Leica announces a pair of new SL prime lenses, the 75mm and 90mm f/2 APO portrait primes
posted Monday, January 15, 2018 at 10:59 AM EDT
Leica Camera has officially announced a pair of new lenses for its SL system. The two new Summicron-SL lenses are the APO Summicron-SL 75mm f/2 ASPH and the APO Summicron-SL 90mm f/2 ASPH. With the addition of these two SL primes, the SL lens lineup now has three prime lenses to go with its pair of zoom lenses. Let's take a closer look at each of the new optics.
Starting first with the APO Summicron-SL 75mm f/2 ASPH lens, this prime is equipped with 11 lens elements across 9 groups and offers a diagonal angle of view of 31.8 degrees. It includes a single aspherical element and has a 1:5 reproduction ratio. The lens weighs in at just over 25 ounces (720 grams) and is 4.7 inches long (120 millimeters). Its largest diameter is 2.9 inches (73 millimeters). The new 90mm f/2 lens actually has the same dimensions except that it weighs 0.7 ounces (20 grams) less.
Leica says of the new lenses that they are both ideal for portraiture but that the 75mm is better suited for "natural portraits." The lens is said to deliver "fast and silent autofocusing" thanks to its Dual Syncro Drive (DSD) autofocus technology. The lens has also been engineered to be used at its maximum aperture of f/2 and because they are "APO" lenses - which stands for apochromatic - they should deliver images without distracting purple fringing even when shot in challenging conditions.
Looking more specifically at the 90mm f/2 lens, which Leica remarks should deliver very good subject separation and a smooth falloff from in focus to out of focus areas, it also includes 11 elements across 9 groups and a 1:5 reproduction ratio. In fact, save for the miniscule weight difference, the two new primes are nearly identical physically and in terms of optical quality and design.
They remind me of Olympus' f/1.2 PRO prime lenses, which are also very similar in terms of physical design and appearance. Where the Leica APO SL primes divert is when we look at the price tag. The new SL primes will both be available in February and the 75mm f/2 will sell for $4,750 and the 90mm f/2 will cost a bit more, selling at $5,150. That's nearly $10,000 if you want the pair.