A Look Back at The Leica Summaron-M 28mm f5.6

A Look Back at The Leica Summaron-M 28mm f5.6:

Hey everyone, I reviewed the Summaron-M 28mm f5.6 a while back, and for those who have read it, you know that I am a huge fan of the lens.  In fact, right after I sent back my loaner, I immediately went to purchase one.  However, it wasn’t in stock at the time, and while waiting for it, I decided to cancel last minute because as some of you know, I’m just not a 28mm kind of guy.  I would use the lens because it has such a cool rendering to it but for my work, I thought my money would be better spent elsewhere at the time.  I still have plans of one day buying one because I truly think it is a special lens but that’s later on :).  Anyway, I do have a bunch of reviews coming up but I was looking through my archives, and just felt like writing up a little post about the Summaron-M 28mm.

So, as I said, I’m not a fan of the 28mm focal length.  I always feel awkward using one but for some weird reason, the Summaron-M 28mm f5.6 just works for me.  I absolutely love it.  As you can see, it is tiny physically, and in my opinion, if Leica wants to continue remaking older M lenses, they should concentrate on ones like these.  I think it’s great that they came out with the f1.2 Noctilux, for example, but I would just love to see them make more of these older, smaller lenses as well.   Plus, the price for the Summaron is a lot but it’s not insane either.

The Summaron-M 28mm is also absolutely beautifully made.  In every way, it feels just like a lens that you would find at a store in the 1950s or 1960s.  In my opinion, it’s one of the nicest looking lenses currently out, and yes, it is all metal as well.  While I didn’t really use the lens hood much, I am a huge fan of it.

Now, the largest aperture is f5.6 but I don’t see this as a huge problem for this type of a lens.  It’s a 28mm, and it’s one of those lenses where you attach to your camera, set it at a smaller aperture and just point and click.  That’s how I shot it most of the time.  With the large depth of field, I didn’t even bother to do any serious focusing.  You don’t have too.

What you get instead is this tiny little thing that even made my SL at the time look more compact.  The Summaron-M 28mm f5.6 is one of those great little street lenses that you can use to get real close to your subject discreetly.  It’s one of those kinds of lenses that you can leave on your camera, and just snap whatever you feel like whether it’s something serious or just moments you want to remember with loved ones or while casually walking down the street.

As for image quality, I’ll be the first to admit that I love reference glass.  I love all that new stuff that’s out, and my most used lens is the Summilux-SL 50mm f1.4 ASPH, which is like a reference on steroids.  I love the results that I get from lenses like this, especially for my work.  The 28mm Summaron is a bit different.

If you’re looking for a lens that is perfect, and doesn’t vignette, you’re better off looking elsewhere.  This lens is about something else.  I don’t want to go on and on with tons of adjectives describing how amazing the Summaron-M 28mm f5.6 draws, and how it clearly reminds me of lenses from the past.  All you need to know is that this lens has an old school character to it that really makes it something special.  It’s unapologetically imperfect yet it’s not bad.  It’s not like those lenses that claim to give you an old school rendering but are really just not that good.  The 28mm Summaron is a quality piece of optic.  It has an older style rendering to it yet it’s still an optically great lens.  It will still produce tack sharp photos, for instance.

Anyway, this isn’t a review.  If you want to read my full review on this lens, you can find it here.  I was just looking at some of my older photos, and found a few I wanted to post from one of my favorite lenses currently out.  I did include a couple from my review that I slightly re-edited.  Sometimes, I feel like the Summaron-M 28mm doesn’t really get enough credit or exposure.  Maybe it’s because it’s max aperture is f5.6…I don’t know…fast lenses aren’t always a must-have in my opinion though.  For what this lens is, and for what it’s designed to do, I find it pretty much perfect.  One day, I will buy it…hopefully Leica won’t discontinue it by the time I am ready to make that purchase haha.