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By Ked · May 2026

Choosing Your First Leica M Lens

May 2026

You just bought (or are about to buy) a Leica M body. Now you need a lens, and the catalog options are overwhelming: three focal lengths to choose from, four maximum apertures across the standard lineup, sixty years of Summicron 50mm versions, half a dozen Summicron 35mm versions, Pre-ASPH and ASPH and APO. All of it sits in current production or used markets where prices range from a few hundred dollars to over five figures.

Most advice on this question is some version of "it depends on what you shoot." That's true and useless. If you knew what you shoot, you wouldn't be asking which lens to buy first. This post takes the opposite approach: a specific, opinionated recommendation for the lens that's right for the vast majority of first-time M shooters, with a small set of qualified alternatives for the cases where the default isn't quite right.

The Default Answer: A Used Summicron-M 50mm

For roughly 90% of people picking their first M lens, the right buy is a clean used Summicron-M 50mm f/2, ideally a Type 4 or Type 5 (the 1979–2013 production runs), in the $1,400–$1,800 range.

Three reasons:

• 50mm is the easiest focal length to learn. Tighter than wide, looser than telephoto, perspective close to what the eye sees. The M-mount system was designed around 50mm. The viewfinder shows roughly 50mm at infinity. Every M body has the 50mm frame line. Starting elsewhere is starting hard.
• The Summicron has the cleanest rendering character of any Leica 50mm. Pre-ASPH Summilux is a portrait specialist; Summarit is a half-stop slower for not much less money; Noctilux is a $7,000+ specialist tool. The Summicron sits at the optical sweet spot: sharp wide open, classic Leica rendering, neither a character lens nor a clinical one. It teaches you what an M lens does without imposing its own opinions on every image.
• The 50mm Summicron used market is the deepest in the entire Leica catalog. As of May 2026 we track 584 active Summicron-M 50mm listings typically asking around $1,515. That much inventory means you can be picky about condition. Bad first-lens decisions usually come from accepting a so-so example because there weren't better ones available. With the 50mm Summicron there are always better ones available.

Specifically, look for a Type 4 (1979–1994) or Type 5 (1994–2013) Summicron-M 50mm in clean condition. Both versions use the same Mandler-designed six-element optical formula that has been Leica's standard 50mm since 1979: sharp wide open, beautiful out-of-focus rendering, the lens character you came to Leica for. Build quality is excellent, parts and service availability are good, and a clean one will outlive whatever M body you mount it on.

Why Not Modern ASPH for Your First Lens?

The current Summicron-M 50mm (Type 6, 2013–present) is a serious lens: same optical formula, refined housing, half-stop click aperture, $2,495 new. The newer current-production version doesn't offer dramatically more than the Type 4/5 for the average shooter. Save the difference and put it toward a second lens or toward your photographs.

The same logic applies to the APO-Summicron-M 50mm at around $7,794. It's a wonderful lens but not a first lens. The APO's technical advantages (sharper wide open, lower CA, better corner performance) are most visible to shooters who already know what their previous Summicron was doing. For a first lens, the standard Summicron-M is the right tool because it teaches you the system without distracting you with its own optical signature.

The Tight-Budget Path: LTM Collapsible Summicron 50mm

If $1,500 is too much for your first lens, the right cheap option is a vintage LTM Collapsible Summicron 50mm f/2 (1953–1962) at the $700-ish price point. It uses the same Mandler-era seven-element design that became the Rigid Summicron-M, mounted via a $40 LTM-to-M adapter on any modern body.

The LTM Collapsible Summicron will produce images that hold up against any modern lens for most shooting situations. The collapsible barrel means the camera-plus-lens package is comically small. Even the original M3 from 1954 with this lens fits in a small jacket pocket. As of May 2026 we track 111 active LTM Summicron 50mm listings typically asking around $985, and the Collapsible variants specifically run lower, typically around $692.

What you give up: the LTM Collapsible has slightly more vintage character (lower contrast, warmer rendering) than the modern Summicron-M, the close-focus minimum is 1m (modern is 0.7m on most M bodies), and the LTM adapter is one more piece of mechanical alignment between your lens and your body. None of these are deal-breakers for a first lens.

When 35mm Is the Right First Choice

The minority case where the default 50mm recommendation is wrong: shooters who already know they shoot wider. If you came to the M system from a camera where you primarily used a 35mm-equivalent lens (a Fuji X100 series, a Ricoh GR, or any compact camera with a fixed 28–35mm lens), the 50mm M-mount frame will feel uncomfortably tight from day one. Better to start where your eye already lives.

If 35mm is right for you, the equivalent first-lens recommendation is a Summicron-M 35mm, though specifically a Pre-ASPH Version 2, V3, or a clean V4 in the $2,000–$3,000 range, not the current ASPH at around $2,692 nor the cult-favorite 8-element V1 at around $4,244. The 35mm Summicron has a wider price range than the 50mm and you can pay too much. Pre-ASPH V2/V3/V4 examples in clean condition are the price-to-performance sweet spot, much the same way Type 4/5 Summicron-M 50mm is the sweet spot in the 50mm range.

As of May 2026 we track 388 active Summicron-M 35mm listings. The 35mm market is smaller and pricier than the 50mm (typically around $2,880 vs $1,515), so first-lens 35mm shoppers should expect to spend roughly $1,000 more for an equivalent-condition first Summicron.

Common First-Lens Mistakes

• Buying a Summilux as your first lens. The f/1.4 lens has a specific look that's harder to use well than f/2. Many first-time Summilux owners shoot everything wide open, get a roll of slightly soft, slightly mismatched-character photographs, and conclude something is wrong with their technique. It isn't. They bought the specialist tool for their first lens. Start with the Summicron; graduate to the Summilux when you know specifically what you want from it.
• Buying a vintage Rigid or DR Summicron for character. The Rigid and Dual Range are beautiful lenses but they're collector lenses now, and the character (slightly soft wide open, warm, low contrast) is something you appreciate after you know what "normal" Summicron rendering looks like. For a first lens, start with the modern Pre-ASPH or LTM Collapsible. You can buy a Rigid or DR as a second or third lens when you specifically want it.
• Buying mint-with-box for resale value. Don't. Mint-with-box examples cost 30–50% more than user-grade clean examples and produce identical images. The premium is a collector's tax. For a first lens you'll learn on, buy clean user-grade and put the savings into your photographs.
• Buying an ASPH for the latest-and-greatest. The ASPH Summicron is sharper than the Pre-ASPH by measurable amounts. It is not noticeably better in the kinds of photographs first-time M shooters take. The Pre-ASPH is cheaper, has more rendering character, and will teach you the M system better. Buy the ASPH later when you know you want it.
• Spending more time choosing than shooting. The lens you buy is less important than the photographs you take with it. Any reasonable Summicron 50mm (Type 3, Type 4, Type 5, Type 6, Pre-ASPH, ASPH, even APO-Summicron) will produce photographs you can be proud of. Pick one, mount it, shoot it for six months, and then you'll have a meaningful basis for picking the second.

The Short Version

If you only read one paragraph of this post: buy a clean used Summicron-M 50mm f/2, Type 4 or Type 5, in the $1,400–$1,800 range. Shoot it as your only lens for at least three months. You'll know what your second lens should be, and you'll have learned how to use the M system from the lens that was designed for it.

Browse current Summicron-M 50mm listings on UsedLensTracker across all conditions and versions to compare prices side by side. Filter by condition grade and seller region to find the clean example that's the right price for you.