Leica 28mm f/1.4 Summilux-M ASPH in the field
Get Leica 28mm f/1.4 Summilux-M ASPH at B&H Photo.
See my review of the Leica 28mm f/1.4 Summilux-M ASPH.
I’ve been field shooting the Leica 28mm f/1.4 Summilux-M ASPH. It’s an enjoyable lens, and I'd like to trade up from my 28mm f/2 and 28mm f/2.8 M lenses for sale. Then again, Leica has an all-new system coming October 16 or so. Still, it seems unlikely that the M line would end, and it remains a fine system for compact high quality lenses in the field.
An M-shooter ought to be lusting over the Leica 28/1.4—it avoids some of the naughty behavioral issues with the 28/2 Summicron-M ASPH, and when the hood is mounted, actually seems smaller than its 28/2 sibling. I deem it the best Summilux yet, and perhaps the last of the line. It is well suited for pairing with the Zeiss ZM 35mm f/1.4 Distagon and the 50/2 APO.
The main issue in the field is not the lens, but the toy-grade EVF that Leica continues to foist on its loyal users. It is about time (well over two years) for Leica to reward buyers of its overpriced M system with a much improved EVF (high-res and better image quality), even if the refresh rate has to be only 15 fps or so (slow CPU in the M240 is one issue with high res). Its really quite pathetic compared to the Sony EVF. A luxury brand loses its luster over time by such dreck—when function is grossly inferior even a red dot won’t stop the cognitive dissonance.