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
Summicron TL 23mm is a single focal length lens released for the LEICA T series.
Since it is a lens for APS-C sensor size, the focal length converted to 35mm format is equivalent to 35mm.
The lens body is very compact and made of aluminum, making it extremely lightweight, making it a perfect match for the thin bodies of the Leica T and TL series. The hood comes with a bayonet hood that can be reversed. The stock hood is large and would get in the way when attached to a compact lens, so a barnacle-shaped screw-in hood was used.
The depiction is smooth and stable from wide open aperture, and its 35mm equivalent focal length and compact lens barrel make 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). My impression of the focusing speed is that among TL lenses, it is faster than the SUMMILUX-TL 35mm and about the same as the VARIO-ELMAR 18-55.
This is a lens for LEICA TL/SL, and since the aperture and other settings are controlled on the camera side, the lens only has a focus ring. The filter diameter is 52mm, which is unusual for Leica, and although general-purpose manufacturers have a wide variety of filters in the volume zone, it is rare to see a genuine Leica 52mm filter.
Although it is a compact and easy-to-use lens, it is quite expensive compared to Japanese lenses with the same specs.
When using this lens with a 35mm full-frame sensor camera such as the Leica SL, the sensor recording range is automatically cropped, and it is not possible to shoot using the entire sensor.
The lens is made in Japan, and I have heard that it is designed and manufactured by KM, a company that has withdrawn from the consumer camera market, based on the status of patent applications.
Anonymous commented that KM was not involved in the design, so I looked into it again and found that according to the article “Leica 23mm f/2 ASPH lens patent” on Licca lumors, there is a patent number: 2015-191237 that is thought to be a patent for LEICA X and this lens, and the patent information can be viewed on the patent information platform. It seems that direct links to patent information are not permitted, so you can view the information by searching for the patent number “2015-191237” on the above site. According to the information, the applicant is Leica AG and the inventor is KARBE PETER.
- [Applicant] LEICA CAMERA AG
- [Inventor] KARBE PETER
If the lens in this patent is the Summicron 23mm, then the original hearsay information is incorrect, so we apologize and would like to correct it.
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 | SUMMICORN | 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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