Best Leica Lenses | 2025

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In this guide we’re talking the best of the best — the best Leica lenses to buy right now. Photography’s best-known premium and luxury brand, Leica is famous for its meticulously engineered cameras that deliver a premium photographic experience, from film rangefinders to digital compacts. 

Also, Leica is not just the preserve of the well-heeled enthusiast any more. Its establishment of the L-mount alliance full-frame mirrorless system with Sigma and Panasonic has brought Leica lenses to a whole new audience of photographers and videographers. 

As such, we’ve divided this guide into two sections — first, L-mount lenses that will fit full-frame mirrorless cameras like the Lumix S series or Sigma fp, and then M-mount lenses that are designed for Leica’s premium rangefinder cameras. Read on to find out which Leica lenses have most impressed our review team — and check out our guide to the best mirrorless cameras, which includes models that are compatible with Leica L-mount lenses.

Best Leica L-Mount Lenses

With roots in Leica’s T-mount, the L-mount system has a longer history than many people think. However, it’s inarguable that the system really kicked into high gear upon its reinvention in 2018, when Leica opened up an upgraded version of the mount to Sigma and Panasonic, allowing them to also develop cameras and lenses for what would quickly become a fully realised full-frame mirrorless system.

Here, we’re counting off a few of our favourite Leica-made lenses for L-mount. These are terrific lenses to augment your kit bag, whether you’re using a Panasonic Lumix S5 II, a Sigma fp L or a Leica SL3

Leica 14-24mm f2.8 Super-Vario-Elmarit-SL ASPH Lens

£2,310.00 View

Pros:

  • Big 114° field of view
  • Constant f2.8 aperture
  • Sublime image quality

Cons:

  • No aperture ring
  • Can’t take front-mounted filters

Aperture: f2.8 maximum

Optical Design: 16 elements in 12 groups, including aspherical and ultra-high-performance lenses for outstanding image quality

Features: Wide-angle zoom with exceptional sharpness and minimal distortion across the focal range

Autofocus: Fast and precise autofocus system, optimised for quick subject acquisition and smooth video transitions

Build Quality: Robust, weather-sealed construction ideal for professional use in challenging environments


A dream of a landscape lens, the Leica 14-24mm f2.8 Super-Vario-Elmarit-SL ASPH is a wide zoom with an expansive field of view — perfect for filling the frame with expansive vistas. Its premium optical design features 18 elements in 13 groups, with Hydrophobe Aqua-Dura coating on the outer elements to repel water and make the lens more suitable for outdoor use.

While it can’t take front-mounted filters (which is normal for a lens of this type), the 14-24mm f2.8 Super-Vario-Elmarit-SL ASPH does offer the option to attach foil filters via the bayonet mount. There’s also a built-in lens hood for controlling stray incidental light and providing a little extra protection. 

Image quality is absolutely superb right the way through that zoom range, with that F2.8 constant aperture ensuring plenty of versatility in low light. One thing that’s worth noting is that the lens lacks an aperture ring, so aperture will need to be controlled electronically through the camera. 

 

Leica 16-35mm f3.5-4.5 Vario-Elmar-SL Asph Lens

£5,250.00 View

Pros:

  • Gorgeous image quality
  • Fast focusing with full-time manual override
  • Weather-sealed design

Cons:

  • Variable maximum aperture

Aperture: f3.5-4.5 maximum

Optical Design: 12 elements in 10 groups, including aspherical elements for reduced distortion and high image quality

Features: Versatile wide-angle zoom with excellent sharpness and minimal chromatic aberration

Autofocus: Fast, silent autofocus system for smooth and precise focusing, suitable for both photography and video

Build Quality: Durable, weather-sealed construction, designed for professional use in demanding conditions


A great compliment that’s often paid to Leica zoom lenses is that they’re so good optically that they feel a lot like having multiple prime lenses in one — and so is the case here. The Leica 16-35mm f3.5-4.5 Vario-Elmar-SL Asph is a delightful wide zoom, producing images with dazzling sharpness and distinctive character. A sophisticated optical design of 18 glass elements arranged in 12 groups delivers superb rendering with minimal distortion, and elements have been treated with multi-layer coating to suppress flare.

This is a lens that’s built tough, with full weather sealing and water-repellent AquaDura coatings on the outer elements. You should have no fear taking it into the wettest, windiest and wildest landscapes — which is just what it’s designed for. However, some users may find themselves missing a constant aperture, with the maximum shrinking down to F4.5 at the narrow end. But since many landscape shooters tend to stop down anyway, you may also find it simply isn’t an issue for your shooting.

 

Leica 21mm f2 Super-APO-Summicron-SL ASPH Lens

£4,700.00 View

Pros:

  • Superb sharpness and aberration control
  • Dual Synchro Drive delivers fast autofocus
  • Small and fairly light

Cons:

  • No aperture ring

Aperture: f2 maximum

Optical Design: 11 elements in 8 groups, featuring APO (Apochromatic) design for exceptional colour accuracy and minimal chromatic aberration

Features: Ultra-sharp prime lens with a fast aperture, ideal for landscape, architecture, and low-light photography

Autofocus: Fast and precise autofocus system with smooth, accurate focusing performance

Build Quality: Premium metal construction with robust weather sealing for reliable use in challenging environments


eica’s APO lenses are designed to reach new heights of optical excellents, with outstanding, class-leading control of optical aberrations and distortion. The Leica 21mm f2 Super-APO-Summicron-SL ASPH is a wondrous lens, delivering outstanding sharpness in a relatively light and weather-sealed body. It’s brilliant especially for architecture photographers, though there are shooters in plenty of disciplines who could find use for having such a stunner of a lens at a 21mm focal length. 

Skin tones are rendered beautifully, bokeh is smooth, and contrast is exquisite. This is a lens that will allow you to really push your L-mount camera, even if you’re shooting at very high resolutions, and still get brilliant results. Autofocus speed is somewhat limited by the complex optical design — it’s never going to be as fast as a sports lens, but the Dual Synchro Drive still does a pretty credible job.

 

Leica 24-90mm f2.8-4 Vario-Elmarit-SL Asph Lens

£4,780.00 View

Pros:

  • Extra telephoto reach compared to standard zooms
  • Fast autofocus and effective stabilisation
  • Gorgeous optical quality, obvs

Cons:

  • Weighs more than a kilo

Aperture: f2.8-4 maximum

Optical Design: 16 elements in 12 groups, including aspherical lenses to minimise distortion and enhance sharpness

Features: Versatile zoom range with excellent image quality across all focal lengths, ideal for portraits, landscapes, and travel photography

Autofocus: Fast and precise autofocus system for quick subject tracking and smooth focusing

Build Quality: Sturdy, weather-sealed construction, built for durability and professional use in various conditions


Putting an interesting twist on the standard zoom lens formula, the Leica 24-90mm f2.8-4 Vario-Elmarit-SL Asph gives you a bit more play at the telephoto end than your average 24-70mm lens would do. This makes it an impressively versatile performer for day-to-day shooting, and as such, it’s a well-rounded package in every department. The focusing is nice and fast thanks to the stepping motor with linear positioning, and you can get as close as 30cm from your subject. There’s also built-in stabilisation that provides up to 3.5 stops of effective compensation, helping make that 90mm telephoto end a bit more useable handheld.

It’s a fairly heavy lens, just tipping over the 1kg mark, but there’s a lot to recommend in a lens like this — it can easily sub in for three prime lenses, with just a slight narrowing of the aperture to F4 at the tele end. The high-quality build means it’s ready for the outdoors, too, with water-repellent AquaDura coating on the optical surfaces to keep the rainwater at bay.

 

Leica 90-280mm f2.8-4 APO-Vario-Elmarit-SL Lens

£6,050.00 View

Pros:

  • A unique proposition
  • Close to optically perfect
  • Tough, weather-sealed design

Cons:

  • It’s a big, heavy bazooka
  • It’s quite a specific lens that won’t suit everybody

Aperture: f2.8-4 

Optical Design: 23 elements in 16 groups, including APO (Apochromatic) design for exceptional colour accuracy and minimal distortion

Features: Long zoom range with fast aperture, ideal for sports, wildlife, and portrait photography

Autofocus: Fast, quiet autofocus system with advanced tracking for precise subject acquisition

Build Quality: Robust, weather-sealed construction, ensuring durability and reliability in professional environments


The thing about the L-mount is that you’ve already got Sigma making brilliant lenses across all the standard configurations, as well as some non-standard ones. Therefore, if you’re going to splash out on a Leica lens for your kit, it makes sense to look at one that’s offering something different — and they don’t come much more different than the Leica 90-280mm f2.8-4 APO-Vario-Elmarit-SL.

This lens is undoubtedly a big, beefy boy. However, once you start using it and see that damn-near-perfect optical quality for yourself, you’ll find yourself very forgiving of your achy arms. It’s an absolute stunner, right the way through that focal range — a range that admittedly isn’t going to be useful for everyone, but one that produces absolutely stunning telephoto goodness. Optically there’s nothing to complain about — there’s no distortion to speak of, no aberration worth mentioning. There’s also a built-in optical stabilisation system providing up to 3.5 stops of compensation, and it’s weather-sealed, too.

Best Leica M-mount Lenses

If you’re using a Leica-M rangefinder like the Leica M11, these are some of the best lenses you can buy. Rangefinder shooting is a thrilling, demanding and unique experience, one that photographers can and do take a lifetime to master. With exceptional optical performance and pitch-perfect handling, the lenses for the system deliver crisp images with depth and punch. Be warned though — once you start shooting with Leica M lenses, you may find you never want to shoot with anything else again.

Leica SUMMILUX-M 28mm f1.4 ASPH - Black Anodised Finish

£6,330.00 View

Pros:

  • 28mm focal length is perfect for street and reportage
  • Brilliantly crisp separation of subject and background
  • Magnificent build quality, obviously

Cons:

  • Somewhat large for a 28mm

Aperture: f1.4 

Optical Design: 11 elements in 9 groups, including aspherical elements to reduce distortion and achieve high sharpness

Features: Fast aperture with beautiful bokeh, ideal for low-light and portraiture photography

Autofocus: Manual focus only, providing precise control for critical focus in professional settings

Build Quality: Classic, durable metal construction with a sleek design, built to withstand the rigours of professional use


Leica M rangefinders are favoured for street and reportage-style photography, and a 28mm focal length is often considered to be the gold-standard for such shooting. It’s wide enough to get plenty in the frame but doesn’t exaggerate or distort too much. The Leica SUMMILUX-M 28mm f1.4 is possibly the finest 28mm lens ever made — an absolutely sublime bit of kit, built to exacting Leica standards, inside and out.

One thing this lens really excels at, above and beyond the call of duty, is its magnificent separation of subject and background. With a maximum aperture of F1.4, and exceptionally high sharpness in the focal plane, the lens allows to produce vivid and crisp images with a razor-thin depth of field. It’s not the smallest lens — something this optically sophisticated was never really going to be — but it’s still on the smaller side for Summilux. You could spend the rest of your life shooting with this lens and still find new things to appreciate about it.

 

Leica APO-SUMMICRON-M 35mm f2 ASPH Lens

£6,700.00 View

Pros:

  • Gorgeous image quality with tack-sharp optics
  • Small but well-built
  • Close focusing distance of 30cm

Cons:

  • Not weather sealed

Aperture: f2 maximum

Optical Design: 6 elements in 4 groups, featuring Apochromatic (APO) design for exceptional colour accuracy and sharpness

Features: Compact, fast prime lens with minimal distortion, perfect for street, portrait, and everyday photography

Autofocus: Manual focus only, offering precise control for optimal focus accuracy

Build Quality: Premium metal construction with robust craftsmanship, ensuring durability and reliability for professional use


This is a lens that just feels like magic. Beautifully responsive, with a silky manual focusing action, it’s a lens that you just want to use and keep using, and that feeling will only intensify when you look back at your images. A sophisticated optical structure includes elements with anomalous partial dispersion and high refractive index glass, as well as three aspherical elements. All this results in hugely effective suppression of chromatic aberration and spherical aberrations, meaning sharpness is brilliant from edge to edge, corner to corner.

Thanks to the latest advancements in rangefinder technology, this lens is also something of a wunderkind when it comes to close focusing — it can manage at distances as short as 30cm (though you’ll need to use the LCD, or an EVF if the camera offers the option to attach one). The lens features a dedicated notch on the focal ring for close focusing mode, which you twist to activate. It all feels delightfully intuitive, and like you’ve added an extra string to your bow without compromising on the purity of the Leica experience. Plus, it helps that this lens is tiny, barely protruding from the camera at all, helping you keep that sleek slimline profile.

 

Leica 50mm f1.4 Summilux-M ASPH Lens (11 Blade Aperture) - Black

£4,029.00 View

Pros:

  • Beautiful image quality in the centre
  • Retractable hood
  • Stunning rounded bokeh

Cons:

  • Not weather sealed

Aperture: f1.4 maximum

Optical Design: 8 elements in 5 groups, including aspherical elements for reduced distortion and improved sharpness

Features: Fast aperture for excellent low-light performance and beautiful bokeh, ideal for portraits and artistic shots

Autofocus: Manual focus only, offering precise control for critical focusing in professional environments

Build Quality: Premium all-metal construction with exceptional craftsmanship, designed for long-lasting durability and reliability in the field


No self-respecting street photographer could be without a nifty-fifty in their kit bag, and the Leica 50mm f1.4 Summilux-M ASPH is a stunner. Delivering absolute standout image quality, especially in the centre, it’s also a lens that impresses with its crisp separation of subject and background. The 11-bladed aperture ensures that bokeh is lovely and round, aided by the F1.4 maximum aperture that also makes the lens an impressive performer in low light.

While it’s not officially weather-sealed, the 50mm lens does come with a nifty retractable hood, which adds an extra layer of protection as well as helping with the control of incidental light. The metallic build feels beautifully premium, just as an M-series lens should, and that 50mm focal length makes it a versatile performer in a host of different shooting situations.

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FAQs

What makes Leica lenses different from other brands?

Leica lenses are renowned for their exceptional optical performance, delivering sharp, high-contrast images with minimal distortion. Their precision engineering and high-quality materials make them a preferred choice for professionals who value build quality, manual focus control, and image character.

Are Leica lenses compatible with other camera brands?

Leica lenses are designed for specific camera mounts, such as the L-mount and M-mount, so compatibility depends on your camera system. You can use adapters for certain lens mounts, but performance, including autofocus, may be affected.

Do Leica lenses have autofocus?

Some Leica lenses come with autofocus, but many of their most iconic lenses are manual focus. Leica’s manual focus systems are highly praised for their smoothness and precision, ideal for photographers who prefer full control over their focus.

Are Leica lenses weather-sealed?

Many Leica lenses, especially those in the L-mount and SL series, offer weather-sealing for protection against dust and moisture. However, it’s important to check the specifications for each lens as not all Leica lenses feature this capability.

Why are Leica lenses so expensive?

Leica lenses are known for their superior optical quality, craftsmanship, and durability. The high cost reflects the advanced engineering, premium materials, and the fact that many Leica lenses are handcrafted with great attention to detail, which contributes to their reputation for exceptional performance.

How do we decide?


Our in-house photography experts, store staff and partners all work collaboratively to pour over our guides and tips articles. We also consider emerging trends and customer feedback to make sure our guides are always up-to-date and reflective of what people are truly looking for. By curating only the best products, our guides provide trustworthy recommendations, making it easier for customers to make informed choices with confidence.

If you would like more advice on any purchase our contact centre staff are here to help. Alternatively, you can reach us via email or social media. And don't forget. If you were to purchase anything based on our recommendations you'll be covered by our full returns policy