By Ked · May 2026
May 2026
If the Summilux is Leica's fast 50, the Summicron is Leica's everyday 50. It is the lens most M shooters reach for first, the one that defines the brand's signature rendering at f/2, and the lens that has been in continuous production longer than almost any other Leica optical design. The Summicron 50mm story starts in 1953 with the original LTM Collapsible and runs uninterrupted through the current Solms-built Summicron-M and the parallel APO-Summicron-M ASPH that joined the lineup in 2012.
This post walks the lineage in chronological order. We start with the LTM (screw-mount) origins, move through the early M-mount versions including the famous Dual Range, cover the long-running Pre-ASPH years, arrive at the current production lens, and finish with the APO-Summicron-M as a separate optical category. As of May 2026 we track 584 active Summicron-M 50mm listings on UsedLensTracker, plus 111 active LTM-mount Summicron 50mm listings. By some margin, it is the deepest used-market 50mm lens in the entire Leica catalog.
The first Summicron was an LTM (screw-mount) collapsible 50mm f/2, introduced in 1953 as Leica's response to the f/1.5 Summarit on one side and the slower Elmar f/3.5 on the other. Designed by a team at Leitz Wetzlar including Walter Mandler, the seven-element formula used newly developed rare-earth glass to achieve a level of sharpness and contrast that was genuinely a step ahead of anything else on the 35mm camera market at the time. Photo journalists and working photographers adopted the Summicron rapidly through the 1950s.
The Collapsible Summicron's defining feature is mechanical: the front of the lens telescopes into the body for transport, making the camera-plus-lens package extraordinarily small. Mounted on a Leica IIIf or M3, the collapsed Summicron is barely larger than a body cap. Extended for shooting, it's still one of the smallest 50mm f/2 lenses anyone has ever made.
Optically the original Summicron Collapsible is sharp wide open at f/2 with a warm, slightly low-contrast rendering that contemporary shooters describe as "classic." The famous "Summicron look" starts here: the smooth, three-dimensional out-of-focus rendering combined with sharp in-focus subjects.
As of May 2026 we track roughly 28 active Summicron 50mm Collapsible listings (LTM-mount, identifiable by titles mentioning "collapsible") typically asking around $692. Clean LTM Summicron Collapsibles are one of the most accessible entry points into vintage Leica optics. Pair one with an LTM-to-M adapter and it mounts on any modern M body.
In 1956 Leica introduced the first M-mount Summicron 50mm in a rigid (non-collapsible) barrel. The optical design was very close to the Collapsible's but in a larger, more solid housing that didn't telescope. This is the lens most M-system shooters of the late 1950s and 1960s actually used.
The Rigid Summicron-M 50mm is sometimes called "Type 1" or simply the "rigid Cron." It's a beautifully made object: solid brass construction, chrome (or later black-chrome) finish, and the smooth, long-throw focus mechanism that defines the early M-mount era. The "Summicron look" matured in this version: warm color, sharp wide open, exceptional micro-contrast, and the kind of out-of-focus rendering that makes Leica 50mm lenses famous.
As of May 2026 we track roughly 55 active Summicron-M 50mm Rigid listings typically asking around $1,455. Clean Wetzlar-era examples in chrome are particularly sought after.
Produced in parallel with the Rigid was the Summicron-M 50mm DR (Dual Range), an unusual lens in the M lineup. It shared the same optical formula as the Rigid, but added a clip-on "eyes" attachment that allowed close-focus down to 19 inches (about 48cm), much closer than the standard 1-meter minimum of M-mount lenses.
The DR's close-range mode required the eyes attachment to be mounted on both the lens and the camera's viewfinder, where it provided parallax correction for the closer focusing distance. Without the eyes, the lens worked like a normal Summicron from 1m to infinity. With the eyes, it could focus much closer. The mechanism is mechanical Leica genius: a separate close-focus helical that engages only when the eyes are clipped on.
The DR was Leica's answer to photographers who wanted a 50mm that could double for tabletop, product, and tight portrait work without buying a dedicated macro lens. It's now a beloved collector lens, partly for its mechanical character and partly because the optical design is the same as the Rigid, which means image quality is excellent.
As of May 2026 we track roughly 45 active Summicron-M 50mm DR listings typically asking around $1,149. Examples that come with the original eyes are worth substantially more than examples without (the eyes are often lost over decades).
In 1969 Leica replaced the Rigid and DR with a redesigned Summicron-M 50mm. This interim version succeeded the Rigid/DR but predates the Mandler six-element formula that would define more than four decades of Summicron 50mm production.
The Type 3 is sharp wide open with a slightly more modern rendering than the Rigid: less warm, higher contrast, smoother out-of-focus areas. It's less commonly discussed than either the Rigid that preceded it or the Mandler six-element design that succeeded it, but it filled the gap between them.
In 1979 Leica replaced the previous Summicron-M 50mm with the Mandler-designed six-element formula in a refined lighter housing with a small focus tab on the focus ring (a little finger-lever on the side that makes focusing by feel easier). This six-element design is the optical core of every subsequent Summicron-M 50mm and has been in continuous production since 1979. (A 1969–1979 interim version exists as the Type 3; the Mandler six-element design is post-1979.)
The tabbed Type 4 Summicron is the version many working M photographers shot through the 1980s and into the early 1990s. Production ran for fifteen years; build quality was Wetzlar/Solms-grade throughout. The focus tab is a real ergonomic improvement for fast shooting, particularly with gloves or in cold weather. Black-chrome Type 4 examples are especially common on the used market because the lens was produced during a period when black-chrome was the standard M-mount finish.
The Type 5 Summicron-M 50mm replaced the Type 4 in 1994 with another minor cosmetic refresh (refined housing details, an updated focus ring grip pattern) while keeping the same Mandler six-element optical formula. Production ran for nineteen years through 2013. The Type 5 is the version most photographers who bought a "modern Summicron" in the late 1990s or 2000s ended up with.
Like the Type 4 before it, the Type 5 is optically indistinguishable from its immediate predecessor at the image-quality level. The differences between the Mandler-era Types 4 and 5 are matters of handling, finish, and very subtle build refinements, not rendering character. Both produce essentially the same files.
The Type 6 Summicron-M 50mm, introduced in 2013 and still in production, has a redesigned aperture ring (clicked at half stops, with a slightly different feel), updated cosmetics, and minor optical refinements, but the fundamental Mandler six-element formula from 1979 is still there. The current production lens retails new at $2,495. It's the lens you buy if you want a brand-new Summicron-M 50mm and don't want a vintage one.
For buyers, the practical reality is that Types 4 through 6 of the Summicron-M 50mm are the same lens at the image-quality level: same Mandler six-element optical formula, same rendering character, with only handling and finish differing between generations. The used market reflects this: the three versions are often listed without explicit type designation, and prices track mostly with cosmetic condition rather than with which specific type a buyer is looking at.
As of May 2026 we track approximately 500 active Summicron-M 50mm listings across the modern run (Types 3 through 6 combined, since titles rarely break out which generation), typically asking in the $1,500–$1,800 range depending on condition and finish. A clean black-chrome Type 4 or Type 5 with original box is the typical "modern Summicron-M 50" used buy, usually around $1,600–$2,000 in the dealer market and slightly less from private sellers.
In 2012 Leica introduced an entirely separate Summicron 50mm: the APO-Summicron-M 50mm f/2 ASPH, designed by Peter Karbe and produced as a parallel premium line alongside the regular Summicron-M 50mm.
The APO-Summicron-M 50mm is a different lens. Eight elements in five groups, with apochromatic correction and an aspherical element, the APO-Summicron was designed to be the optically best 50mm f/2 in the world, and is widely considered to have achieved that. The lens is sharp wide open across the entire frame, has essentially zero chromatic aberration, and produces a level of detail rendering that even shooters who consider the standard Summicron-M "more than enough" can see the difference on.
What the APO does not have is the standard Summicron's classic rendering character. The image is more clinical, more modern-looking, with less of the warm dimensionality that the Mandler-era Summicrons produced. For documentary, photojournalism, and any work where technical optical performance matters, the APO is the right answer. For shooters who value rendering character and warmth, the standard Summicron-M remains the right choice.
As of May 2026 we track 77 active APO-Summicron-M 50mm listings typically asking around $7,794. The lens retails new at $8,495, and clean used examples don't depreciate much. It is recognized as a serious investment that holds value.
The Summicron 50mm in any version is a lens you keep. Even the cheapest LTM Collapsible from 1953 produces files that hold up against current photography standards. The optical engineering Leica put into the original design has aged remarkably well. Whichever version you buy first, expect to use it for decades rather than upgrade out of it.
Browse current Summicron 50mm listings on UsedLensTracker across all mounts and versions to compare prices and conditions side by side.