best leica lenses

Are Leica lenses autofocus?

When people refer to Leica lenses they usually refer to the Leica M lenses that go with the mainline M series of rangefinder cameras. These Leica lenses are NOT autofocus and will never be. But Leica has other mounts other than the M, and fixed lens cameras like the Leica Q2 that are autofocus. More on the other mounts below.

What do the lens names mean?

Leica has a consistent naming strategy that is outlined in this article: Leica lens name meanings. In short summilux means f/1.4 lens. Summicron means f/2 lens and Elmarit is f/2.8. Also, when you say Summicron 28, everyone will assume you are referring to the M mount version. Leica has other mounts that share the same Leica lens naming system.

Here’s some of the best lenses from each series:

What is the best Leica lens?

Leica lenses are all about trade offs between 3 aspects: Speed, price and size. The mainline lens that has a great balance of all aspect is the Summicron line. Considering that the 35mm focal length is the perfect balance for all genres of photography, the best Leica lens for all intent and purposes is the Leica Summicron 35mm f/2.

Leica, with a partnership with Panasonic also makes some really good micro 43 lenses. Here’s the best of these for mu43 cameras.

Comparisons

If you want to compare the lenses on a table that you can sort, here they are:

Best Leica lens for specific genres of photography:

  • Under $1000
  • Best budget affordable Leica lenses

But wait, there’s more. Leica M lenses have long been used on other cameras! Here’s some of the best ones for these mounts:

  • For micro 4/3rs
  • For Fuji F mount
  • For Sony A7 E mount

Leica lenses by focal length

Non Leica M lenses

The iconic M mount is open to all. Here’s some of the best M-mount lenses by companies other than Leica:

  • Best Voigtlander lenses
  • Best Zeiss Icon lenses

Other Leica mounts

All of Leica’s other mounts besides the M are autofocus. Here’s the selection for other camera mounts that Leica has.

Alternatives

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