REVIEWS - Leica 75mm F2 Summicron-M APO

OVERVIEW

I have always liked the Leica 75mm F2 Summicron-M APO from an optical and handling standpoint, but in terms of in focus keeper-rates, it has been a challenging lens. Over the years I have bought and sold the 75mm APO many times over, only to sell it each time out of frustration. Around 2013 I decided to use the 35-75-135 lens trio as my standard Leica M kit. The 35mm Summilux-M ASPH FLE and 135mm Telyt-M APO were already among my most used lenses, so the only real change was forcing the 75mm APO into the kit - and sticking with it.

HANDLING

In terms of weight and size, the Leica 75mm F2 Summicron-M APO is a goldilocks lens - a bit bigger than a Leica 50mm Summilux-M ASPH and a bit smaller than the Leica 90mm F2 Summicron-M APO. Compared to its ginormous big brother, the Leica 75mm Noctilux, the 75mm APO is crazy compact and balances well on a Leica M body. I often use a Thumbs-Up, and that helps considerably when using larger lenses and/or longer focal lengths.

The limited edition 75mm Summicron-M APO silver-anodized lens has a unique lens hood mechanism. While the built-in lens hood on the standard black edition simply slides out then locks into position with a slight rotation, the hood on the silver-anodized version is the like the Leica 50mm Summicron-M APO. The lens hood twists to extend and automatically locks into position. A nice little touch.

Leica M lenses tend to vary a bit from lens to lens. With that said, my 75mm APO has a very light focus action and it does not bind or bite with small focus adjustments. The focus throw is 90º of rotation, which is fairly common among Leica M lenses. There are exceptions like the 90mm APO, whose 165º focus throw seems to go on and on. The aperture ring also has a very light touch. The built-in lens pulls out and with a small twist, it can be locked in the extended position. Like most Leica lenses, the 75mm APO feels precise and well made.

One niggle is not with the lens, but with the Leica M and the frame lines employed for 75mm lenses. The 50mm and 75mm are shown as a pair, with 50mm having frame lines, and the 75mm having corner hash marks (inside the 50mm frame lines). Sometimes when shooting quickly, I do not pay enough attention and either assume 50mm frame lines are the 75mm frame lines, or I misjudge and something gets cropped out of the picture. It is not a big deal now, but it did take me awhile to adjust. Of course, if using an EVF, this is a total non-issue.

EVF FOCUSING

By far the easiest way to focus the Leica 75mm APO is with their newest 3.69M dot Leica Visoflex 2 Electronic Viewfinder, which works with the Leica M11 and is backwards compatible with the Leica M10-M Monochrom, Leica M10-R, Leica M10-P and Leica M10. Or with the legacy 2.44M dot Leica Visoflex (Typ 020) Electronic Viewfinder for the M10 generation cameras. Or with the very-very legacy 1.44M dot Leica Visoflex EVF 2 Electronic Viewfinder for the Leica M Typ 240 generation.

Generally, I use the touchscreen to pre-position the magnification point and have the Leica M11 and M10 Monochrom is set to auto magnify when the focus ring is turned. The lag-time from pressing shutter to the time of capture feels quick, though not as quick as a spiffy EVF based camera like the Sony A7rV. With the Leica M11 cameras, even M10-M and M10-P, the fluidity of using the EVF is much, much improved over the original EVF set-up with the Leica M Typ 240 generation.

PERFORMANCE

Leica's own product description is a fascinating read (PDF available at Leica's website). Seldom does Leica go into such detail, explaining the role of each lens element in the design and the element's glass composition. What caught my eye in their description was their reference to the of the double Gauss optical formula - which means it is a Planar-like formula. Incidentally, Leica acknowledges the similarity of the Leica 50mm Summilux-M ASPH and 75mm Summicron designs - both double Gauss. Over the years I have done several comparisons illustrating that the 75mm F2 Summicron-M APO is essentially a mini Contax (Zeiss) 100mm F2 Planar in terms of its draw -

The Zeiss Planar optical design is the grand-daddy of double Gauss lenses. The Zeiss Planar design dates back to 1896 with the first symmetric lens design by Dr. Paul Rudolph. Subsequent Planars retain their doublets, though they typically are not 100% symmetric (see Wikipedia for more info) - as is the case with the Leica 75mm F2 Summicron-M APO. So I like to think of the 75mm APO as my mini Contax 100mm F2 Planar. Obviously there are differences since the Contax (or Zeiss 100mm F2 Makro-Planar ZE) is 100mm and the Leica 75mm F2 Summicron-M APO is 75mm, but the "look" or rendition is similar. Other 75mm APO performance aspects worthy of mention -

• Sharpness:  The floating lens element (FLE) improves near-field performance and reduces focus shift. The 75mm APO's sharpness and resolution are outstanding. By F4-5.6 the 75mm APO could be described as "just another sharp Leica lens", but it really does have a high resolving power. Sharpness appears even across the frame and I have not observed any mid-range dips or blurriness.
• Chromatic Aberrations:  In the focus plane the 75mm APO has no chromatic aberrations (CA) and its wide open sharpness is stunningly good. While the focus plane is generally free of CA, the blurred areas (bokeh) tend to have some secondary CA which is par for just about every lens. This secondary CA can be more noticeable with busy background (like tree branches).

While wide open sharpness is very good; though, it usually requires using an electronic viewfinder (EVF) to consistently nail focus. I have reasonably good success focusing with my Leica M Typ 240 and Leica M Typ 246 via the rangefinder, but there are plenty of mis-focused shots too. If testing the 75mm APO for sharpness, I highly suggesting using an EVF or live view to ensure accurate focus.

• Bokeh:  The 75mm APO bokeh at F2 to F2.8 can be very pleasing, especially if focusing at near distances. Being an aspherical lens, its bokeh can be harsh when the lens is stopped down and there are busy patterns in background, such as - bushes, chain-link fences, tree branches, etc.

The 75mm APO's aperture blades are not rounded like some of the contemporary lens from Canon, Sony, etc. Thus, at F4, F5.6 and so on, the bokeh orbs have an obvious octagonal shape. If there are lots specular highlights, this can be distracting. Also, the bokeh orbs do exhibit the "onion" rings effect (this is normal for aspherical lenses).

• Central Veiling:  The 75mm APO is generally well known for its central veiling when shot into the sun or when a bright light source just outside of the frame. The first Leica 50mm F2 Summicron-M APO's were infamous for central veiling, but many Leica lenses actually can show central veiling - and the 75mm APO is one of them.

I would term the lens as somewhat prone to flare, or at least some degree of veiling (or reduced contrast) when bright light sources are at the side of the frame (or just outside). If shooting under normal circumstance with the light at your back, the central veiling is a non-issue.

In my experience with Leica M's, I would say the system is categorically sensitive to a bright light source just outside the field of view. I bump into this situation quite often when taking pictures at night - such as street lights, parking lot lights, etc. It really does not matter what lens I use. The work around is often to reposition the camera, or just a find a different spot to shoot from.

• 3D Effect:  The 75mm APO has a 3D feel from time to time, not always, but if the light is right, the 3D feel or look can be very obvious (in my opinion). Generally, I would say the 3D look is more so at F2 to F2.8, so if going for that look, an EVF based camera might be the better choice versus a traditional M rangefinder focusing system.

As mentioned above, the Leica 75mm F2 Summicron-M APO does not have rounded aperture blades (no Leica M lens does). The 75mm APO's bokeh can have "ninja star" character. This can be distracting if there are alot of specular highlights in the bokeh. Here's an example -

The ninja star shaped orbs are not a big issue (for me) but it is something to keep in mind if the background has alot of shiny orbs. In the case of this particular picture, I cloned out the ninja star in Photoshop because the orb (whether star shaped or not) was a distracting element in the picture.

I briefly owned a Leica 75mm F2.5 Summarit-M. There are some difference in build quality, like the rubber grip on the focus ring (instead of metal) and no built-in lens hood. Optically the 75mm Summarit was quite capable, but the Leica 75mm Summicron-M APO seem slightly sharper with more resolution (compared F4 through F8). The difference was not profound, but the 75mm APO did seem slightly better. Also, the 75mm APO did have smoother bokeh at F2 - not much surprise there.

CENTRAL VEILING & FLARE

Leica M lenses in general seem more prone to flare than SLR lenses when a light source is just outside of the frame. This tends to be very troublesome on the night-time photography when there is a street light to the right or left of the image. I have even had issues with streets light BEHIND me. My opinion - the built-in Leica M lens hoods are too shallow. B+W, Heliopan and others sell rubber or metal hoods, but they are too wimpy. To be more specific, too shallow. So I designed a hood specifically for the night images and printed in PA12 (nylon) via Shapeways.com.

It is a bit early to declare "mission accomplished", but so far the hood seems effective. Obviously this is a special use hood as it blocks the M's rangefinder window. For my purposes that is a non-issue because I am using the EVF with the Leica M Monochrom Typ 246 if taking night pictures. Or the 75mm APO is used with the Sony A7rIII and that is a EVF based camera, so blockage is not even part of the equation.

Thus far testing has consisted of studio use with the Sony A7rIII. Without the hood the 75mm APO struggled with the monolights, and especially with white backgrounds being blown out. If the hood proves successful for night shots, I will update the review with some A/B shots later this year.

CONCLUSION

Give the Leica 75mm APO good content and good light, and it rewards with good pictures. And it probably goes without saying, the 75mm APO is one very sharp lens. But my issue with the 75mm APO was never its optical performance, the issue(s) has been focus accuracy.

Over time I adjusted my shooting style to improve the keeper-rate. Stopping down helped considerably, but that neuters the 75mm APO in terms of its wow-factor F2 bokeh. Fortunately technology has progressed, and now we have many EVF based full-frame cameras to choose from. Using an EVF helps to unlock some of the 75mm APO's potential, especially at the wider apertures.

That said, I still enjoy the 75mm APO on a Leica M, especially the Leica M10-M Monochrom and previously the Leica M Monochrom Typ 246. The 75mm APO's contrast can really "pop" with the Monochroms, especially when using a red filter (on daytime landscapes) and an occasionally a stacked polarizer. It is not a point & shoot set-up, but the results are well worth the effort.

As with all my favorite Leica M lenses, it is the size-performance ratio that wins me over. The Leica 75mm APO always had that advantage going for it, and now with a workable EVF solution on the Leica M10-P, I can finally unlock all the 75mm APO's value.