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# Focusing with the Summaron 28mm f/5.6
- URL: https://journey.davidknoble.life/focusing-with-the-summaron-28mm-f-5-6/
- Published: 2026-09-29T13:30:16.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-07T10:45:16.000Z
- Description: Focusing with the Summaron 28mm at high f/stops is not as hard as it might seem. Here's how I fared with one of my favorite lenses.
- Author: David Knoble
- Tags: 3. Field Notes

Focusing with mid-to-high f/stops is arguably the most different with the Leica EV1 compared to any rangefinder Leica M, either film or digital! Breaking through that challenge will open up all kinds of photography with the Leica EV1 that others are shying away from. 

One of my favorite lenses is the Leica remake of the Summaron 28m f/5.6\. That lens has a charm about it especially when shot into direct sunlight. In my opinion the colors produced by the Summaron are just beautiful. The lens is not clinically color accurate and the corners stay soft even at high f/stops. That is the nature of an older lens. But the character is what I like and the way it draws, not to mention it is a great travel lens because of how small it is.

![a silver 28mm Leica lens on a white background](https://storage.ghost.io/c/28/88/28888718-3151-40e0-92e4-bf1a38db79a2/content/images/2026/09/Leica-Summaron-M-28mm_f5.6_silver_front-1.jpg)

Leica Summaron-M 28mm f/5.6, -**© Leica Camera AG*

### Summaron Characteristics and the EV1

I knew this lens might take some thought to use with the Leica EV1\. The lens starts at f/5.6 and f/8 is a nice f/stop in terms of cleaning up the micro contrast and extending the sharpness further across the frame. However, by the time I use f/11, diffraction begins and getting a sharp view using the EVF is more difficult. Yet, by f/11 the Summaron has an incredibly deep depth of field. I don’t normally shoot f/11 with my rangefinder patch, but by setting the focus on the lens using the DOF markings on the barrel. I realized this as I tried to focus through the viewfinder. Things stayed a little mushy, and I never got that crisp in-focus look. Of course that was the lens, not the EV1! Here is what I did to get the images I wanted.

![log rails looking down the bank to a road below](https://storage.ghost.io/c/28/88/28888718-3151-40e0-92e4-bf1a38db79a2/content/images/2026/09/Journey-EV1-L1001181.jpg)

Looking down the steemp embankment into the morning sunlight, -**Leica EV1 and Leica Summaron 28mm remake.*

### Mountains and a Project

I love spending time in the Blue Ridge Mountains that I grew up in through my early college years. The mountains are refreshing and renewing for me regardless of the temperature. This weekend began with temperatures in the low 40s F and windy nights as the temperature zones pushed the air over the tops and down the valleys. We call that ‘crisp’ weather, and I love it.

Along the gravel road that climbs over 1,000 feet from the bottom, there are old guard rails made out of logs. I’ve been photographing them for about 5 years now in various light and seasons. It turns out they need to be replaced, and I wanted to be sure to get some more images before they came down. Something about old logs in the woods just makes sense. Each log had different lichen patterns; some had split open just a little, full of pebbles and moss. In other words, nature provided some really interesting art just waiting for a photograph. I walked briskly up the mountain to get some exercise and came back down slowly so I could take images as I went.

![old log split in the middle with rocks and moss](https://storage.ghost.io/c/28/88/28888718-3151-40e0-92e4-bf1a38db79a2/content/images/2026/09/Journey-EV1-L1001179-1.jpg)

Long split open logs full of pebbles and moss, -**Leica EV1 with Leica Summaron 28mm remake.*

### F/Stops and Focusing

The sunlight was harsh by this time and it was later than I typically walked in the morning, but I decided I would use the light, the lens and the great way the current Leica sensor can restore the shadows. After stumbling trying to focus and realizing my hand had turned the lens to f/11, I re-set everything and started using f/8.

Because I was shooting fairly close to the logs, I knew the background would be out of focus to some degree. It was most important for me to focus on the logs and let the background go where it wanted. This is a scenario where zone focusing is far more difficult than manual focusing. I ignored infinity because my subject was much closer and everything was handheld.

In this case, I used the highest zoom level. I am already a [fan of the autofocus](https://journey.davidknoble.life/ev1-focusing-finding-the-secret-sauce/) because it is so much more efficient than pressing custom buttons to get in and out of focus. Here I simply focused on the grain of the log or the structure of the lichen. Even at f/8, things went quickly in and out of the sharpest focus. Other lenses might show signs of diffraction by this point, but for the Summaron, this is only one f/stop from wide open. Yet, I also knew that if I wanted extra depth of field this close, I could focus at f/8 and then set an exposure at f/11 for the final image.

![yellow sunlight through the trees and a lichen covered log](https://storage.ghost.io/c/28/88/28888718-3151-40e0-92e4-bf1a38db79a2/content/images/2026/09/Journey-EV1-L1001170-1.jpg)

Yellow sunlight filtering through the trees with a lichen-covered log, -**Leica EV1 with Leica Summaron 28mm remake, focused at f/8 image taken at f/11*.

Over the last 10 weeks of working through focusing with the EV1, I've found two [tips for focusing](https://journey.davidknoble.life/leica-m-ev1-tips/) using the auto zoom selection. First, always start at infinity and pull back. I say that, and surely some street photographers prefer to start halfway back on the focus scale. The key is a known and consistent starting point. For me, that is infinity, and I typically have less to turn the lens to get a subject in sharp focus.

💡

General focusing tips: 1) start at the same focusing point every time, I use infinity because it is a natural place and easy to pull focus back just a little bit, 2) focus by turning quickly and decisively back from infinity to start the auto zoom function and then push the focus back to where everything is sharpest.

Second, when focusing, turn quickly and decisively. I pull back from infinity quickly, and then turn a little pushing towards infinity. The mechanical connection quickly picks up on the lens turning and zooms into the image. There, I simply center the focus point and set the lens to its sharpest look. At higher f/stops I do find the large image tends to shimmer just a little bit showing focus before the automatic zoom takes effect. I‘m going to study this further for sure.

![log with lichen and tall grass with sunlight in the forest behind it.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/28/88/28888718-3151-40e0-92e4-bf1a38db79a2/content/images/2026/09/Journey-EV1-L1001185.jpg)

Each log is unique along these guard rails, -**Leica EV1 with Leica Summaron 28mm remake.*

### Conclusion

Putting a focal point where you want it is one of the keys to creative photography. Focusing with the EV1 isn’t flawed at higher f/stops; it is just different. Like every other camera I used over the past 40 years, learning how to use it is half the battle. Constant use and adjustment make the tool work for you instead of you succumbing to the tool! More on this later, as I am compiling some thoughts from the past 10 weeks. For now, the Leica Summaron 28mm remake remains in my EV1 kit!