First Look: The Leica 100mm f/2.8 APO-Macro-Elmarit-SL
- Catalog
- 11125
- Max Aperture
- f/2.8
- Min Focus
- 0.3m
- Focal Length
- 100mm
Since the inception of the Leica SL system back in 2015, many of us have been waiting for the announcement of a dedicated macro lens built for it. In the meantime, we’ve been more than happy working with the 100mm APO-Macro-Elmarit-R, the Panasonic 100mm f/2.8 Macro, and the Leica 60mm APO-Macro-Elmarit-TL. These are all fantastic lenses and great options on the SL, but none of them were designed from the ground up for the system and truly optimized for it. So it’s with a lot of excitement that we can share the news: Leica is producing the 100mm f/2.8 APO-Macro-Elmarit-SL. Fittingly, it’s a homage to the original 100mm f/2.8 APO-Macro-Elmarit-R from 1987, a lens that earned a near-legendary reputation among Leica R suers and later M and SL users, now reborn and engineered for the modern SL system.
We do quite a bit of macro work here at Camera West and the CW Watch Shop: all the close-up shots of watches for product photography on our websites, plus a lot of the detail work that goes into these blog posts and our social content. For most of that we’ve leaned on the two lenses I mentioned above, the 100mm APO-Macro-Elmarit-R and the Panasonic 100mm f/2.8. Both are still excellent, but a dedicated SL macro lens means a more unified shooting experience and, just as importantly, a lens engineered to perform at its absolute best on the SL camera capabilities.
I had the chance to get hands-on with the 100mm APO-Macro-Elmarit-SL in Wetzlar shortly before its launch, and we got to put it through its paces. Lucky for us, Sean had brought along his Leica ZM 1 Urban Green Edition watch, so we were able to do some product photography with it right there in the Leica museum. I’ll say it up front: this is going to be one of my new favorites for the SL system.
The lens was a joy to use, and a lot of us found ourselves reaching for it well beyond just macro work. The optics Leica has produced here are simply a pleasure: clinical, sharp, and tactile. The close focus is, of course, fantastic, and there’s a focus limiter with three positions to help speed up autofocus:
- 0.3 to 0.5 m for close-up, 1:1 work
- 0.5 m to infinity
- the full focusing range
By limiting the range, you let the lens and the autofocus system in the new Leica SL3-P lock on faster and more accurately. This is pretty standard on macro lenses, so it’s good to see it on Leica’s offering.
The lens is fully internally focused, so the front element doesn’t extend as you focus. It stays put and keeps dust and debris out of the lens and off the sensor while you work. The 100mm APO-Macro-Elmarit-SL isn’t fully weather-sealed like some of the other SL lenses out there, but it has enough sealing to handle light mist, which we certainly put to the test photographing in Wetzlar.
It also makes a great portrait lens, so it can pull double duty across the macro and portrait ends of the spectrum, making it more than just a specialty piece in your kit. I can easily see it taking the place of one of the longer APO-Summicron lenses in your bag if you’re after something on the telephoto end of the portrait range with excellent reproduction qualities.
Up close is where this lens really shines. We’re getting true 1:1 reproduction, and it is incredibly sharp, with all the detail you could possibly want in a close-up. Being a macro, it’s not the fastest-focusing lens out there, but it focused quite well for what it is. You can see it in some of the shots below of the ZM 1 Urban Green: the detail pops off the dial, and the micro-contrast on the caseback is fantastic. You can make out the intricacies of the movement and everything going on back there. If anything, it’s almost too sharp: you can tell we didn’t clean the watch all that well, because this lens picks up on absolutely everything.
Overall, I’m really impressed with the 100mm f/2.8 APO-Macro-Elmarit-SL. It’s a great addition to the lineup and a sign of just how much the SL system has matured, with options now for a much broader range of photographers. It would perform beautifully on the new SL3-P, or any SL body for that matter. I’d love to put it head-to-head with the Panasonic 100mm f/2.8, still a fantastic option, though I suspect the optics in the Leica are going to be far a touch better in microcontrast and most likely better tuned to the Leica SL sensors. Either way, both are excellent choices for SL and L-Mount Alliance shooters who want a macro that can do a little more than just macro.
That said, this is a lens for the photographer who appreciates what Leica’s APO optics bring to the table: the micro-contrast, the precision, and the refinement you don’t always get from some of the competition out there. There are plenty of capable macro lenses on the L-Mount these days, but if rendering fine detail with that kind of fidelity is what you’re after, the 100mm APO-Macro-Elmarit-SL is where Leica’s optical pedigree really earns its keep.
We expect to have the 100mm f/2.8 APO-Macro-Elmarit-SL available later this year, and we’re taking pre-orders now. If you’d like to add one to your kit, reach out to us directly or visit camerawest.com or leicastoresf.com to reserve yours. This is just a first look. We’ll have a more in-depth article once we’ve spent more time with the lens, which we’re very much looking forward to doing.
Specs at a glance
- Focal length / aperture: 100mm f/2.8
- Optical design: Apochromatic corrected
- Reproduction ratio: 1:1
- Aperture blades: 9
- Minimum operating distance: 11.42 inches
- Focus limiter: Yes, for faster focusing on close subjects
- Coating: Aqua-Dura on external elements
- Autofocus: Fast and silent
- Weather sealing: Dust and splash water protection, full metal body
- Filter mount: E67
- Extender compatibility: 1.4x and 2.0x
- Weight: 28.25 ounces
- Made in: Japan
