Best L-Mount Lenses for Leica SL, Lumix S and Sigma fp Cameras

In October 2015, Leica introduced the professional Leica SL as its first mirrorless interchangeable lens camera with an L-mount and a full-frame sensor. The L-mount was so far limited to Leica products, but things took a surprising turn in September 2018 when Leica, Panasonic and Sigma announced the L-Mount Alliance. It allows  all three partners to use the L-mount for their cameras and lenses. The Panasonic Lumix S1 and the high-resolution S1R cameras were introduced in February 2019, followed by the 6K video-centric Lumix S1H in May 2019, the compact Sigma fp in July 2019, the high-resolution Leica SL2 in November 2019, and the entry-level Lumix S5 in September 2020.

This page provides an overview of the growing catalog of L-mount full-frame lenses. These are mostly autofocus lenses, but selected manual focus lenses may also be included. L-mount APS-C lenses for cameras with smaller sensors are listed separately.

For every lens, the following major characteristics are given:

  • Focal length.
  • Maximum aperture. It has a strong influence on the light conditions in which the lens can be used, and how shallow the depth of field can be. Fast lenses also tend to be much 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. 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 interesting point is of course the price, but it is different in every market and currency. Instead, links to independent reviews are given which will help you to 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   focal length max aper­ture filter size MFD rvws
    mm   mm m  

1.2 Wide angle lenses

lens   focal length max aper­ture filter size MFD rvws
    mm   mm m  
Sigma DG HSM | Art 14 1.8 n/a 0.27  
Sigma DG HSM | Art 20 1.4 n/a 0.28  
Sigma DG HSM | Art 24 1.4 77 0.25  
Panasonic Lumix S 24 1.8      
Sigma DG HSM | Art 28 1.4 77 0.28  
Sigma DG DN | Art 35 1.2 82 0.30  
Sigma DG HSM | Art 35 1.4 67 0.30  
Panasonic Lumix S 35 1.8      
Leica APO-Summicron-SL 35 2 67 0.27  

1.3 Standard lenses

Lenses with a focal length similar to the image sensor diagonal of 43 mm. The images created with these lenses are perceived as “natural” by a human observer.

lens   focal length max aper­ture filter size MFD rvws
    mm   mm m  
Sigma DG HSM | Art 40 1.4 82 0.40  
Sigma DG DN | Contem­porary 45 2.8 55 0.24  
Leica Summilux-SL 50 1.4 82 0.60  
Panasonic Lumix S Pro 50 1.4 77 0.44 CL
Sigma DG HSM | Art 50 1.4 77 0.40  
Panasonic Lumix S 50 1.8      
Leica APO-Summicron-SL 50 2 67 0.35  

1.4 Telephoto lenses

lens   focal length max aper­ture filter size MFD rvws
    mm   mm m  
Leica APO-Summicron-SL 75 2 67 0.50  
Sigma DG DN | Art 85 1.4 77 0.85  
Panasonic Lumix S 85 1.8      
Leica APO-Summicron-SL 90 2 67 0.60  
Sigma DG HSM | Art 105 1.4 105 1.00  
Sigma DG HSM | Art 135 1.8 82 0.88  

1.5 Macro lenses

Lenses with a high magnification.

lens   focal length max aper­ture filter size MFD rvws
    mm   mm m  
Sigma DG Macro | Art 70 2.8 49 0.26  

2 Zoom lenses

Lenses with a variable focal length.

2.1 Wide angle zoom lenses

lens   focal length max aper­ture filter size MFD rvws
    mm   mm m  
Sigma DG DN | Art 14-24 2.8 n/a 0.28 CL
Leica Super-Vario-Elmar-SL 16-35 3.5-4.5 82 0.25  
Panasonic Lumix S Pro 16-35 4 77 0.25  

2.2 Standard zoom lenses

Zoom range from moderate wide angle to moderate telephoto.

lens   focal length max aper­ture filter size MFD rvws
    mm   mm m  
Panasonic Lumix S 20-60 3.5-5.6 67 0.15 CL
Panasonic Lumix S Pro 24-70 2.8 82 0.37  
Sigma DG DN | Art 24-70 2.8 82 0.18  
Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-90 2.8-4 82 0.30-0.45  
Panasonic Lumix S 24-105 4 77 0.30  

2.3 Superzoom lenses

Like standard zooms, but with an approximately 10x zoom range.

lens   focal length max aper­ture filter size MFD rvws
    mm   mm m  

2.4 Telephoto zoom lenses

lens   focal length max aper­ture filter size MFD rvws
    mm   mm m  
Panasonic Lumix S Pro 70-200 2.8 82 0.95  
Panasonic Lumix S Pro 70-200 4 77 0.92 CL
Leica APO-Vario-Elmarit-SL 90-280 2.8-4 82 0.60-1.40  
Sigma DG DN | Contem­porary 100-400 5-6.3 67 1.12-1.60  

3 Teleconverters

Teleconverters extend the focal length of matching telephoto lenses by a certain factor.

lens   focal length max aper­ture filter size MFD rvws
Panasonic Lumix STC14 1.4x n/a n/a n/a  
Panasonic Lumix STC20 2x n/a n/a n/a  
Sigma TC-1411 1.4x n/a n/a n/a  
Sigma TC-2011 2x n/a n/a n/a  

Additional designations such as ASPH, OIS and OS are omitted.

*Manual focus lens with digital coupling between lens and camera.

**Manual focus lens without digital coupling between lens and camera.

References

The linked reviews are by CameraLabs (CL), LensTip (LT), MirrorLessons (ML) and OpticalLimits (OL). LT and OL focus on laboratory testing, CL and ML on real world photography. Links in brackets refer to tests of earlier models.