Light Lens Lab has officially opened orders for its new 35mm f/2 Apochromatic lens for Leica M-mount, bringing another intriguing premium optic to photographers who want classic manual-focus handling combined with decidedly modern optical ambitions.
The lens has been teased previously, but it is now available to order, including a special Titanium Limited Edition that will only be offered for preorder between now and September 10 2026.
This 35mm f/2 also marks the beginning of what Light Lens Lab calls its new Apochromatic Series – and the optical specification certainly suggests the company is aiming high.
The design incorporates four aspherical elements alongside multiple elements manufactured using ultra-low-dispersion and anomalous partial-dispersion glass, with the intention of controlling chromatic aberrations while delivering high levels of sharpness across the frame.
A newly developed high-transmission multilayer coating has also been employed, to further suppress chromatic aberration and purple fringing.
Light Lens Lab says the lens has been designed to deliver excellent distortion control, edge-to-edge performance and smooth out-of-focus rendering, while maintaining natural transitions between areas that are in and out of focus.
That combination should make the 35mm f/2 an interesting proposition for Leica M photographers who want a lens capable of producing plenty of detail without sacrificing the character and rendering that often make rangefinder lenses so appealing in the first place.
Perhaps one of its most interesting features, however, is just how close it can focus. The new 35mm f/2 has a minimum focusing distance of just 0.3 meters, considerably closer than the traditional rangefinder-coupled focusing distance offered by many Leica M lenses.
Light Lens Lab has incorporated a floating optical system designed to maintain consistent image quality throughout the focusing range, which should make that close-focusing capability genuinely useful rather than simply an additional number on the specification sheet.
Naturally, taking full advantage of 0.3m focusing on a traditional Leica M body will require Live View or an electronic viewfinder once you move beyond the rangefinder-coupled distance.
There is plenty going on mechanically, too, with Light Lens Lab saying that its high-precision optical and mechanical components have been developed in-house. Miniature bearings are used within the focusing mechanism to provide smooth and accurate operation, and buyers can choose between two different barrel designs.
There is a smooth version without knurling for a particularly clean and understated appearance, or a close-focus-knurled version that adds additional grip. Both versions use exactly the same optical design, although the smooth barrel is a limited-time configuration that will only remain available to order until the end of December 2026.
Anyone placing an order should be prepared for a little patience, however. Light Lens Lab says the complexity of manufacturing its apochromatic optics means each lens will initially be produced and assembled individually.
Smooth-barrel versions are expected to begin shipping from September 30 2026, with fulfillment continuing through November, while the knurled model is scheduled to begin shipping in December 2026 and continue into January 2027.
With four aspherical elements, floating optics, enviable close focusing and that compact Leica M format, this looks like one of Light Lens Lab’s most ambitious lenses yet – and certainly one I would be very interested to put on the front of an M camera.
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