In April 2014, Leica introduced the Leica T as its first mirrorless interchangeable lens camera with an APS-C sensor and a new lens mount, known today as the L-mount. The current camera models include the Leica CL and TL2.
This page provides an overview of the still rather limited catalog of L-mount APS-C lenses. These are mostly autofocus lenses, but selected manual focus lenses may also be included. Manual focus lenses are marked by an asterisk (*), purely mechanical lenses with no digital coupling to the camera by a double asterisk (**). L-mount lenses with a larger full-frame image circle can also be used on these cameras.
For every lens, the following major characteristics are given:
- Focal length.
- Maximum aperture. It has a strong influence on the lighting conditions under which the lens can be used, and how shallow the depth of field can be. Fast lenses also tend to be much bigger, heavier, and more expensive. Green labels indicate fast lenses (> f/2), red labels indicate slow lenses (< f/4).
- Filter size. It serves as a representative of the length, diameter and weight of the lens, which are important features for a system which was designed to be compact and portable. Green labels indicate compact lenses (filter size < 60 mm), red labels indicate big lenses (> 70 mm).
- Minimum focus distance (MFD). It has a major influence on the magnification that can be achieved, as well as the depth of field.
- Another important point is of course the price, but it is different in every market and currency. Instead, plenty of links to independent reviews are provided to help you find the best lens for your needs.
1 Prime lenses
Lenses with a fixed focal length.
1.1 Fisheye lenses
Ultra wide angle lenses with purposeful strong distortions.
| Lens | Filter ⌀ | MFD | Reviews |
1.2 Wide angle lenses
| Lens | Filter ⌀ | MFD | Reviews | ||||
| Sigma | Contemporary | 16 mm | 1.4 | DC DN | 67 mm | 0.25 m | |
| Leica | Elmarit-TL | 18 mm | 2.8 | 39 mm | 0.30 m | ||
| Sigma | Contemporary | 23 mm | 1.4 | DC DN | 52 mm | 0.25 m | |
| Leica | Summicron-TL | 23 mm | 2 | 52 mm | 0.35 m |
1.3 Standard lenses
Lenses with a focal length similar to the image sensor diagonal of 28 mm. Images created with these lenses are generally perceived as looking natural.
| Lens | Filter ⌀ | MFD | Reviews | ||||
| Sigma | Contemporary | 30 mm | 1.4 | DC DN | 52 mm | 0.30 m | |
| Leica | Summilux-TL | 35 mm | 1.4 | 60 mm | 0.40 m |
1.4 Telephoto lenses
| Lens | Filter ⌀ | MFD | Reviews | ||||
| Sigma | Contemporary | 56 mm | 1.4 | DC DN | 55 mm | 0.50 m |
1.5 Macro lenses
Lenses with a small minimum focus distance and a high magnification.
| Lens | Filter ⌀ | MFD | Reviews | ||||
| Leica | APO-Macro-Elmarit-TL | 60 mm | 2.8 | 60 mm | 0.16 m |
2 Zoom lenses
Lenses with a variable focal length.
2.1 Wide angle zoom lenses
| Lens | Filter ⌀ | MFD | Reviews | ||||
| Leica | Super-Vario-Elmar-TL | 11-23 mm | 3.5-4.5 | 67 mm | 0.20 m |
2.2 Standard zoom lenses
Zoom range from moderate wide angle to moderate telephoto.
| Lens | Filter ⌀ | MFD | Reviews | ||||
| Sigma | Contemporary | 10-18 mm | 2.8 | DC DN | 67 mm | 0.19 m | |
| Sigma | Contemporary | 18-50 mm | 2.8 | DC DN | 55 mm | 0.12-0.30 m | |
| Leica | Vario-Elmar-TL | 18-56 mm | 3.5-5.6 | 52 mm | 0.30-0.45 m |
2.3 Superzoom lenses
Like standard zooms, but with an approximately 10x zoom range.
| Lens | Filter ⌀ | MFD | Reviews |
2.4 Telephoto zoom lenses
| Lens | Filter ⌀ | MFD | Reviews | ||||
| Leica | APO-Vario-Elmar-TL | 55-135 mm | 3.5-4.5 | 60 mm | 1.00 m |
3 Teleconverters
Teleconverters extend the focal length of matching telephoto lenses by a certain factor.
| Lens | Filter ⌀ | MFD | Reviews |
References
The linked reviews are by Amateur Photographer (AP), CameraLabs (CL), DPReview (DP), LensTip (LT), OpticalLimits (OL), The Phoblographer (TP), and others. LensTip and OpticalLimits focus on laboratory testing, the others on real-world photography.