The Leica APO-Summicron-SL 75mm f/2 ASPH. ($4,750) is another winning optic from the legendary German camera maker. It's a short telephoto lens, ideal for portraiture, but with pretty decent close focus, a wide aperture, and an all-weather build. It's priced in line with the company's other products, which is to say higher than many other options, but backs it up with superb image quality and earns Editors' Choice marks.

A Small Wonder

The APO-Summicron-SL 75mm is relatively compact at 4.0 by 3.9 inches (HD), but rather heavy at 1.6 pounds. The glass inside certainly contributes to the weight, as does the barrel's metal construction. The front element supports 67mm threaded filters.

Leica includes the expected accessories—front and rear caps, a hood, and a carrying pouch. The lens is protected from dust and splashes, and includes what Leica is calling AquaDura coating. It's the company's branding for fluorine, a material that repels grease and water. It makes cleaning the lens very easy—a quick wipe with a microfiber cloth is typically all it takes with a lens with fluorine protection.

There aren't any controls of which to speak, aside from the manual focus ring. It occupies a good portion of the barrel and is covered in rubber so it's comfortable to grip and turn. Autofocus is also supported, and the internal focus motor drives elements smoothly and quietly.

There's no optical stabilization—not a surprise, as it's not common in this type of lens. If you pair it with one of Panasonic's L-mount cameras you'll benefit from in-body stabilization, but the sensor of the Leica SL isn't stabilized.

Focus is available to 19.7 inches (50cm), which is good enough for 1:5 life-size magnification. It's a little bit more magnification than we're used to seeing from similar lenses. For example, the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 85mm f/1.8G only manages 1:8.3.

Exquisite Images

I used the Summicron with the Panasonic S1 and S1R in the field, and ran lab tests using the 47MP S1R.

When shot wide open the lens nets 4,252 lines on Imatest's center-weighted evaluation. Performance isn't dead even from center to edge, but it's not that far off. The periphery is strong (3,973 lines). We consider 4,000 lines to be an excellent result on a high-resolution sensor, and for a lens to hit that mark at its widest aperture, at the edges of the frame, is a feat.

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The lens gets a little bit sharper at f/2.8 (4,301 lines) and f/4 (4,275 lines). When paired with the S1R diffraction sets in a little early, but the lens still puts up strong numbers at f/8 (4,021 lines) and f/11 (3,754 lines). There's a bigger drop at f/16 (3,178 lines), so you should try and avoid using it and the minimum f/22 aperture (2,451 lines), especially when working with the lens on a high-resolution sensor.

Apochromatic optics eliminate aberrations in high contrast and defocused areas of a scene. The lens also controls barrel distortion, showing just 0.6 percent—imperceptible in most situations.

There is a little bit of a vignette, about -2.4EV at the corners at f/2, but it's all but gone at f/2.8 (-1.1EV) and essentially nonexistent at f/4 (-0.4EV). If you ever find it distracting, it's very easily removed using Raw conversion software. If you shoot in JPG format, in-camera corrections remove the vignette.

Leica Quality, Leica Price

Photography, as a hobby or profession, is not an inexpensive venture by nature. You can do a lot on a budget—and even shoot full-frame. But if that's what you're after, Leica equipment isn't for you. (The Panasonic cameras, which are each $500 higher than similar models from competitors, also exclude photographers looking for a bargain.)

The Leica APO-Summicron-SL 75mm f/2 ASPH. is just a lovely lens and an Editors' Choice. It focuses fairly close, and opens up to f/2 for low-light shooting and for a shallow depth of field. It has modern conveniences—speedy autofocus and protection from the elements—but certainly looks and feels like a more classic tool.

And yes, all this comes at a price. The $4,750 cost is higher than similar lenses for other systems by a wide margin. But if you're in love with the short telephoto focal length, shoot with an L-mount camera, and want to splurge on a truly lovely lens…well, there are worse ways to spend five grand.

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