Leica Officially Releases Summilux-M 28mm f/1.4 ASPH.

With the official release of the Summilux-M 28mm f/1.4 ASPH. lens, Leica has completed a series of fast-aperture prime lenses that also includes a 35mm and 50mm. The 28mm was originally included with a 2014 special edition two-camera/three-lens set that was released to commemorate “100 Years of Leica Photography,” but will now be available on its own.

With a floating element design that moves independently from the rest of the system and one aspherical element, this M-mount lens provides sharp, high-contrast imaging at its widest exposure, as well as at its minimum focus distance of 2.3'. The wide f/1.4 maximum aperture enables very effective low-light shooting and shallow-depth-of-field control to isolate your subject from its background and create natural looking out-of-focus highlights. In addition, seven of the lens’s ten elements are made from anomalous partial dispersion glass to correct color defects and enhance overall image quality.

Its 28mm focal length with a 75° angle of view is a very versatile wide-angle perspective, useful for many applications from landscape and architectural photography to street shooting and photojournalism. A manual focus lens, its barrel features a wide focus ring with distance scale in feet and meters, as well as the half-step click-stop aperture ring and clear depth-of-field chart. Compact and solid, the Leica quality is apparent in its build and along with the lens comes a dedicated lens hood.