By Ked · May 2026
May 2026
If the Summicron 50mm is the most-shot Leica lens, the Summicron 35mm is the most-debated. The lens has gone through five distinct optical generations across more than sixty-five years of production, each with passionate defenders, and the version history has produced two cult-favorite lenses (the original 8-element and the Pre-ASPH "King of Bokeh") plus the current ASPH that's widely considered the optical pinnacle of 35mm M-mount glass. Picking a Summicron 35mm in 2026 is partly a technical decision and partly a philosophical one about what you want a lens to do for an image.
This post walks the lineage in order. The data: as of May 2026 we track 388 active Summicron-M 35mm listings on UsedLensTracker, plus 10 active LTM-mount Summicron 35mm listings. The 35mm market is roughly half the depth of the 50mm market but the price spread is wider. Clean entry-level Pre-ASPH examples start around $1,200, while specific collector versions can run $20,000+.
The first Summicron 35mm appeared in 1958 in LTM (screw-mount) form, designed by Walter Mandler at Leitz Canada (Midland, Ontario) using an eight-element optical formula. This is the lens that introduced the Summicron 35mm focal length to Leica's catalog, and it carried the same optical formula that would soon define the legendary M-mount "8-element" version.
LTM Summicron 35mm production was small and ran only briefly before the M-mount version became dominant. As of May 2026 we track 10 active LTM Summicron 35mm listings typically asking around $3,824. The LTM 35 Cron is rare on the used market and trades at collector prices.
The first M-mount Summicron 35mm, the legendary 8-element, used the same Mandler optical design (Leitz Canada, Midland, Ontario) as the LTM version but in the M bayonet mount. Production ran from 1958 to 1969 in two main runs. This is one of the most-discussed Leica lenses in the history of the brand.
The 8-element Summicron 35mm has a specific rendering character that has earned it cult-favorite status. Wide open at f/2 it's sharp in the center with some softening at the corners, but the rendering of out-of-focus areas is unusually beautiful. Reviewers describe it variously as "three-dimensional," "creamy," "magical," and other words that test the limits of useful camera-lens vocabulary. The color is warm. The micro-contrast is exceptional. And the overall image quality has a sense of solidity and richness that the later 6-element versions arguably never quite matched.
As of May 2026 we track 52 active 8-element Summicron-M 35mm listings typically asking around $4,244. Clean examples in chrome with original glass run $4,500–$8,000; pristine examples with original boxes and papers approach $10,000–$15,000. The 8-element is genuinely rare on the used market because owners tend to keep them.
Some shooters who own multiple 35mm Summicrons consider the 8-element the best Summicron 35mm ever made: not technically (the ASPH wins every measurable category) but in terms of how images look. The "8-element look" is one of the most-cited reasons people pay extra for vintage Leica glass.
In 1969 Leica replaced the 8-element with a redesigned six-element Summicron 35mm, produced primarily at Leitz Canada in Midland, Ontario. The redesign was driven by manufacturing economics: six elements are cheaper to grind, polish, and assemble than eight, and the optical performance was technically improved in some measurable areas (slightly better corner sharpness, reduced distortion). Many photographers at the time considered the change an upgrade.
In hindsight, the 6-element Canadian Summicron is the version many vintage-Leica enthusiasts specifically avoid. The rendering character is more "modern": sharper edges, cooler color, less of the warm dimensionality that defined the 8-element. Optically it's a fine lens; aesthetically it's the version that started the long debate about whether Leica's manufacturing changes hurt the brand's optical signature.
Used prices for the V2 6-element Summicron-M 35mm have historically lagged behind the 8-element V1 and the later V4. The 6-element Canadian falls into the larger "Pre-ASPH" market bucket on the used market and typically runs $1,800–$2,500 in clean condition.
The third-generation Summicron 35mm continued the six-element formula with minor refinements and various cosmetic updates. Production location moved back and forth between Wetzlar/Solms and Midland, Canada over the years. The V3 is sometimes hard to distinguish from the V2 or V4 without looking at serial numbers and specific cosmetic details.
From a buyer's perspective the V3 is in the same general Pre-ASPH bucket as the V2 and V4: a six-element 35mm Summicron with character that varies subtly between production runs but is broadly the same lens family.
The fourth-generation Summicron-M 35mm, produced from 1990 to 1997, is the version that earned the famous "King of Bokeh" nickname. It brought a cosmetic redesign with a refined housing and the focusing tab on the focus ring, slight optical refinements, and, critically, a specific quality of out-of-focus rendering that earned it a cult following among portrait and street photographers.
The "King of Bokeh" rendering has been described in dozens of online discussions, with various photographers attempting to capture what makes it distinctive. The consensus: soft, dimensional, slightly glowing out-of-focus areas with no distracting edge artifacts in the bokeh, combined with sharp in-focus subjects. For portrait work at working distances, the V4 produces a look that the ASPH that succeeded it cannot quite replicate.
As of May 2026 we track 34 active V4 / Bokeh King Summicron-M 35mm listings (identifiable by the "Bokeh King" or V4 references in titles) typically asking around $3,543. Clean V4 examples in chrome or black-chrome typically run $3,200–$4,500; mint examples with boxes approach $5,500.
Together with the 8-element V1, the V4 is the second of the two cult-favorite Summicron 35mm versions. The two have different characters: the V1 has a "richer" warmth, while the V4 has the smoothest out-of-focus rendering. Both have devoted shooters who specifically prefer them over the modern ASPH.
The current Summicron-M 35mm ASPH, introduced in 1997 and still in production, was the lens that changed the Summicron 35mm story. Designed by Peter Karbe (the same engineer behind the APO-Summicron and the Summilux ASPH), the V5 ASPH uses seven elements in five groups with one aspherical surface and is widely considered the optically best 35mm M-mount lens ever made.
The ASPH is sharp wide open across the entire frame, with very low chromatic aberration, beautiful color rendering, and a corner-to-corner sharpness profile that's roughly two stops ahead of any Pre-ASPH version. It's a technically extraordinary lens that produces files indistinguishable in resolution and detail from much larger lenses on competitor systems.
What the ASPH does not have is the V1's warmth or the V4's bokeh signature. The rendering is more modern, more clinical, more "neutral" in a way that some shooters love (it's the most flexible 35mm Summicron in post-processing) and others find too sterile (the lens leaves less of its own character on the image).
The current production list price is approximately $3,995 new. As of May 2026 we track 182 active Summicron-M 35mm ASPH listings typically asking around $2,692. Clean used examples sit in the $2,400–$3,200 range; mint-with-box approach new retail.
The 35mm Summicron decision is harder than the 50mm Summicron decision because the character differences between versions are more pronounced. Three distinct choices, not two:
The middle versions (V2 6-element Canadian, V3) are perfectly capable lenses but they sit awkwardly between the cult-favorite poles. If you specifically want a Pre-ASPH Summicron 35mm, the V1 or V4 are the versions to pursue. The V2 and V3 are mainly for shooters who find a particularly clean used example at a meaningful discount.
The Summicron 35mm in any version is a serious lens decision. The character differences between versions are pronounced enough that switching between them after years of shooting one feels like switching to a different camera system. Whichever version you buy first will shape your sense of what a "35mm Leica photograph" looks like, which is why so many M shooters end up owning multiple versions over time.
Browse current Summicron 35mm listings on UsedLensTracker across all mounts and versions to compare prices and conditions side by side.