These are the best Leica pancake lenses, chosen for how they deliver pocketable size, quick readiness, and classic Leica micro-contrast without sacrificing build quality—perfect for travel, street, and everyday carry across M, L (SL/TL), and adaptable mirrorless bodies. Pancakes are about stealth and flow: lenses that keep the camera truly jacket-pocketable, focus rings you can set by feel, and optics that render cleanly at working apertures while staying featherweight. Start with the true Leica pancakes on M: the Summaron-M 28mm f/5.6 is the quintessential low-profile street lens—razor-small, flare-disciplined, with vintage-modern contrast that loves daylight; the Elmar-M 50mm f/2.8 (collapsible) is the classic pocket normal—collapsed it’s nearly flush, extended it’s crisp by f/4 with elegant tonal roll-off; for a tele that still hides, the Macro-Elmar-M 90mm f/4 collapses into a travel-friendly tube and doubles for close-ups with the Macro-Adapter-M. If you want “pancake feel” with more speed, the Elmarit-M 28mm f/2.8 (late versions) and Summarit-M 35/2.5 & 50/2.5 are famously compact, hood-friendly, and flare-resistant—great for city walks and café light. Leica APS-C L-mount shooters get a genuine modern pancake in the Elmarit-TL 18mm f/2.8 ASPH—autofocus, whisper-thin, and sharp edge-to-edge for travel and architecture; it pairs beautifully with a CL/TL or crops neatly on SL bodies when you need true pocket portability. Third-party M-mount pancakes expand choices without breaking the form factor: TTArtisan 28mm f/5.6 (M) channels classic Summaron proportions with modern coatings; 7Artisans 35mm f/5.6 is “body-cap thin” for ultra-stealth EDC; Voigtländer Color-Skopar pancakes (21/4, 28/3.5, 35/2.5) bring excellent flare control, tidy geometry, and buttery helicoids in truly flat barrels—ideal when you want a tiny lens that still draws like a Leica companion. Adaptable mirrorless users can also lean on ultra-thin L-mount cap-style primes (e.g., 7Artisans 18mm f/6.3 II) when the brief is maximum slimness over speed. Image priorities for the best Leica pancakes are clear: honest contrast with minimal veiling flare, controlled lateral CA so window frames and neon stay clean, and hoods or built-in shades that protect the front element without adding bulk; smooth, short-throw focus with firm damping helps zone-focus at f/5.6–f/8, and small front threads make ND/CPL use cheap and easy. Technique multiplies the form factor—set Auto ISO with a sensible cap and a minimum shutter (1/250 for street), ride exposure comp with your thumb for fast highlight control, use zone focus marks at f/8 for instant capture, and keep a slim screw-in hood to avoid fingerprints on tiny front elements; for night, open up where possible and brace against walls or use the camera’s stabilization to keep the package lean without a tripod. A practical kit recipe is simple: on M, anchor with Summaron-M 28/5.6 for pure pancake street, add Elmar-M 50/2.8 for a collapsible normal, and Macro-Elmar-M 90/4 for pocket tele; mix in a Voigtländer Color-Skopar 35/2.5 or 28/3.5 when you want modern coatings in a flatter disc; on L APS-C, run Elmarit-TL 18/2.8 as your do-it-all pancake and add a thin cap-prime for ultra-light days. Whether you’re weaving markets at dawn, slipping through museums, or keeping a camera in your coat every day, the best Leica pancake lenses deliver stealthy size, quick handling, and clean, characterful files that make spontaneous frames look intentional and refined.