Best Leica M lenses in 2024: every current Leica M rangefinder lens

If you are looking for the best Leica M lens for your rangefinder, there are a LOT to choose from. In this guide, we run through the full range, explain the benefits of each, and show you the best prices available today.

Leica M cameras are an acquired taste and an expensive one. The design and focusing system are difficult to grasp for modern digital camera users but have been used successfully for decades by Leica fans.

What's more, it shows no signs of slowing up. The brand new Leica M11 is a stunning 61-megapixel full frame camera and follows on from the excellent Leica M10-R and black and white only M10 Monochrom.

The combined viewfinder and rangefinder of Leica M series cameras have made them the darlings of many discerning photographers, for over 60 years. Their compact, minimalist designs and almost silent operation make these cameras ideal for street photography, candid portraiture, and much more besides. The ethos of compact simplicity extends to Leica’s M-mount lenses, which are typically small and lightweight, yet go extra-large in terms of optical performance.

Leica M-mount lenses are designed to deliver outstanding resolution, contrast, color rendition, structure, and tonal depth. The current range is divided into four categories. Primes are split into ‘fast and compact’, ‘high speed’, and ‘classic’ sections, whereas the ‘zoom’ category is currently a class of one, the TRI-ELMAR-M 16-18-21mm.

Sebastian Oakley

For nearly two decades Sebastian's work has been published internationally. Originally specializing in Equestrianism, his visuals have been used by the leading names in the equestrian industry such as The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), The Jockey Club, Horse & Hound, and many more for various advertising campaigns, books, and pre/post-event highlights.

He spends his spare time using his trusted Leica M-E or Leica M2 shooting Street photography or general life as he sees it, usually in black and white.

Best Leica M lenses: our top picks

Best Leica M lenses in 2024

Best Zoom for M-mount

Think ultra-wide zooms and you’re probably thinking of big, hefty lenses. Typical of Leica M-mount optics, however, this one is refreshingly small and lightweight.

Especially useful for landscape photography, it also features an adapter which serves as a 67mm filter attachment thread. Minimal distortion and field curvature make it a great choice for architectural photography as well.

Best budget 21mm

Compactness meets relative affordability in this Super-Elmar ultra-wide-angle prime. It’s a wonderfully small, lightweight lens for when you’re trekking across challenging terrain and will reward you with epic landscape images, thanks to its superb sharpness and contrast, along with minimal distortion and vignetting. A metal screw-in hood helps to fend off flare.

Best 21mm prime

More than twice the weight and price of the Super-Elmar 21mm lens, this Summilux has a super-fast f/1.4 aperture and a more complex optical path. 

With minimal distortion or vignetting, especially for such a wide-angle lens, it’s eminently suitable for landscape and architectural photography. The rectangular lens hood is highly effective as well as enabling the use of Series VIII filters.

Best 24mm

Overall, the Leica 24mm Summilux-M f/1.4 lives up to its legendary status however, there are some caveats when choosing such a lens. The lack of a focus tab being one of them when the rest of the Leica wide-angle lineup features it is a bit of a mystery, yet once you get the hand of focusing normally, with its quarter turn from 0.7-infinity you will be able to achieve critical focus within an instant. 

This lens is beautifully built, but it will cost you a fortune. However, if you are looking for this to be your one lens to rule them all, it is a wise investment and can give a unique look to your images.

Read our full Leica 24mm Summilux-M f/1.4 review for more details

Best 28mm overall

If you’ve been looking for the ultimate 28mm lens to fix onto your Leica for street, reportage, or even landscapes then this Summilux is the one to get, but be prepared to pay handsomely for it. 

The Leica 28mm Summilux-M f/1.4 ASPH. is built like a tank with only the best materials used, and functions as expected from the renowned German manufacturer. But it will cost you a small fortune to own such a legend of a lens; however, if you’re looking for this to be your one lens to use on every occasion and be strapped to your camera for the end of time, it is a wise investment.

A lens like this carries a lot of prestige with photographers around the world and if they own one they hold on to it, or if they find it, it's never in stock for long, so if you find one in stock then go for it!

Read our full Leica 28mm Summilux f/1.4 ASPH. review for more details

Best modern-day classic

The Leica 28mm Summaron-M f/5.6 is one of those lenses that you think could be a bit of a gimmick, a recreation of an old lens for the modern day. But that is far from the case, as this is without a shadow of a doubt the most fun lens I have used within the Leica lens lineup. 

It produces stunning images filled with the punchy contrast and clarity that make your images stand out from the crowd. It is a tiny marvel of lens engineering and allows for the most compact package that Leica has ever made. 

The cost is rather high for a lens with a maximum aperture of f/5.6, but when you look past that and really see how this lens performs in the field, and how it renders images, I think it is worth every penny!

Read our full Leica Summaron-M-M 28mm f/5.6 review for more details

Best compact 35mm

Weighing in at just 255g, this lens nevertheless packs in seven optical elements including an aspherical element. The 35mm focal length is a classic choice in street photography, for which handling is up to Leica’s typically impeccable standards. Image quality is razor-sharp, even when shooting wide-open, with a beautifully smooth bokeh that remains very good when stopping down a little, thanks to the well-rounded 11-blade diaphragm.

Best 35mm overall

Although undercutting the Summicron 35mm f/2 lens for the price, this one has a faster f/1.4 aperture rating that makes it arguably more versatile in low-light photography and anytime you want a really tight depth of field. 

It can’t focus as close as the f/2 lens but, even so, the floating elements behind the diaphragm blades ensure image quality remains outstanding at short focus distances.

Best budget 50mm

The smallest new Summarit lens, this 50mm f/2.4 is just 33mm in length and weighs next to nothing at 105g. Optical highlights include great sharpness, contrast and color rendition, along with remarkably low field curvature and negligible color fringing or distortion. All in all, there’s no real need to go larger or pricier, unless you want a 50mm lens with a faster aperture.

Best 50mm for travel

As a Summicron 50mm, this lens has the same f/2 aperture rating as its APO sibling, but in a slightly smaller and lighter build. It’s also much lighter on the wallet, at only about half the cost. 

Contrast and corner-to-corner sharpness are fabulous, even wide-open at f/2, while distortion is negligible. It’s arguably the best buy in the 50mm line-up. 

See our full Leica SUMMICRON-M 50 f/2 review.

Best for clarity

The Leica 50mm APO Summicron-M f/2 ASPH is one of Leica’s most popular lenses in its APO line-up. Its characteristics are legendary for producing exceptional sharpness, even wide-open to its full control of the Red, Blue, and Green waveform to produce lifelike images with a distinct pop that only a Leica lens can produce. 

Its price might be in a different orbit from the “normal” Leica price, ok it's double that, but from what this lens produces, this is a lifetime investment and one that will serve you well for your whole life. This lens offers zero chromic aberration, a 3D pop that only a Leica lens can produce while producing outstanding images in low-light conditions. 

Read our full Leica 50mm APO Summicron-M f/2 ASPH review for more details 

Best 50mm overall

As in the 35mm camp, the big money is on the APO Summicron lens whereas this faster Summilux has an f/1.4 aperture that makes it more ideal for low-light photography and gaining a tighter depth of field, helping to isolate the main subject within a scene. Again, it gives an entirely natural viewing perspective and delivers sharp, high-contrast images even at its widest aperture setting.

Best budget 75mm

A highly versatile short telephoto lens, this Summicron 75mm works well for shooting nature and landscapes as well as for portraiture. 

The f/2 aperture rating enables a tight depth of field although, in this respect, it naturally can’t compete with the Noctilux 75mm. Even so, image quality is fabulous in all respects, it’s less than half the weight of the Noctilux and only about a third of the price.

Best for macro

A truly versatile optic, the Macro-Elmar works really well for general shooting when you’re out and about and need a telephoto focal length to get you closer to the action. 

Unusually for a ‘macro’ lens, it has a fairly lengthy minimum focus distance that only enables a 0.15x maximum magnification factor. However, couple it with the Leica Macro-Adapter-M and you can halve the shooting distance, boosting macro magnification to 0.5x or 1:2.

Best budget 90mm

Arguably the best compromise between quality and purchase price among Leica’s M-mount 90mm primes, this lens boasts APO performance and an aspherical design, complete with a fast f/2 aperture. 

Its suitability extends from photojournalism to theatre and portrait photography, with excellent sharpness and contrast when shooting wide-open, along with a tight depth of field and beautiful bokeh.

Best long lens

Topping the M-mount range in terms of telephoto reach, this lens really covers the distance. It’s brilliant for compressing perspective and for any time you can’t get as physically close as you might like to the subject you’re shooting.

It also works really well for tight head-and-shoulders portraits, enabling you to shoot from a comfortable distance. As you’d expect, image quality is exemplary in all respects.

Leica lens names explained

Leica lenses go by a variety of names. It can be confusing for the uninitiated, but the underlying simplicity is that the names refer to aperture ratings. In ascending order of speed, the Summaron has an aperture of f/5.6, whereas it’s f/4 for the Elmar, around f/3.4 to f/3.8 for the Super-Elmar, and f/2.8 for the Elmarit. 

Ramping things up into super-fast territory, there’s the f/2 Summicron, f/1.4 Summilux, and ultra-fast f/0.95 to f/1.25 Noctilux range.

As a photographic brand, Leica is somewhat legendary for the exacting standards of its German high-tech design and precision engineering. That’s still generally the case but, to get around import tariffs in the USA, be aware that some M-mount lenses are now also made in Portugal and are available at reduced prices in the States. Let’s take a look at all of the lenses in the current M-mount line-up.

How we test lenses

We test lenses using both real world sample images and lab tests. Our lab tests are carried out using the Imatest testing suite, which consists of custom charts and analysis software that measures resolution in line widths / picture height – a measurement widely used in lens and camera testing. 

1. Sharpness (Imatest): Here we measure sharpness at different apertures from the centre to the outer edge. We shoot the chart pictured and Imatest outputs a figure based on line width divided by picture height – high numbers are better.

2. Distortion (Imatest): This test measures the distortion caused by the lens. We shoot the simple, lined chart pictured above and then output an accuracy percentage in Imatest. The most accurate result (ie, the best) would be 0%.

3. Fringing (Imatest): This test measures the occurrence of chromatic aberration. We shoot the chart pictured above, then analyze the photos using Imatest. The results are expressed in pixels, with lower numbers being better.

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