Best Lenses for Leica CL, T, TL and TL2 Cameras

In April 2014, Leica introduced the Leica T as its first mirrorless interchangeable lens camera with an APS-C sensor and a new lens mount, known today as the L-mount. The current camera models include the Leica CL and TL2.

This page provides an overview of the still rather limited catalog of L-mount APS-C lenses. These are mostly autofocus lenses, but selected manual focus lenses may also be included. Manual focus lenses are marked by an asterisk (*), purely mechanical lenses with no digital coupling to the camera by a double asterisk (**). L-mount lenses with a larger full-frame image circle can also be used on these cameras.

For every lens, the following major characteristics are given:

  • Focal length.
  • Maximum aperture. It has a strong influence on the lighting conditions under which the lens can be used, and how shallow the depth of field can be. Fast lenses also tend to be much bigger, heavier, and 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, which are important features for a system which was designed to be compact and portable. 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 important point is of course the price, but it is different in every market and currency. Instead, plenty of links to independent reviews are provided to help you 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         Filter ⌀ MFD Reviews

1.2 Wide angle lenses

Lens         Filter ⌀ MFD Reviews
Sigma Contem­porary 16 mm 1.4 DC DN 67 mm 0.25 m  
Leica Elmarit-TL 18 mm 2.8   39 mm 0.30 m  
Sigma Contem­porary 23 mm 1.4 DC DN 52 mm 0.25 m  
Leica Summicron-TL 23 mm 2   52 mm 0.35 m  

1.3 Standard lenses

Lenses with a focal length similar to the image sensor diagonal of 28 mm. Images created with these lenses are generally perceived as looking natural.

Lens         Filter ⌀ MFD Reviews
Sigma Contem­porary 30 mm 1.4 DC DN 52 mm 0.30 m  
Leica Summilux-TL 35 mm 1.4   60 mm 0.40 m  

1.4 Telephoto lenses

Lens         Filter ⌀ MFD Reviews
Sigma Contem­porary 56 mm 1.4 DC DN 55 mm 0.50 m  

1.5 Macro lenses

Lenses with a small minimum focus distance and a high magnification.

Lens         Filter ⌀ MFD Reviews
Leica APO-Macro-Elmarit-TL 60 mm 2.8   60 mm 0.16 m  

2 Zoom lenses

Lenses with a variable focal length.

2.1 Wide angle zoom lenses

Lens         Filter ⌀ MFD Reviews
Leica Super-Vario-Elmar-TL 11-23 mm 3.5-4.5   67 mm 0.20 m  

2.2 Standard zoom lenses

Zoom range from moderate wide angle to moderate telephoto.

Lens         Filter ⌀ MFD Reviews
Sigma Contemporary 10-18 mm 2.8 DC DN 67 mm 0.19 m  
Sigma Contem­porary 18-50 mm 2.8 DC DN 55 mm 0.12-0.30 m  
Leica Vario-Elmar-TL 18-56 mm 3.5-5.6   52 mm 0.30-0.45 m  

2.3 Superzoom lenses

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

Lens         Filter ⌀ MFD Reviews

2.4 Telephoto zoom lenses

Lens         Filter ⌀ MFD Reviews
Leica APO-Vario-Elmar-TL 55-135 mm 3.5-4.5   60 mm 1.00 m  

3 Teleconverters

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

Lens         Filter ⌀ MFD Reviews

References

The linked reviews are by Amateur Photographer (AP), CameraLabs (CL), DPReview (DP), LensTip (LT), OpticalLimits (OL), The Phoblographer (TP), and others. LensTip and OpticalLimits focus on laboratory testing, the others on real-world photography.