketing hype "...new reference lens achieves the best test results ever seen in the Leica M-Lens program." There is no disputing the 50mm APO's size / performance ratio is outstanding. And for photographers who place a high value on corner and edge performance, the 50mm APO delivers. But... if buying a 50mm lens for just portraits, the Leica 50mm F1.4 Summilux-M ASPH still has a warm spot in my heart.

Had the 50mm APO come along 5-10 years ago when I was more into portraiture, I would have not cared one way or the other about the 50mm APO. But after buying the Leica M Monochrom Typ 246 (and now the Leica M10 Monochrom) and focusing more on landscape, I have come to appreciate the 50mm APO's strengths. So while the 50mm APO was not love at first sight, I have warmed up to the 50mm APO over time.