Leica Is Working On A New Prime Lens

credits: Leica

Leica has confirmed that a 135mm APO prime lens is currently in development for L-Mount. The news came straight from Peter Karbe, Leica’s head of optical design, during an interview where he was asked about the possibility of a more compact telephoto option for the SL system. Karbe didn’t hedge, he simply stated, “We’re already working on it,” when asked about an APO-Elmarit-SL 135mm lens.

Right now, Leica’s longest SL prime stops at 90mm. Beyond that, users have to rely on the 70-200mm f/2.8 zoom, which is excellent optically but hefty in size and weight. A 135mm APO prime would give L-Mount shooters a more focused tool for portraits, compression-heavy landscapes, or tighter framing without stepping into zoom territory. Given the “APO” designation, it’s safe to expect top-tier correction of chromatic aberrations and edge-to-edge sharpness.

The SL system currently includes 17 lenses and two teleconverters, but many are collaborations or share DNA with Sigma and Panasonic glass via the L-Mount Alliance. This rumored 135mm, however, appears to be an in-house Leica build, likely to match the look and optical feel of their other APO primes like the 75mm and 90mm Summicron-SLs. Once released, it would fill a long-standing gap in the native SL lineup and offer an alternative to third-party options like Sigma’s 135mm f/1.8 Art. No release timeline has been announced yet however.