Leica Summilux M 21mm f/1.4 ASPH Lens Black Anodised

• Excellent resolution and detail in an ultra wide angle Rangefinder lens
• A bright aperture excels at low light with well controlled vignetting and distortion
• Excellent choice for a range of subjects including landscapes and architecture
• Floating element design ensure the lens keeps up with the latest high resolution sensors
• Impeccable design and craftsmanship with Made In Germany quality for lifelong service

Key Features

• Bright aperture ultra wide angle lens
• 10 elements in 8 groups with 5 anomalous partial dispersion elements
• Focusing range: 0.7 m to infinity
• Weight: approx. 580 g

Leica Summilux-M 21 f/1.4 ASPH. Lens Summary

The Leica Summilux-M 21 f/1.4 ASPH. Lens is a fast ultra wide angle  which offers excellent performance over the entire image field. Image quality is sharp and concise, even when stopping down to the fastest aperture in the close-up range thanks to a ‘floating element’. Stopping down to f/2.8 leads to absolutely outstanding image quality, ensuring the lens resolves high resolution detail on any of the latest high resolution . In comparison to the Elmarit lens of the same focal 21mm length, the Summilux-M 21 rendition is slightly more uniform across the image field.

The vignetting typical of every optical system is naturally more apparent with a super wide angle lens, particularly a high speed one like this, than on standard lenses or those with a long focal length. At full stop with the 35mm format, its maximum – i.e. in the corners of the image – is around 3.2 aperture stops or, with the Leica M8 models and their slightly smaller format, around 1.9 aperture stops. Stopping down to 2.8 visibly reduces this light fall-off towards the image edges to 1.7 or 0.8 aperture stops. Stopping down further does not bring any noticeable additional reduction, as all that remains is essentially the natural vignetting.

The maximum distortion of the lens is 2.3%,which in practical terms is negligible for the majority of photographic applications. A total of ten lens elements are used to achieve this exceptional performance. To correct colour aberrations, five of these are made of glass types with anomalous colour dispersion(partial dispersion), while a further two have aspherical surfaces. To maintain performance in the close-up range, one group towards the rear of the optical system is a ’floating element’ that moves independently of the rest of the mechanism.

The five anomalous partial dispersion elements serve to correct vignetting and distortion which is all but eliminated at aperture of f/2.8 through to the maximum f/16 aperture. The floating element retains the lenses’ high resolution, even in the close-up range. A patented, rectangular lens hood fits Series VIII filters.

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