Tuesday, June 2, 2026

A HIDDEN GEM IN THE LEICA LENS LINEUP


The 40mm Summicron-C f/2.0 on the Leica M9. © Thorsten Overgaard.
The 40mm Summicron-C f/2.0 on the Leica M9. 
© Thorsten Overgaard.
                       
Leica 40mm Summicron-C f/2.0

By: Thorsten Overgaard

Between 1973 and 1979, Leica Camera AG produced 54,000 lenses of the Leica 40mm Summicron-C f/2.0 (order no 11542), made for the Leica CL (also known as the "Leica Mini M") film camera they developed with Minolta. It's lens it's easy to get around, and it's not expensive.

Los Angeles. Leica M10 with 40mm Summicron-C f/2.0. © Thorsten Overgaard.  
 Los Angeles. Leica M10 with 40mm Summicron-C f/2.0. 
© Thorsten Overgaard.

The Minolta CLE and the Leica CL were sister cameras in an age where Leica tried to catch up with the Japanese camera producers of the so popular SLR cameras. The idea was to work with Minolta. A lot of Minolta staff went to Leica in Wetzlar to learn the German way of engineering and assembling, which obviously took quite some resources.

The Leica CL 35mm film camera was made as Leica CL and Minolta CLE and shared technology. It also introduced three CL lenses together with it, as a compact and economical alternative to the Leica M camera. See more on the original Leica CL here. 
 The Leica CL 35mm film camera was made as Leica CL and Minolta CLE and shared technology. It also introduced three CL lenses together with it, as a compact and economical alternative to the Leica M camera.

Despite the success of the Leica CL and the Minolta CLE, the innovative cameras didn't save Leica. In early 1980's the Leitz family had to sell the Leica company. But that's another story for another day.

What we are left with is the hidden gem of the Leica lens lineup, the Leica 40mm Summicron-M f/2.0 that sells second-hand on eBay and elsewhere for around $350 - $600.

Joy Villa for 90th Oscars. Leica M10 with Leica 40mm Summicron-C f/2.0. © Thorsten Overgaard. 
 Joy Villa for 90th Oscars. Leica M10 with Leica 40mm Summicron-C f/2.0. 
© Thorsten Overgaard.

Should I buy the 40mm Summicron-C..?

If you are looking for something to tweak things a bit, the 40mm Summicron-M f/2.0 offers the usual high lens quality, the look of the 1970's and a very compact lens. So if you lust for something different, this is the one to throw your love at. It fits straight onto the Leica M.

 Leica M9 with Leica 40mm Summicron-C f/2.0. © Thorsten Overgaard.
Leica M9 with Leica 40mm Summicron-C f/2.0. 
© Thorsten Overgaard.

Imagine the framelines

As the Leica M only have 35mm framelines and 50mm framelines, and never had 40mm framelines you have to imagine or approximate where the frame is. If you use an EVF (electronic viewfinder), you see the frame exactly..

 Raven and David Campbebll. Leica M9 with Leica 40mm Summicron-C f/2.0. © Thorsten Overgaard.
Raven and David Campbebll. Leica M9 with Leica 40mm Summicron-C f/2.0. 
© Thorsten Overgaard.

The look of the 1970's

The Leica 40mm Summicron-C f/2.0 is pretty detailed and with very good control of light, colors and contrast. What you see, compared with for example the current Leica 35mm Summilux-M f/1.4 FLE (which is a $5,500 lens), is that newer Leica designs tend to be able to pick up more details in the shades.

For me, the Leica 40mm Summicron-M f/2.0 represents a somewhat 'film look' because it doesn't have the crisp high-contrast details as modern lenses have.

 
Leica M10 with Leica 40mm Summicron-C f/2.0. 
© Thorsten Overgaard.

Close focus

A feature of the Leica 40mm Summicron-C is that you can close focus as near as 80 cm. If you pick a long background with some sparkling light, you will get some nice sparkles.

Leica M10 with Leica 40mm Summicron-C f/2.0. © Thorsten Overgaard.  
Leica M10 with Leica 40mm Summicron-C f/2.0. 
© Thorsten Overgaard. 

Compact lens

With just 120g and a length of 23mm (1 inch), this is as compact as it gets for street photography and travel.

Designers

Optical designers of the 40mm Summicron-C is Georg Knetsch, Hermann Desch (also 21mm and 28mm Elmarit), Heinz Marquardt (also 60mm Macro-Elmarit-F, 28mm Elmarit-M and 50mm Summilux-R), and Walter Watz (also 35mm Summilux-M and 35mm Summilux-M Aspherical AA).

 
Leica M10 with Leica 40mm Summicron-C f/2.0. 
© Thorsten Overgaard.

Leica M9 with Leica 40mm Summicron-C f/2.0. 
© Thorsten Overgaard.

Lens shade

           
The original rubber hood (order no 12.518)
             
The Leica 50mm Summicron-M f/2.0 comes with an original rubber hood (order no 12.518), which was a popular hood back in the 1980's. The original rubber hood is not worth pursuing as the rubber will be pretty old looking. I prefer mine to look a little more sophisticated, so I fitted the E39 Ventilated Shade that I designed myself for Leica lenses.

Leica 40mm Summicron-C f/2.0 with the E39 Ventilated Shade designed by Thorsten Overgaard.
Leica 40mm Summicron-C f/2.0 with the E39 Ventilated Shade designed by Thorsten Overgaard.  



Thorsten von Overgaard is an award- winning Danish writer and photographer, specializing in portrait photography and documentary photography, known for writings about photography and as an educator.  
Thorsten von Overgaard is an award- winning Danish writer and photographer, specializing in portrait photography and documentary photography, known for writings about photography and as an educator.

For more information go here


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Sunday, May 31, 2026

WHAT’S IN MY CAMERA BAG AND WHY




By Heinz Richter

A while ago I published a brief article showing what Leica equipment I own and use.  I constantly get asked what camera and lenses I have and why I chose them.  So I decided to be more specific. Please keep in mind this is not meant to influence anyone to invest in certain equipment, it is simply an explanation of what I own and why.

My first digital Leica was a Leica Digilux 2.  I bought it because it had a performance level at that time that was able to do a lot of the work that previously I had done with film.  Of course things have progressed substantially and I now shoot with a Leica M240.

I am fully aware of the advantages of the Leica M10 and M11, but they are not at a level of importance to cause me to change.  The M240 is serving me well and will do so for some time to come.

For instance, the larger size of the M240 does not bother me at all.  As a matter of fact, for some time in the past I used a Zeiss Contarex.  The M240 is rather diminutive in comparison.

At times the higher ISO capabilities of the M10/M11 would be nice to have, but I hardly ever use or publish any photographs that have not been improved by post processing.  That includes the higher noise levels of the M240 at high ISO settings.  Subsequently, the higher ISO capabilities of the M10/M11 are not overly important to me.  The M10 or M11 don’t offer enough of an advantage for me to warrant the expense of switching.


The obvious advantage of a camera with interchangeable lenses lies in the fact that, based on the work one does, it is possible to choose a lens that's best for the job at hand.  In general, that includes the so-called normal lenses which give a field of view closest to the human eye.  For full frame (as well as 35mm cameras) that is the 50mm focal length.  From there, anything with a shorter focal length is considered a wide angle lens and anything longer is a telephoto lens.

The core of my lenses are a 28mm f/2.8 Elmarit, a 50mm f/2 Summicron and a 90mm f/2.8 Elmarit.  They are excellent performers and have not given me any cause to change them.  Would it be nice to have faster versions of these lenses?  From time to time yes!  The extra depth of field control and bokeh of a 90mm f/2 or 50mm f/1.4 would come in handy from time to time, even more so with the the 50mm f/.95 Noctilux.  But not to the extend to cover the extra cost.

Leica Elmarit 28mm f/2.8, ISO 1000, f/11, 1/90 sec handheld

Extreme crop from the original file

Leica Elmarit 28mm f/2.8, ISO 400, 1/45 sec, f/11

Leica Summicron 50mm f/2, ISO 640, 1/1500 sec, f/11

Leica Summicron 50mm f/2, ISO 2000, 1/30 sec, f/2

Cropped image of the same file

I mentioned already that the limited high ISO capabilities of the M240, when compared to the M10 and the M11 must be considered a handicap. However, with noise reduction it is possible to use the M240 with ISO 4000 and even 6400 and obtain acceptablwe reults. Just don't expect these settings to render anything useable without post production work.

Leica M240, 28mm f/2.8 Elmarit, 1/60 sec, f/4,ISO 4000

Leica M240, 28mm f/2.8 Elmarit, ISO 6400, 1/30 sec, f/2.8, 50% Crop

Leica Elmarit 90mm f/2.8, ISO 160, 1/180 sec, f/11, Studio Strobe

Leica Elmarit 90mm f/2.8, ISO 800, 1/90 sec, f/8

I have been asked if a 35mm wouldn’t be worthwhile to have.  I admit that I have often thought of adding that focal length.  But the 28mm Elmarit performs so well that I have no problem cropping a file from the 28mm to obtain a narrower field of view, including that of a 35mm.   I rarely, if ever, make real big enlargements; this allows me to use cropping with all of my lenses as a tool to overcome one or more missing focal lengths.  As a matter of fact, cropping has allowed me in many instances to overcome the fact that for a rangefinder camera like the M240, zoom lenses are unfortunately not available.

Voigtländer 15mm f/3.8, ISO 1250, f/4.5, 1/60 sec, f/3.8

Voigtländer Super Wide Heliar 15mm f/4.5, ISO 320, 1/1000 sec, f/8, raw file

Voigtländer Super Wide Heliar 15mm f/4.5, ISO 160, 1/250 sec, f/11

Extreme cropping reveals the limitations of the Voigtländer 15mm Heliar

At the far end of the lenses I have are a 15mm f/4.5 Voigtländer Super Wide Heliar and a 135mm f/2.8 Elmarit.  I bought the Voigtländer because occasionally I run into situations where the 28mm is not quite wide enough.  But these occasions are rather rare and thus did not warrant the expense of a Leica lens.  The 135mm Elmarit on the other hand is a lens that I do use fairly often.  Much of my work is portraits or portrait related.  A lot of people that are not used to being in front of a camera on a regular basis are often quite apprehensive.  For closer shots, like head shots, I found it to be quite advantageous to use the 135mm instead of the 90 or even more so the 50 because I can work at a greater distance which can put the person in front of the camera more at ease.

Leica Elmarit 135mm f/2.8, ISO 800, 1/30 sec f/2.8, handheld

Leica Elmarit 90mm f/2.8, ISO 200, 1/180 sec, f/8, 100% crop

On and off I do some wildlife and close-up work.  Some time ago I picked up a Nikon 55mm Macro Nikkor and a 105mm Micro Nikkor.  They sat around until I got the M240.  With the electronic viewfinder and a Nikon to Leica M adapter I have two rather well working macro lenses that serve me well. 

Photographed with Micro Nikkor 55mm f/3.5, ISO 2000, 1/125 sec, f/11

Micro Nikkor 105mm f/4, ISO 160, 1/180 sec, f/11, studio strobe

Leica M240 with Novoflex 200mm f/3.8

Leica M240 with Novoflex 400mm f/5.6

For long lens work I use a Novoflex 200mm f/3.8 and a 400mm f/5.6.  I was able to pick both of them up for next to nothing and I have found that they are equal or at least very close in performance to equivalent Leica lenses.  Especially the 200mm has an amazing performance potential.  That seems to be partially due to the fact that both lenses are of the same design as the former 400 and 800mm Telyt lenses from Leica.  Another reason was the ease of focusing of the Novoflex Follow Focus lenses.  Unlike any other lens, they use a spring loaded pistol grip for focusing.  Releasing the grip will set the lens to its minimum focusing distance.  Squeezing the grip will focus to infinity.  Once used to it, this has proven to be very fast.

Novoflex 200mm f/3.8, ISO 800, 1/350 sec, f/8, handheld

Slightly cropped

Cropped detail of the same file

Cropped detail of the same file

Novoflex 400mm f/5.6, ISO 160, 1/250 sec, f/11

Novoflex 400mm f/5.6, ISO 160, 1/250 sec, f/11, handheld from a row boat

Novoflex 400mm f/5.6, ISO 160, 1/30 sec f/5.6, handheld
Yes, it's a lucky shot

Would another camera system be something for me to consider?  I have toyed with the idea of a Leica SL.  But when I think back to the days when I used a Leica R3 and R4, I feel that just like then, sooner or later I would gravitate back to an M camera.  I started out many years ago with a Leica III.  I guess that ultimately made me a rangefinder shooter.  I may add another camera at some time in the future, but I will always have a Leica rangefinder system at my disposal.





For other articles on this blog please click on Blog Archive in the column to the right

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_______________________________________________________________________

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