While the nifty fifty gets all the attention, a 90mm prime brings that bokeh in closer. The Leica M-mount system doesn’t have any shortage of 90mm options. The Leica Summicron M 90mm f2 is brighter than the company’s Macro f4, yet less than half the price of the Summilux M 90mm f1.5 ASPH. It brings a classic Leica look to a longer prime with still excellent bokeh and a durable, yet compact build.

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So where does the Leica Summicron M 90mm f2 stand in the M mount system? I shot portraits with both the 90mm f2 and the Macro 90mm f4 to see how these two telephoto primes compare. Both lenses are a treat — but there are a few differences for M mount shooters to weigh.

Table of Contents

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Leica Summicron M 90mm Pros and Cons

Pros

Cons

Gear Used

Innovations

Leica Summicron M 90mm Tech Specs

Ergonomics

Build Quality

Focus

Ease of Use

Image Quality

Bokeh

Sharpness

Lens Character

Color Rendering

Extra Image Samples

Edited

Unedited

Leica Summicron M 90mm f2 v.s. Leica Macro M 90mm f4

Conclusions

Likes

Dislikes

Too Long, Didn’t Read

The Leica Summicron M 90mm f2 creates a superb blend of sharpness and creamy bokeh. The colors and contrast are fantastic and lens flare also adds more character. It’s expensive and requires patience, but is capable of capturing some fantastic images.

Leica Summicron M 90mm Pros and Cons

Pros

Metal build

Built-in hood

Bright aperture

Lovely colors

Sharp subjects melt into great bokeh

Flare adds lots of character

Cons

Softer edges when wide open

Like all M mount lenses, there’s no weather-sealing, stabilization, or autofocus

Expensive

Gear Used

I used the Leica Summicron M 90mm f2 with the Leica M10R and a Leica 55 UVa II filter. Some of the sample images were also shot with a shoot-through reflector.

Innovations

The Summicron M 90mm f2 is Leica’s first M series lens with both apochromatic color correction and aspherical lens elements. It’s designed for high-resolution performance wide open.

Leica Summicron M 90mm Tech Specs

Lensrentals lists the following tech specs for the 90mm f2:

Angle of View27 degreesAperturef2-16AutofocusManual Focus OnlyBrandLeicaDiameter2.5″DimensionsLength: 3.1″Filter Size55.0mm (nonrotating)Filter StylenonrotatingFocal Length90.0-90.0Groups/Elements5/5Hood IncludedNoImage StabilizationNoItem TypeLensLens TypeNormal RangeMax Aperture2.0Maximum Magnification.11xMinimum Aperture22.0Minimum Focusing Distance3.3feetMountLeica MWeight1.1 lb

Ergonomics

The Leica Summicron M 90mm f2 is surprisingly small. It’s a narrow lens that doesn’t widen from the size of the M-mount, taking 55mm filters at the front. The lens takes up just a three-inch narrow slot in a camera bag. In fact, I carried three Leica M lenses — the 90mm f2, the 90mm f4, and the 135mm — in a tiny fanny pack style pouch.

Despite the metal build, it doesn’t weigh a whole lot more than a pound. It’s still well-balanced and comfortable to carry around for long stretches on the M10R. I can feel that it’s a metal lens, but it’s not over the top. It’s about twice as heavy as the Leica Macro M 50mm f4.

Despite the narrower width, the front of the lens is taken up by mostly glass. There’s no plastic buffer around the front. Up next is a built-in metal hood that slides out from the body.

The aperture ring is a thin band, about the width of a lens filter. It’s textured everywhere except where the labeled numbers are and turns with a satisfying click.

The focus ring is wider, so it’s easier to tell the difference between the two without looking at them. The ring turns smooth. Like other M-mount lenses, the lens has the focal distance in both meters and feet and a depth of field scale. The lens is not internal focusing and the length changes slightly as you focus.

Build Quality

Leica’s lenses are one of my favorite optics to hold. The barrel is all metal, as is the built-in hood. It feels like it could take some ...