Mandler’s $350 Facsimile Leica 35mm f/2 Lens Is Finally Available Again
Chinese lens company Mandler’s debut lens, a faithfully recreated Leica Summicron 35mm f/2 prime, sold out almost instantly when the first shipment arrived in February. The company restocked its lenses over the weekend, and a few variants remain in stock at the time of writing.
As Leica Rumors reports, Mandler’s aluminum 35mm f/2 “7 Elements” lens returned to Mandler’s online store on April 26 in both its black and silver variants. While the black Leica M-Mount version has already sold out, the silver version is in stock. Further, the LTM lens is available in both black and silver right now.
There is also a chrome-plated brass version of the lens, which is available in both Leica M and LTM versions now.
The Mandler 35mm f/2 “7 Elements” lens was first revealed in May 2025, ushering in the promise of a Leica “look” and feel at a very much non-Leica price. The lens borrows heavily from Leica’s legendary Summicron 35mm f/2 lens released in the late 1970s, incorporating the same general optical design and overall look.
The company’s name itself borrows heavily from Leica’s heritage. Mandler is named after Dr. Walter Mandler (1922-2005), who designed more than 45 of Leica’s iconic lenses, including the Summicron 35mm f/2 version 4 lens with seven elements that Leica manufactured from 1979 through the late 1990s.
Mandler promises that its recreated lens, “a contemporary interpretation” of a classic, channels the aesthetics of Leica’s classic lens while still offering modern performance. The Chinese optics company says its double Gaussian lens and purple-gold coating deliver photos with rich color and good sharpness. Specifically, Mandler says the lens is “extremely sharp” in the center at f/2, with “dreamy swirling bokeh.” Stopped down a bit to f/4, the lens is sharper across the frame with less vignette, per Mandler.
It is not just these ambitious image-quality and stylistic promises that helped the Mandler 35mm f/2 “7 Elements” lens sell out almost immediately when it arrived in February; it’s the price. An actual Leica Summicron 35mm f/2 lens from the 1970s routinely sells for well over $3,000 in black and much more in chrome. Mandler’s 35mm f/2 lenses start at under $400, available in black or silver. The company makes some big claims surrounding performance, but at aggressive prices, photographers seem all too happy to take a chance on an upstart optics maker.
As of writing, the aluminum Leica M-Mount version is available only in silver for $378. The black LTM lens is $388, while the silver LTM version is $418. When in stock, the black Leica M lens is $348. The chrome-plated brass version of the Mandler 35mm f/2 “7 Elements” is available for Leica M cameras for $538, while the LTM version is $578. All available lenses can be preordered now on Mandler’s online store.
Image credits: Mandler
