The Summarit-M 75mm f/2.4 ASPH. ($2,150) is the best of Leica's updated family of entry-level lenses, all of which were announced late last year at Photokina and have recently become available for purchase. It comes in an odd focal length—if you look at the current (and extensive) lineups from Canon and Nikon you won't find a 75mm prime in the bunch, and many older Leica cameras omit 75mm frame lines. But if you have a rangefinder that includes the markings for its field of view, you'll want to take a close look at the Summarit-M 75mm, as it's an absolute gem of a lens. It's sharp from edge to edge even at f/2.4, focuses to 0.7-meter, and is extremely well-built. I'm not a huge fan of the screw-in lens hood—more expensive Leica lenses like the APO-Summicron-M 75mm f/2 ASPH. ($3,795) use built-in hoods—but if you don't frequently use lens filters it's not a major concern. If you're considering a 75mm lens for your Leica system—and if you primarily shoot with a 28mm or 35mm prime it's a nice complement—the Summarit-M is an excellent choice, and as such earns Editors' Choice honors.

Like the other f/2.4 Summarit-M lenses, the 75mm ($2,195.00 at Amazon UK) is compact, light, and sturdy. Its barrel is anodized aluminum, available in an all-black version or a silver color scheme with a black rubberized focus ring. Without the hood attached, the lens measures 2.4 by 2.2 inches (HD) and weighs 11.5 ounces. The hood, which is also lightweight aluminum, adds about 1.5 inches to the height of the lens when attached. It screws in to a thread on the outside of the lens barrel, and is reversible for storage. The included metal cap can mount on either side of the hood, but not directly onto the lens as is possible with the Summarit-M 35mm f/2.4 ASPH. ($2,195.00 at Amazon UK) and Summarit-M 50mm f/2.4 ASPH. ($1,995.00 at Amazon) lenses. When reversed, the hood blocks the aperture ring, so you'll really want to leave it in the standard position unless space is tight in your gear bag.



The front element accepts 46mm lens filters—an attribute that's common to all four of the current Summarit-M lenses. It's possible to attach or remove filters with the lens hood on, but it's not something I recommend. You'll have to be careful to just touch the edges of the filter itself, and the space inside the hood is quite tight. You're better off taking a few seconds to unscrew the hood completely before changing a filter. Of course, many digital photographers don't use lens filters at all, and if you're in that boat it's a nonissue. But if you shoot black-and-white film, or with the original M Monochrom or the new Monochrom (Typ 246) ($7,450), you'll likely find yourself using color filters, which you'll want to remove if you move the lens from the Monochrom over to a body that captures images in color, like the standard M-P (Typ 240) ($4,899.95 at Amazon) .



The Summarit-M 75mm focuses to 0.7-meter (2.3 feet), a bit closer than the Summarit-M 90mm f/2.4 ASPH. ($2,495.00 at Amazon Canada) , which manages just 0.9-meter (3 feet); despite having a shorter focal length, the 75mm lens offers higher magnification at its minimum focus distance, although the difference is extremely slight. If you want to focus closer, and have an M that supports Live View, you can always use an extension tube, as I did for the shot below. There is a printed depth of field scale on the barrel, with marks for f/4, f/8, f/11, and f/16, but even when stopped down all the way the depth of field is quite narrow, making the scale more of a cosmetic addition than a practical one. The aperture ring can be adjusted in half-stop increments from f/2.4 through f/16. The diaphragm has 11 blades, so the aperture remains fairly circular when narrowed, which helps to create circular out-of-focus highlights behind your subject. The shot below was captured at f/8, and if look carefully you can see these highlights at the right of the frame.



If your primary rangefinder lens is a 50mm, you're probably not interested in a 75mm; they're a bit too close in field of view to carry both. But if you prefer a wider angle lens, like the Summicron-M 28mm f/2 ASPH. ($4,895.00 at Amazon) or the Summicron-M 35mm f/2 ASPH. , a 75mm can complement it quite well as a short telephoto lens. Your choice of camera also plays a part; 75mm frame lines weren't introduced in M cameras until the M4-P, which was first sold in 1981. All modern digital bodies include the 75mm frame, however. If you still use an older M2 or M3, you'll find a 90mm is a more convenient option in the short telephoto range.



See How We Test Digital Cameras

I used Imatest to check the sharpness of the 75mm Summarit-M when paired with the 24-megapixel M (Typ 240) . At f/2.4 it scores 2,734 lines per picture height on our standard center-weighted sharpness test. That's better than the 1,800 lines we like to see in a photo, and while the outer edges of the frame aren't quite as crisp as the center, showing about 2,249 lines, they're excellent. There's a very modest improvement in clarity at f/2.8 (2,781 lines), but it's at f/4 that the lens really shines. It scores 3,559 lines there, a significant improvement, and performance is extremely even across the frame, with edges showing around 3,400 lines. Peak resolution is at f/5.6—3,761 lines—and while diffraction sets in at f/8 (3,562 lines), f/11 (3,133 lines), and f/16 (2,439 lines), you can feel free to use the lens at any f-stop and still get crisp results. The lens exhibits no distortion, and I didn't see any evidence of noticeable purple color fringing, even at the edges of dark objects against a bright sky at f/2.4.



It's tough to find fault with the Summarit-M 75mm f/2.4 ASPH. The lens is sharp wide open, and exceedingly sharp when the aperture is narrowed just a bit to f/4. It doesn't show distortion, it focuses close for a rangefinder lens, and, despite being part of Leica's least expensive lens family, it's extremely well made. My only real complaint is with the lens hood, which isn't quite as convenient as the collapsible hoods that the company uses in some of its other lenses, but that's only an issue if you opt to use lens filters for black-and-white photography. The Summarit-M isn't the fastest 75mm lens that Leica has to offer, but the 75mm f/2 costs almost twice as much and only shows a half-stop advantage in light gathering and depth of field control, while the classic Summilux-M 75mm f/1.4 is long out of production and fetches a pretty penny on the secondary market. If you're considering a short telephoto lens for your rangefinder, and feel that a 75mm suits your shooting style, the Summarit-M is an excellent choice and a solid value in the Leica world. It's an easy pick to be called our Editors' Choice.



Artboard Created with Sketch. Leica Summarit-M 75mm f/2.4 ASPH. 4.5 Editors' Choice See It $2,195.00 at Amazon UK MSRP $2,150.00 Pros Exceedingly sharp.

0.7-meter focus.

No distortion.

Compact.

Solidly built.

Includes metal lens hood and cap. View More Cons Screw-in hood can be a pain. The Bottom Line The Leica Summarit-M 75mm f/2.4 ASPH. doesn't come in the most common focal length, but it's deadly sharp and quite compact, earning Editors' Choice honors.

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