Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH - First Impressions
“If your pictures aren't good enough, you aren't close enough.” Definitely, good advice from Robert Capa. That said, one can never truly get close enough with an M-mount rangefinder. With an utterly inadequate minimum focusing distance from 2.3’ (or 0.7m) to 3.3’ (or 1.0m) - depending on the lens - the prospect of taking any close up photos is dismal. I mean, how is one to take foodie photos with a wide or normal M-mount lens from 2.3’? It is impossible, unless you resort to cropping a third of the entire frame - which is the surrounding table clutter.
Granted, Mr. Capa was not referring to Instagrammable Michelin star cuisine or iconic local fares when talking about shooting close enough. That said, one wonders why the folks at Wetzlar will not make a closer focusing lens. It is not like they can’t. The Dual Range Leica 50mm f/2 Summicron-M version II can focus as close as 1.5’ (or 0.48m). And, the Leica 21mm f/4 Super Angulon-M can focus as close as 1.25’ (or 0.4m). Given that, why has there been no iterative continuation of close focusing lenses since the heyday of the Apollo Space Program?
If only the folks at Wetzlar would heed my call to make a lens that can focus closer than that pitiful span of 2.3’. Introduce a function that we all can use. Stop giving us what you have already given us in incremental iterative improvements. We do not need another next generation fast lens. Nor, do we need another sharp lens. Nor do we need another lens with more precision excised of any optical aberration. What we really need is a lens that can take photos closer than that utterly shameful 2.3’. I mean, every camera manufacturer can already do that.
Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800. Shot at 1’ (0.3m) with a tape measure and eyeballed to counter horizontal parallax. Unfortunately, forgot to compensate for vertical parallax. This shot would have been in focus, if the particular rangefinder I was shooting were not front focusing. No cropping. Also notice the perspective distortion.
Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Just when all hope was lost did the light at the end of the tunnel relume. An announcement during yet another Covid wrecked year best forgotten was released by the folks at Wetzlar. The Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH was revealed. In itself, the news was not particularly noteworthy. But then, I saw the distance scale on the lens. It can focus as close as 1’ (or 0.3m). That is closer than both the 50 DR Cron and 21 SA, which makes it a game changer. It means I can finally take photos closer up without having to crop out a big part of the frame.
The Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH is the lens I’ve always wanted. Finally, the folks at Wetzlar made an all purpose lens. I was over the moon, counting the days for mine to arrive at my doorsteps. I could not wait to be amongst the first few to review it. And, I would have - had the Leica Store Soho in New York actually sent the first production copy earmarked for me. They did not - again. And so, in the months after their first delivery from Wetzlar and the months after my own delivery, the APO 35 had unfortunately become yesterday’s news.
In any event, I will still conduct a review of sorts. I mean, that is what I do - that is - review M-mount lenses. But in a departure from my former precision self, I will not pixel peep nor will I demonstrate the resolving power of the APO 35. Why would I? Conceivably, the APO 35 is going to be just as phenomenal as the APO 50 in optical performance. Given that, it would be truly unnecessary - if not utterly redundant or unduly excessive - to show how the APO 35 retains definition of details at high resolution. Besides, I do not have a Leica M10-R to do that.
Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800. Notice how her arm isn’t stretched horizontally, even tough she’s positioned at the edge of the frame.
Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800. At closer shooting distance, her head and shoulders are beginning to exhibit slight horizontal stretching, in my opinion.
Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Limitations aside, what I can tell you about the APO 35 is how much more substantial it is in stature. Excluding the three pre-aspherical 35 Crons (which are all at a different level of compactness), the APO 35 is noticeably larger that the two preceding aspherical 35 Crons. That said, that increase in size is deceptive because the 35 Crons both have a more pronounced lens hood than the APO 35. With the lens hoods attached, the APO 35 is shorter than the 35 Cron ASPH II and the same size as the 35 Cron ASPH I - since it has a very short lens hood.
APO 35’s deceptive stature is a result of the switch from a conventional protruding filter thread design - which made its predecessors unnecessarily taller - to a recessed design. With the filter threads now hidden away, its aperture ring can now be promoted to the top of the lens - which is the furthest position from the lens mount. And with the aperture ring at the top, the focusing ring can also be pushed up further too. As a result, we now have more room to extend our fingers and thumb to control both rings for a much better handling experience.
Additionally, APO 35 has an exceptionally long focusing throw. It almost rotates a full revolution. Moreover, the close focusing range from 2.3’ to 1’ accounts for more than half a full revolution. As such, this means that close focusing requires patience and precision beyond what is normally needed above 2.3’. Above 2.3’, the focusing throw is more or less the same as its predecessors, as is its overall focusing experience. So, it is not a surprise that the APO 35 is a joy to focus - feeling snug for careful focusing while also feeling ready for snap focusing.
Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800. A stray passersby was removed on the right side of the image.
Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
In terms of performance, I can only assume that its optical precision is likely on par with the APO 50. Even so, I did find telltale signs of its ability to resolve details on film. No, I am not sharing those photos. That said, what I can say is that certain unwanted blemishes that are best omitted from the photo did crop up. For me, that was a first, when shooting casually on film. In other words, with the APO 35, one cannot assume that imperfections can be glossed over by low resolution typical of film - making the APO 35 a high maintenance lens to shoot.
With regards to color rendering, I feel as if the APO 35 is biased towards greater saturation. Of course, this is a claim that I cannot confirm at this moment. But, the reds in this photoset are just phenomenal. If I had to take a guess, I would say that the apochromatic portion of the APO 35 had blessed it with more micro-contrast. That would make the APO 35 better at capturing the richness in color, along with incremental shifts in tonality from bright to dark. From this suspicion alone, I would pick the APO 35 over any of its predecessors, in a heartbeat.
As for distortion control, the APO 35 appears to exhibit no barrel distortion, which is to be expected. However, it also seems to control perspective distortion particularly well. Objects and subjects positioned at the edges and corners of the frame do not seem to be stretched out horizontally as much, in my anecdotal opinion. That said, the APO 35 is not entirely without recognizable distortion. When shooting at minimum focusing distance, perspective distortion begins to creep-in by slightly bloating subject details situated on closer focal planes.
Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
But, enough about that. What everyone really wants to know about the APO 35 is how it shoots closer up. Well, assuming that you are taking photos with a digital M-mount rangefinder, you must first use either live view or an electronic viewfinder. However, if you insist on using the optical viewfinder, the APO 35 has a safeguard. At 2.3’, when focusing closer, a hard click can be felt signaling that the optical viewfinder can no longer be used. On a digital M-mount rangefinder, it is not a problem. But on an analog M-mount rangefinder, it is a problem.
Unlike the DR 50 Cron, which has close focusing goggles, and the 21 SA, which is always stopped down and is wide enough to make close focusing by eye a real possibility, the APO 35 has nothing to assist close focusing. As such, the only intervention available for close focusing on an analog rangefinder is with the assistance of a tape measure. Believe me, it is not an effective workaround. Of the eight photos I took in this manner, only one turned out - and that one did not hit tack focus on the lead eye, since my Leica MP was slightly front focusing.
Obviously, close focusing is not the only reason to get the APO 35. It is just the cherry on top. There is also the apochromatic lens elements plus the repositioning of the aperture and focusing rings, which makes it a game changer. The APO 35 might very well be the best designed lens - ever! It is a beautiful lens, as soon as you get over that conspicuous lens hood design, which is a departure from any wide angle M-mount lens. The APO 35 is perfect. It is not an incremental improvement, but an evolutionary change. It is truly a credit to its namesake.
Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH + Kodak Portra 800
With all the praises I am singing about the APO 35, you might rightly wonder why I never bonded with the APO 50. Well, there is the matter of the APO 50’s minimum focusing distance of 2.3’. Plus, there is also the matter of my dislike for the Leica 35mm f/1.4 Summilux-M ASPH, given its square aluminum lens hood. And finally, there is also the matter of my renewed love for the Leica 50mm f/1.4 Summulix-M ASPH. I just prefer the 50 Lux over the APO 50 and the APO 35 over the 35 Lux. Whether I will still prefer the APO 35 in the future, time will tell.
PS - Overlooked in my trifecta of close focusing M-mount lens is the Leica 16-18-21mm Tri-Elmar-M. It can also focus as close as the APO 35. That said, can you really blame me for forgetting? Let’s just view the Tri-Elmar as an anomaly following the Apollo Space Program, and never speak of it again.
Special thanks to Ania for accompanying me on this photowalk.
