By day and night, at a distance or close-up, this Summicron sets new standards. Its high-speed and medium telephoto focal length combined with its compact dimensions make it a flexible alternative. It is particularly well suited to brilliant close-ups and intimate available light portraits with natural perspectives and appealing plasticity. With its wide aperture and limited depth of field, you can emphasize particular areas of the subject for more impact. All details are reproduced in high contrast and true to life, even at maximum aperture. The compact size belies its sophisticated features, including a floating element, an aspherical element, and apochromatic correction.
Since its launch, the LEICA APO-SUMMICRON-M 75mm f/2 ASPH. has set new performance standards in the Leica rangefinder system. The speed of this powerful lens gives it a particularly wide range of uses from portrait to reportage photography and it counts as one of the best lenses in the M system. Used with the digital LEICA M8, the application potential of this telephoto lens is enhanced even further. The focal length extension factor of the digital rangefinder camera turns the compact lens into a powerful telephoto lens with a focal length of 100 mm, making it an ideal partner of ambitious LEICA M8 photographers.
The compact LEICA APO-SUMMICRON-M 75mm f/2 ASPH. harnesses all the technical possibilities of today's high-performance optics to achieve a combination of high speed and remarkable imaging quality. It features aspherical surfaces, special glass types with partial anomalous dispersion and floating elements. It is the ideal lens on either an analog or digital Leica rangefinder camera delivering intimate views of scenes, nature, landscapes and people, irrespective of whether they are at infinity or at the close-focus range of the lens. With resolving power well above that of the best colour photo films, it is also a first-rate documentary tool.
75mm - The universal portrait focal length
With its more natural perspective compared to a 90mm focal length, where depth is reproduced with less compression, it is ideally suited for many applications including reportage and portraits - particularly in smaller rooms. Its small dimensions result in not only outstanding handling but also a Leica M viewfinder image that is almost completely free of shadowing, thus allowing totally undisturbed viewing of the subject. Whether you are using full stop to deliberately "isolate" critical parts of the subject or working in high-contrast available light - both very common in applications with these focal lengths - or stopping down for sharp reproduction of more extensive areas of the subject, the LEICA APO-SUMMICRON-M 75mm f/2 ASPH. is convincing in any situation: At full stop, it offers excellent contrast reproduction, even for very fine structures. This performance can only be slightly improved by stopping down. Another outstanding feature is the extremely low distortion of only 1%. The vignetting that is normal for fast lenses at their maximum opening - up to approx. 1 stop in the corners of the image here - is further reduced by stopping down: At f/2.8, it is negligible, except for the extreme corners and at f/5.6 it is negligible even in the corners.
The use of state of the art coating technology and additional measures for dulling the inner parts of the mount also ensure a high degree of freedom from reflection. The optical system comprises seven lens elements in five groups. As on the recently introduced Summilux 50mm ASPH., they are a new version of the double Gauß lens type, with the first three lens elements corresponding to the typical Gauß design. The elements behind the aperture are very similar to those on the Summilux 50mm ASPH. - apart from the use of a single lens instead of one of the two cemented lens element groups. To achieve the excellent imaging performance, glass with anomalous partial dispersion is used (no. 2/3). Lens element no. 2 is made of a fluorite-type glass, while the glass used for lens element 3 can trace its origins back to the former Leitz glass laboratory. Lens element no. 4 has a pressed aspherical surface. To minimize monochromatic aberrations, as well as having an aspherical shape the glass used is also highly refractive (no. 5/6).
Optimum image quality at close and long range
To maintain the outstanding imaging performance even at the minimum range of 0.7m - the Summilux-M 75mm only achieves 1m - as on the Summilux-M 50mm ASPH., a so-called floating element is used. This final lens element (no. 6/7) changes its position relative to the rest of the optical system during focusing. While the fundamental technology is common in SLR lenses, to achieve this in a compact M lens with its very limited space, the Leica designers had to develop a brand new, extremely precise adjusting mechanism. Its use allows the benefits of this design to be utilized to the full, while at the same time guaranteeing the familiar silky smooth and absolutely accurate focusing of the M lenses.
Quality down the finest detail
A feature that has now become a standard for Leica lenses has also been included on the new LEICA APO-SUMMICRON-M 75mm f/2 ASPH.: The built-in lens hood, which protects against stray light and dirt, can be locked in its extended position to prevent it accidentally being pushed back in.
Summary:
By utilizing every means available in lens technology today - an aspherical surface, glass with anomalous partial dispersion and a high refractive index, a floating element including a brand new, high-precision adjusting mechanism, state of the art coating techniques and sophisticated measures to reduce internal reflection - we have created a lens that not only extends the Summicron-M range but also sets new standards in this focal length class. In the group of four fast M telephoto lenses with focal lengths of 75 and 90mm, the new LEICA APO-SUMMICRON-M 75mm f/2 ASPH. represents an ideal combination of several properties: It combines optimum imaging quality with high speed and compact dimensions. In conjunction with its moderated telephoto perspective, this makes it ideal for almost any application, and along with a wide-angle lens it forms a complete and versatile but still very compact equipment set.
Angle of view (diagonal, horizontal, vertical): 32°, 18°, 27°
Optical design
Number of elements / groups: 7 / 5
Focal length: 74.98 mm
Entrance pupil: 30.1 mm (related to the first lens surface in light direction)
Focusing range: 0.7 m (2.3 ft) to Infinity
Distance setting
Scale: combined meter/feet-increments
Smallest object field: 169 x 254 mm
Highest reproduction ratio: 1:7
Diaphragm
Setting / Type: Preset, with clickstops (including half values), manual diaphragm
Smallest aperture: f/16
Bayonet: Leica M quick-change bayonet
Filter (type): internal thread for screw-in type filters E 49, non-rotating
Lens hood: Built-in, telescopic, lockable
Dimensions and weight
Length: 66.8 mm / 2.6 in
Largest diameter: 58 mm / 2.3 in
Weight: approx. 430 g / 15.2 oz