Leica APO-Summicron-SL 35 mm f/2 ASPH. review

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Leica APO-Summicron-SL 35 mm f/2 ASPH.

10 February 2026

Maciej Latałło

11. Summary

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Pros:

very solid, metal, weather-sealed casing,
sensational image quality in the frame centre,
good image quality on the edge of the APS-C sensor,
good image quality on the edge of full frame,
negligible longitudinal chromatic aberration,
proper correction of lateral chromatic aberration,
moderate distortion,
good correction of coma,
slight focus breathing,
accurate and silent autofocus.

Cons:

performance against bright light leaves a lot to be desired,
price.

The Leica APO-Summicron-SL 35 mm f/2 ASPH is a well-put-together lens which is also very sharp and devoid of almost all flaws. The slip-up in the category of performance against bright light is a kind of nasty surprise; after all when you spend over $5500 you should expect an ideal instrument. Here you don't deal with an ideal. If I wanted to pick holes in this performance I would add that I wish MTFs on the edge of the APS-C sensor were a tad higher.

What's more, when it comes to the L-mount system there are some alternatives. The Sigma C 35 mm f/2 DG DN is a lens a tad weaker but certainly not so weak to justify the huge difference in price. Quite the opposite, spending just $720 you get quite a lot. Additionally, there is also a bit faster Panasonic S 35 mm f/1.8 that is also the cheapest lens in this group but I cannot say anything about it as I haven't tested it yet, so I can't compare it to the Leica or to the Sigma. As if it wasn't enough, there is also the new Sigma A 35 mm f/1.2 DG II that can be a very serious rival of the Leica as it is distinctly faster, 4 grams lighter, and over three times cheaper.

Another interesting question that comes to your mind concerns the difference between Summicron-SL 2/35 devices with and without APO letters in their names. Here, unfortunately, I also lack proper data so I cannot provide an answer. It seems that with such competition the tested APO-Summicron-SL 35 mm f/2 ASPH won't have it easy on the market. After all, even the biggest Leica fans might be tempted to save $3000 and buy an ordinary Summicron, not the more expensive APO version.