Leica’s New Summicron-M 66mm f/2 Lens

credits: Leica

Leica has announced the Summicron-M 66mm f/2, a modern reinterpretation of the Elcan 66mm f/2, a lens designed by Dr. Walter Mandler at Ernst Leitz Canada in the late 1960s for the U.S. Navy. Only around 200 originals were produced, and they were built for covert reconnaissance work where getting as much fine detail as possible from a relatively small lens was the priority.

For the new version, Leica has kept the basic optics and mechanics of the original but updated it for modern production. The Summicron-M 66mm f/2 uses six elements in five groups, with a nine-blade diaphragm and an aperture range from f/2 to f/16. It measures roughly 60.1mm long and 60mm wide and weighs 456g. There are also a couple of deliberately unusual details carried over from the military lens, the aperture ring turns in the opposite direction to normal Leica M lenses, and the distance scale follows the original military-style arrangement. Leica says the lens combines relatively soft bokeh with high contrast at f/2, while stopping down brings out its highest sharpness and finest detail.

This is not going to be a normal production Summicron either. Leica is making just 660 individually numbered copies, with each lens engraved on the front ring with its serial number, the B1047 optical calculation number, and Leica’s 12-digit internal material number. There is also a slightly odd-looking “60” engraving on the side. This does not refer to a 60mm focal length, it follows the old precision-lens convention and indicates that the individual lens measures exactly 66.0mm. The original Elcan used similar markings, including its calculation and U.S. Navy order numbers. The Leica Summicron-M 66mm f/2 is priced at a pretty hefty $10,900.