Which APO SL lens to get ?

[Elliot Harper]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Hi.

I’m contemplating to add my first ever APO SL lens to complement my one year old SL2-S and 24-70. But I’m just not sure which focal length to get. I’m seeking your advice.

I like the versatility of the 24-70 but I would like it to be a little bit smaller. I’m thinking maybe I should go out of my comfort zone by acquiring a 21mm because I think 35 and 50 have already been covered by 24-70. I have never used anything longer than 50mm on any Leica’s yet so I’m not sure if I would be cozy with 75mm APO SL.

I have been shooting with M’s for a long time and sometimes I adapted my m-summicron-apo 50mm to the SL2-S. But I just feel it has reached to a point that I should get a native SL APO lens. Or you think APO with SL is still too big and I should settle with a regular summicron ASPH SL or just stay put without buying another lens?

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[Almizilero]

That's like ... a lot. You'll get 10 different suggestions from 5 different people

So, here's my personal opinion to get you started, based on my personal experience with the different lenses. I have the 90 APO, which I love an would recommend without hesitation, but you don't need longer lenses. I can't say anything about the 21, but at least the focal length wouldn't be covered by your zoom. Even though the SL APOs will blow that out of the water at any given focal length.

If you use Lightroom or any similar tool, you can go into your library and check which focal length you use most in your zoom (in Lightroom: Library, activate grid view, open Metadata filter, set one of the filters to focal length. That will give you a nice overview of how many pictures where shot at each FL). If you hit 24mm all the time, it might be a good idea to get something wider. If you use 35(ish) or 50(ish) most often, it might be a good idea to invest in an amazing lens at that focal length. 

I keep testing the 35 APO and it is a dream lens of mine, but I can't let go of the Sigma 35/1.2 either. But if that is a focal lenght you use often, I'd recommend it so highly! I was less impressed with the 50 APO, the Panasonic 50/1.4 gave me better results. Again, personal experience, I'm sure the next person will recommend the 50 APO and say the 90 isn't that good

 

[jpark114]

I hear all APOs are great, so it ultimately comes down to your shooting style.  Why don't you sort through your photos and see which focal length are mostly used?

I would not be so adamant on getting the lens outside of your 24-70 as I'd rather get the most used focal length as my first APO.

[leicameech]

If you enjoy 50mm, then here's one vote for the 75. Can be used more-or-less interchangeably for images you'd make with a 50, but shallower depth of field and more dramatic separation for those kinds of shots, more "wow" factor, yet not so long like the 90. 70 vs 75 kind of a wash, but the 24-70 when at 70 is a long beast extended. I've got the 35 non-APO and 24-70, but have wanted the 75 for a long time. I have a 50mm Summilux-M that I love to shoot on the SL, so I've talked myself out of the 75 many times. If I didn't also have an M, I'd get the 75 to pair with the 35 and call it a day for the SL. Not sure I'd still need the 24-70 (I have the 14-24 Sigma). If it wasn't so massive, the 50 Summilux-SL is a lens I'd rather have even over the 75, but it's just too huge. 75 APO gives a bit more compression and results closer to the 50 Lux-SL. I don't own any of the SL APO lenses, though, so I wouldn't put much weight into my opinion here. Just love theorizing about what to get next!

[helged]

Of the Leica L-mount primes, my top favourite would be SL35 due to its focal length and optical performance par excellence. Thereafter, I love SL21 and SL50-Lux. As suggested above: Look at which focal length(s) you use most with you zoom, and use that as an indication of which SL-prime to get. The SL50-Lux renders beutifully from f1.4, but it is large and heavy. Otherwise, the SL-primes fit nicely on the SL-bodies (in my view, at least).

[Dr. G]

I agree with the above comment about looking at your lightroom library.  I'm primarily a 50mm shooter and have the 50 Lux SL and the 50 APO SL, but the 75 APO is my favorite of all the SL APO lenses I own (I also have the 21 and 35).  There's just something about it and even people who don't really know much about photography comment about the images made with it.

[Luke_Miller]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

5 minutes ago, helged said:

Look at which focal length(s) you use most with you zoom, and use that as an indication of which SL-prime to get. 

That is what I did and found most of my shots with zooms were at the extremes.  Didn't matter if it was the 24-90 or 90-280..  What eventually proved most useful in my case was to identify which prime focal lengths were most used.  Recently I read a post that offered the opinion that most users use zooms differently than primes.  If I understand the author's point correctly, rather than set a specific focal length on the zoom lens and than move and compose for the perspective that focal length provides, most users use the zoom feature to get the composition they want from their current position. The author contends that images taken with a fixed focal length will often have a different perspective than the zoomed image resulting in a somewhat different image. I don't know if this is correct, but I do shoot differently when a prime is mounted instead of a zoom.

[Flou]

I have the 35mm Apo SL and 75mm Apo SL…if I could only keep one, I would keep the 75mm Apo SL and add a Voigtlander 35mm. With 35mm it is way easier to focus manually than with a 75mm. Having tack sharp images of my moving kids with a 75mm Lens and an aperture of 2.0 is amazing…and the drawing of the lens is beautiful. The 35mm Apo SL is also an amazing lens, but the 75mm is a real stunner in my opinion. Having both is like a dream, and I don’t need more for my SL-Setup.

[Filip Baraka]

Whatever strategy you choose now, the real question soon will be: what do you want for your second apo?

 

 

[Elliot Harper]

Thank you for all the response. I decided to stay put and frugal. Not buying any SL for now. Just use 24-70 and adapted m APO 50 for maybe another year or so before reassessing the situation.

[Stuart Richardson]

41 minutes ago, Elliot Harper said:

Thank you for all the response. I decided to stay put and frugal. Not buying any SL for now. Just use 24-70 and adapted m APO 50 for maybe another year or so before reassessing the situation.

Congratulations! That is the first time "frugal" has ever been mentioned in the same breath as the 50mm APO Summicron M. Lol

P.S. Without knowing more, I would probably suggest the 35mm APO. It is a useful focal length and speed for general use, and it is staggeringly good. While it is not all that hard to find a good 50-90mm lens, finding a 35mm lens as good as the APO Summicron is difficult if not impossible. It has incredible sharpness, no fringing, no bokeh fringing, smooth and lovely bokeh...it is a lens that has it all. In that way it is similar to the other APO Summicron line, but it probably stands out the most compared to its competitors (it and the 21mm, but 21mm is a pretty extreme focal length unless you already know you like to shoot very wide).

Edited January 8 by Stuart Richardson

[Simone_DF]

Perhaps the OP could get a Sigma 21mm, 50 and 90. Play with them for a while, see which one gets more use and why, then upgrade that one lens to an Apo. 

[Tpau17]

Am 8.1.2025 um 21:27 schrieb Stuart Richardson:

finding a 35mm lens as good as the APO Summicron is difficult if not impossible.

Hi Stuart, 
I agree that it is difficult, but it is not impossible in my opinion.
The Leica SL 35 APO undoubtedly sets the standard in its class. As a comparable alternative, I see the Sigma 35mm F1.2 DG DN Art, which also offers outstanding optical properties. With the SL and SL2, it never fails to impress me with excellent sharpness, minimized chromatic aberration and harmonious, natural-looking bokeh. The image quality of both lenses is of a very high standard. In terms of image quality, the Leica 35mm APO is Everest at 8848m and the Sigma 35/1.2 is K2 at 8611m. 

Off-topic: It would be interesting to see the ratings of lenses in the 50mm range, i.e. Lux, APO, Panasonic S-Pro 1.4, Sigma Art 1.2 and 1.4, with the 8000m peaks of the Himalayas in terms of sharpness, minimized chromatic aberration and harmonious, natural-looking bokeh.

-thomas

 

[Stuart Richardson]

8 hours ago, Tpau17 said:

Hi Stuart, 
I agree that it is difficult, but it is not impossible in my opinion.
The Leica SL 35 APO undoubtedly sets the standard in its class. As a comparable alternative, I see the Sigma 35mm F1.2 DG DN Art, which also offers outstanding optical properties. With the SL and SL2, it never fails to impress me with excellent sharpness, minimized chromatic aberration and harmonious, natural-looking bokeh. The image quality of both lenses is of a very high standard. In terms of image quality, the Leica 35mm APO is Everest at 8848m and the Sigma 35/1.2 is K2 at 8611m. 

Off-topic: It would be interesting to see the ratings of lenses in the 50mm range, i.e. Lux, APO, Panasonic S-Pro 1.4, Sigma Art 1.2 and 1.4, with the 8000m peaks of the Himalayas in terms of sharpness, minimized chromatic aberration and harmonious, natural-looking bokeh.

-thomas

 

I have looked at samples, and it looks like an excellent lens. I still don't think it approaches the 35mm APO Summicron, however. The reason being that it has longitudinal chromatic aberrations (green and magenta shifts in the bokeh). To me those always look unpleasant. I know that most people probably don't even notice, but for me it is one of the things that makes the APO Summicrons so special, is the crystal clear color throughout the picture. ( The longitudinal CA is visible in the rope and string holding the lamp here, for example: https://www.dpreview.com/sample-galleries/0583991254/sigma-35mm-f1-2-dg-dn-art-sample-gallery/4526011449)

Or around the box and in the leaves here: https://www.dpreview.com/sample-galleries/0583991254/sigma-35mm-f1-2-dg-dn-art-sample-gallery/4526011449

Again, I think this is an excellent performance and for most people it is completely fine. But I think this is precisely why the 35mm APO Summicron SL impresses so much, is that it does not seem to do that. The defocused areas also have pure, natural color. I know it is not the art lens, but I had the 35mm Sigma DG DN before the 35mm APO Summicron and I was truly blown away by how much better the Leica was. It was one of the very unusual cases where the Leica lens truly was worth the premium and provided an immediate, obvious and undeniable improvement over what was otherwise a very good lens. And it is not a fanboy thing...I have the Sigma 105mm and find it to be superb.

Edited January 12 by Stuart Richardson

[Dr. G]

1 hour ago, Stuart Richardson said:

And it is not a fanboy thing...I have the Sigma 105mm and find it to be superb.

Which 105mm, the 2.8 macro or the 1.4?  The 1.4 is one of my favorite lenses ever. I'm hoping Sigma makes a DG DN version that's "slightly" smaller.

[Stuart Richardson]

5 hours ago, Dr. G said:

Which 105mm, the 2.8 macro or the 1.4?  The 1.4 is one of my favorite lenses ever. I'm hoping Sigma makes a DG DN version that's "slightly" smaller.

I have the macro!

[midnhtsun]

On 1/8/2025 at 8:48 AM, Almizilero said:

That's like ... a lot. You'll get 10 different suggestions from 5 different people

So, here's my personal opinion to get you started, based on my personal experience with the different lenses. I have the 90 APO, which I love an would recommend without hesitation, but you don't need longer lenses. I can't say anything about the 21, but at least the focal length wouldn't be covered by your zoom. Even though the SL APOs will blow that out of the water at any given focal length.

If you use Lightroom or any similar tool, you can go into your library and check which focal length you use most in your zoom (in Lightroom: Library, activate grid view, open Metadata filter, set one of the filters to focal length. That will give you a nice overview of how many pictures where shot at each FL). If you hit 24mm all the time, it might be a good idea to get something wider. If you use 35(ish) or 50(ish) most often, it might be a good idea to invest in an amazing lens at that focal length. 

I keep testing the 35 APO and it is a dream lens of mine, but I can't let go of the Sigma 35/1.2 either. But if that is a focal lenght you use often, I'd recommend it so highly! I was less impressed with the 50 APO, the Panasonic 50/1.4 gave me better results. Again, personal experience, I'm sure the next person will recommend the 50 APO and say the 90 isn't that good

 

I’m curious about your comment about not being less impressed by the 50mm APO compared to the 35mm APO. Was that just because of the Panasonics results or did you feel like there was something else different between those APOs?

[Almizilero]

vor 17 Stunden schrieb midnhtsun:

I’m curious about your comment about not being less impressed by the 50mm APO compared to the 35mm APO. Was that just because of the Panasonics results or did you feel like there was something else different between those APOs?

Yes to what you said. I think the 50mm was the only SL APO that didn't blow me away in comparison to other lenses of that focal length. The Sigma 85/1.4 is surely 99% of the 90 APO and has a wider aperture, but even at F/1.4, it couldn't give me the 3D pop that the 90 APO does wide open. Same goes for the 35. The 50 just didn't do that for me in comparison to the Panasonic. But that might just have been the copies I tested. I now know that I had an excellent Pana, as I tested two different copies since that were not as good. Maybe that combined with a below par copy of the 50 APO gave me my impression.

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[midnhtsun]

17 hours ago, Almizilero said:

Yes to what you said. I think the 50mm was the only SL APO that didn't blow me away in comparison to other lenses of that focal length. The Sigma 85/1.4 is surely 99% of the 90 APO and has a wider aperture, but even at F/1.4, it couldn't give me the 3D pop that the 90 APO does wide open. Same goes for the 35. The 50 just didn't do that for me in comparison to the Panasonic. But that might just have been the copies I tested. I now know that I had an excellent Pana, as I tested two different copies since that were not as good. Maybe that combined with a below par copy of the 50 APO gave me my impression.

Thanks for getting back. I recently picked up a 50mm APO at an excellent price; when I compared it to the 35mm APO I had previously used, I had the same feeling that it didn't have the same pop. It's still a good lens, but I'm debating whether to keep it and go with the 35mm APO instead.