Want to shoot street with your Leica? Here’s the list of the 9 best Leica lenses for street photography that you can get right now, with sample images.
Hi, I’m Sven the Leicaphile and here is my list of the best Leica lenses for street photography. The selection has been made keeping in mind size, focal length, speed and weight. Here’s the overview:
Best Leica Lenses for street photography list
| Name | Focal Length | Max aperture | Get it here: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Leica Elmarit 28mm f/2.8 | 28mm | f/2.8 | Check Price |
| 2. Leica Summicron 28mm f/2 | 28mm | f/2 | Check Price |
| 3. Leica summilux 28mm f/1.4 | 28mm | f/1.4 | Check Price |
| 4. Leica Super Elmar 21mm f/3.4 | 21mm | f/3.4 | Check Price |
| 5. Leica Summilux 21mm f/1.4 | 21mm | f/1.4 | Check Price |
| 6. Leica Tri Elmar 16-18-21mm f4 | 16-18-21 | f/4 | Check Price |
| 7. Leica Summicron 35mm f/2 | 35mm | f/2 | Check Price |
| 8. Leica Summilux 50mm f/1.4 | 50mm | f/1.4 | Check Price |
| 9. Leica Summicron 50mm f/2 | 50mm | f/2 | Check Price |
Now that we’ve seen the overview, let’s look at what makes each lens earn their spot in the best Leica lenses for street photography list.
| Reasons to buy | Cons |
|---|---|
| + Stunning sharpness + Small and light + Great maximum aperture | – None |
When it comes to street photography, the 28mm takes the cake. It is the favorite of many street photographers going back decades.
When it comes to Leica lenses, everything is a tradeoff. There’s price, size and weight and speed. The Elmarit takes our number 1 spot of the best Leica lenses for street photography for being the smaller 28mm of the bunch and being the most affordable. But it’s a 2.8 maximum aperture. You can do plenty of Bokeh, just look at the shot below:
And while that might not sound like it is too fast of a lens, most street photography is done at smaller apertures so that the photographers can focus on shooting and not having to focus for every shot.
So the Elmarit is really the crown jewel if you want to do street photography. Great price and the focal length makes it not too much of a heavy lens so that you can spend hours on the streets.
| Reasons to buy | Cons |
|---|---|
| + Wonderful sharpness + Fast lens + Even better for street portraits | – None |
Like I said above, it’s all about tradeoffs. For this lens, which is equal to the above you will be one stop faster so it’s an even better lens for low light and night street photography. But it is pricier and a bit larger.
This is not a dealbreaker as the weight difference is minimal so this is a good lens for all day photography and you won’t get tired. But it is up to you if you want to go for the faster and more expensive lens.
f/2 Is even better then f/2.8 for portraits, and yes it can blur the background, not as much as out next choice but it can.
| Reasons to buy | Cons |
|---|---|
| + Stunning image quality + Insanely fast + Can blur portraits | – None |
The Summilux 28mm is a much more palatable lens compared to the 21mm, it still retains a slim and light profile however the price shoots to the roof. Worth it however if you want to have a lens that is great for street photography, can can do portraits with Bokeh AND night street photography. The difference between f/2.8 and f/1.4 might not sound too much on paper but when there’s little light, it is a mountain of difference.
The images below are of the f/1.7 but it gives you a clear idea of the street photography you can do.
| Reasons to buy | Cons |
|---|---|
| + Great IQ + 21mm is uncommon + Unique images | – On the slow side |
The choices above have been traditional choices: 28mm is the favorite focal length of most street photographers, but now in our list of the best Leica lenses for street photography, let’s get a bit wider angle at 21mm.
There are advantages to this as this is one of the best focal length that allows you to do hip shots very well. And you can be a bit lose in your framing so long as you do not mind cropping a bit.
Portraits besides environmental portraits are pretty much out of the question, but the wide angle offered for that price is unbeatable considered our next option.
| Reasons to buy | Cons |
|---|---|
| + Stunning IQ + Fastest 21mm + Low distortion | – Heavy |
Ah the most desired 21mm lens and one of the best Leica lenses for street photography. Is it worth it? On one hand, absolutely. On the other hand, it depends. If you are going to do street photography at night and want the possibility to blur the background, this is it. But on the other hand the tradeoff is the price and the weight. This is a bit heavier than it’s cousins and can start weighing after a few hours on the streets.
But this lens offers minimal distortion so your images can look really stretched without going in the fisheye realm.
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| Reasons to buy | Cons |
|---|---|
| + Great quality at all focal lengths + As close as a “zoom” as you can get + Goes ultra-wide | – Needs viewfinder (included) |
Street photographers love their wide angles, I will spare you the spiel. If you are fine with 21mm and wider this lens is a treat and one of the best Leica lenses for street photography you can get. Classical street photography is done at 5.6 so the slower f/4 should not be a problem here.
If you want to do night street photography, some degree of light is necessary but what you get is 3 focal lengths in one, almost like a zoom. The only downside with this lens is the necessary viewfinder that needs to be attached. The lens comes with it, but it covers your hotshoe and you can’t use the built in viewfinder.
| Reasons to buy | Cons |
|---|---|
| + One of the smallest lenses + Great speed + Not too wide, not too telephoto | – None |
Let’s move on our list of the best Leica lenses for street photography by tightening the focal length. This lens is as close as perfection as you can get. It has everything going for it. The price is just right and the size is negligible and the speed? F/2. So you have everything with this one. It is not too telephoto so you can have some sweeping streetscapes and not wide angle enough so that you can have beautiful portraits and stunning Bokeh.
This is a better starter lens then the 28mm that might get taking used to. This one is all around perfect for every situation as the 35mm is like the goldilocks focal length, good to everything.
| Reasons to buy | Cons |
|---|---|
| + Still small and light + Stunning Bokeh + Great for portraits | – Price |
Some street photographers buck the wide angle and prefer their 50mm, the best one is by far the Summilux 50mm. What’s not to like? at that speed and focal length this is one of the creamiest Bokehs you can get so it’s perfect for some street portraiture, even at night.
Even when it’s streetscapes the shots are of, you can see that the lens almost has a “3D” effect where what is in focus simply pops out of the frame. While it is nowhere near a wide angle, with the correct framing (like repeating lines) you can get some really great street photography with it.
9. Leica summicron 50mm f/2
A slower brother, still worthy as one of the best Leica lenses for street photography
| Reasons to buy | Cons |
|---|---|
| + Wonderful IQ + Smaller than Summicron + Fast lens | – None |
The Summilux lenses are some of the more expensive Leica lenses. If you want a nifty fifty without the price tag, the best one is the Summicron f/2, the final option in our list of the best Leica lenses for street photography. It is just as great as the Summicron but slower and cheaper. The Bokeh and image quality still remain pretty darn impressive.
At wide apertures the subjects almost pop out of the frame like the Summicron. For portraits as you can guess the Bokeh is drop dead gorgeous.
Conclusion
I hope you have enjoyed this article about the best Leica lenses for street photography. The one to get that hits all the right notes is by far the Elmarit 28mm f2.8. Don’t be put down by the speed, this is one of the best Leica lenses for street photography you can get as it is small, sharp and a joy to use.
If you like even wider angles the Super Elmar 21mm offers a larger focal length while those who like their street photography less wide will love the Summicron 35mm and 50mm. Happy Shooting!