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A Complete List of Leica S Medium Format Lenses and Their Specifications

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The Leica S system is not all that well known compared to its smaller M system brother, or even the SL system, which you might call the middle sibling. The S system is based around a 30mm x 45mm CMOS which makes it considerably larger than a full-frame (56% larger area) and well into the territory known as “medium format”.

Yes, I know purists will argue about that because it’s technically smaller than “full-frame medium format”, but it’s still roughly the same size as the 44mm x 32.9mm sensors in the Fuji GFX cameras and the Hasselblad X1D series of cameras which people routinely refer to as medium format.

Since the original Leica S was launched way back in 2009, you can thank Leica for essentially inventing this slightly less-than-real-medium-format market segment that includes Fujifilm GFX and Hasselblad. Effectively the Leica S system uses a 3:2 ratio sensor, while the other two manufacturers have opted for a 4:3 ratio sensor.

The original Leica S2 with a 37.5MP 30mm x 45mm CCD sensor was introduced in 2009, followed by the Leica S (Type 006) in 2012 and then the slightly updated Leica S (Type 007), which moved to a 37.5MP CMOS sensor in 2014. That was followed by the Leica S3 with a 64mp CMOS sensor that was initially previewed in 2018 but rescheduled and launched in March 2020 for the hefty price of $19,000!

If you are unfamiliar with the nomenclature that Leica uses to describe their lenses, I recommend you read our previous post entitled Leica Lens Terminology and Abbreviations.

Leica S Lens Specifications

By default, lenses in the table are sorted by their widest focal length, placing wide-angle lenses at the top and super-telephoto lenses at the bottom.

  • Use the horizontal scroll bar below the table to reveal more specifications.
  • Mobile users can press the + button to expand lens details.

CS Leaf Shutter Versions

Leica’s S lenses are available in standard and CS versions. CS versions of the lenses feature a central leaf shutter which allows them to sync with flashes at up to 1/500th of a second. The CS versions of the S lenses are slightly heavier than the standard versions. In the specification table above, I have included the weight of the standard version. Expect the leaf shutter version of these lenses to be about 0.4lbs heavier and $1000-$2000 more expensive.

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Professional photographer based in Yukon, Canada, and founder of Shutter Muse. His editorial work has been featured in publications all over the world, and his commercial clients include brands such as Nike, Apple, Adobe and Red Bull.

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