LEICA SUMMICRON TL 23mm
Review and Photo example of the Summicron TL 23mm.
Table of contents
Gallery
- Sample photo taken with the LEICA T typ701.
Review
1．Overview
The Summicron TL 23mm is a prime lens released for the LEICA T-series.
As it is a lens for APS-C sensor size, the focal length converted to 35mm is equivalent to 35mm.
The main specifications are a lens configuration of 9 elements in 6 groups, a minimum focusing distance of 0.35m, and an unknown number of aperture blades.
2．Usage
The lens body is very compact and made of aluminum, making it very lightweight, and it matches well with the thin body of the Leica T and TL series. It comes with a bayonet hood that can be attached in reverse. The original hood is large compared to the compact lens and gets in the way when attached, so I used a barnacle-shaped screw-in hood.
This lens is for LEICA TL/SL, and the aperture and other settings are controlled by the camera, so the lens only has a focus ring, which is a simple specification. The filter diameter is 52mm, which is rare for Leica, and while general-purpose manufacturers have a wide variety of filters in the volume zone, it is rare to see a genuine Leica 52mm filter.
The image is stable from the widest aperture, with a focal length of 35mm equivalent and a compact lens barrel, making it a lens suitable for snapshot photography. The AF speed is reasonable when used with contrast AF on the LEICA T series (T/TL/TL2). As for the focusing speed, I remember it being faster than the SUMMILUX-TL 35mm among TL lenses, and about the same as the VARIO-ELMAR 18-55.
On 35mm full-frame sensor cameras such as the Leica SL, the sensor recording range is automatically cropped, so it is not possible to use the entire sensor.
It is a compact and easy-to-use lens, but is quite expensive compared to Japanese-made lenses of the same specifications.
3．Add info.
The lens is made in Japan, but the design was done in Germany.
The patent number for this lens, 2015-191237, has the following information:
- [Applicant] LEICA CAMERA AG
- [Inventor] KARBE PETER
Specification
| Items | Value | Note |
| Focal length(mm) | 23 | Image circle is APS-C size |
| Max aperture | 2 | |
| Min aperture | 16 | |
| Lens Construction | 9group 6elements | |
| Leaf blade | ? | |
| Min distance(m) | 0.35 | |
| Lens length(mm) | 37 | Distance from mounting surface |
| Lens diameter(mm) | 63 | |
| Filter Size(mm) | E52 | |
| Weight(g) | 154 |
Leica APS single focal length lens
| Lens name | ELMARIT | SUMMICRON | SUMMILUX | APO MACRO ELMARIT |
| Focal length(mm) | 18 | 27 | 35 | 60 |
| 35mm equivalent focal length | 27 | 35 | 50 | 90 |
| Max aperture | 2.8 | 2 | 1.4 | 2.8 |
| Min aperture | 16 | 16 | 16 | 32 |
| Lens Construction | 8elements 6groups | 9elements 6groups | 12elements 8groups | 10elements 9groups |
| Min distance(m) | 0.3 | 0.35 | 0.4 | 0.16 |
| Lens length(mm) | 21 | 37 | 77 | 134 |
| Lens diameter(mm) | 62 | 63 | 70 | 70 |
| Filter Size(mm) | E39 | E52 | E60 | E60 |
| Weight(g) | 80 | 154 | 428 | 320 |
| Release date | 2017.12 | 2014.5.26 | 2016.3.31 | 2016.9.24 |
| List Price | ¥142,500 | ¥230,000 | ¥310,000 | ¥320,000 |
Reference links
Update history
- 2024.03.06
- 2023.07.23
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