By Ked · May 2026
May 2026
The Leica Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 has been in continuous Leica production for sixty-seven years. From its 1959 launch (the M3 had been in production for five years by then, and the M2 had launched in 1957) through the current ASPH version that just rolled off the Wetzlar line, Leica has built and refined this lens across three distinct optical generations, or four if you count the closely related Summarit 50mm f/1.5 that preceded it. Different shooters mean different things when they say "Summilux 50." The 1960 version and the 2024 version share a focal length, a maximum aperture, and a name, and almost nothing else.
This post walks the lineage in chronological order. We start with the precursor lens that established the f/1.5-ish-fast fifty as a Leica product category in the late 1940s, then trace the main optical generations of the Summilux-M proper. We also cover what each version actually looks like to shoot, because the rendering character of these lenses differs in ways that matter for buyers choosing between them on the used market.
Before there was a Summilux there was a Summarit. The Summarit 50mm f/1.5, produced 1949–1960, was Leica's first really fast 50mm lens. It was almost a full stop faster than the f/2 Summicron of the same era, made for available-light shooting on bodies like the IIIf and the early M3.
The Summarit is widely regarded as a character lens. Soft and low-contrast wide open at f/1.5, with a specific glow that some shooters love and others find too dreamy. By f/2.8 the lens sharpens up considerably, and by f/5.6 it produces sharp, contrasty files indistinguishable from later Leica designs. The famous "Summarit look" is the wide-open rendering: luminous, soft-edged, and atmospheric in a way no modern fast 50mm replicates.
The Summarit was almost entirely an LTM (screw-mount) lens, with only a small run of M-mount examples late in production. As of May 2026 we track 97 active Summarit 50mm f/1.5 listings typically asking around $677, making it one of the most accessible vintage Leica 50mm "character" lenses on the used market.
When Leica introduced the Summilux-M 50mm in 1959, it was explicitly positioning the new lens as the Summarit's successor: the same fast-fifty role, but in M-mount and with a redesigned optical formula.
The first Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4, referred to by its Leica order codes SOWGE (chrome) and SOOME (black), or simply as "the first-version Summilux 50," was produced for only about two years. It introduced a new optical formula generally credited to Helmut Marx and Albrecht Tronnier at Leitz Wetzlar, and the launch of the Summilux naming convention. (Note: the "Steel Rim" nickname some shooters use applies to the original Summilux 35mm f/1.4 from a couple of years later, not to the 50mm. The two are easy lenses to mix up in conversation.)
Production numbers were small. The first Summilux 50 design was good but Leica's engineers felt there was room for improvement, and the lens was succeeded by a redesigned version within a couple of years. The SOWGE/SOOME Summilux is now a serious collector lens. As of May 2026 we see very few coming up, just a handful of active listings annually, and clean examples in their original chrome finish trade in the $3,500–$5,000 range. They almost never appear in user-grade condition because the people who own them know what they have.
Optically the V1 Summilux is closer to the Summarit's wide-open character than to any later Summilux: soft, glowing, with significant field curvature wide open and a specific warm quality some shooters specifically seek out. For collectors and shooters who want a "first Summilux" experience, this is the lens. For practical shooting, nothing about the V1 is meaningfully superior to the more affordable later versions.
The second-version Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4, introduced in 1961, was a significant optical redesign by Walter Mandler at Leitz Canada. It kept the same general concept, but with a refined formula, much-improved wide-open performance, and the optical layout that would define the lens for the next forty-three years. The V2 design remained essentially unchanged in continuous production from 1961 until the ASPH replaced it in 2004. This is the lens most people picture when they think of a "classic Summilux."
The V2 Summilux is the most widely available Pre-ASPH on the used market, built in large numbers across four decades and still common today. Optically it's sharp wide open at f/1.4 in the center with some softness at the corners, sharper still by f/2.8, and edge-to-edge sharp by f/5.6. Out-of-focus rendering is creamy and three-dimensional in a way collectors specifically associate with the "Pre-ASPH look." Color rendering is warm and slightly low-contrast.
In 1968 Leica refreshed the V2 with cosmetic and mechanical changes, most visibly the addition of a built-in retractable hood, but the optical formula remained the same Mandler V2 design. Some sources refer to the post-1968 lens as a "V3," but the optical core is unchanged from 1961 through 2004. Filter thread was E43 for most of the run and E46 in the final years.
This is the Summilux most Pre-ASPH enthusiasts mean when they recommend "the classic Summilux." Used examples are abundant. The character is famous: soft and dreamy wide open with a distinctive "Summilux glow" around highlights, sharpening dramatically at f/2 and beyond, and rendering warm color with beautiful out-of-focus areas.
The Pre-ASPH Summilux is one of the most prized "character" lenses in the entire Leica catalog. Many shooters who own the modern ASPH version also keep a Pre-ASPH because the rendering quality is genuinely different: softer, more atmospheric, less clinical. For portrait work and available-light environmental photography, the Pre-ASPH look is something the ASPH cannot replicate even when stopped down.
As of May 2026 we track roughly 192 active Pre-ASPH Summilux-M 50mm listings (V1 plus the long-running Mandler V2 in pre- and post-1968 trim; the breakdown is hard to detect from titles alone) typically asking around $2,926. The classic post-1968 Pre-ASPH in clean condition with original built-in hood typically runs $2,200–$3,400, and the original V1 trades at a substantial premium.
The current Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH, introduced in 2004 and still in production, is the most ambitious redesign in the lens's history. Designed by Peter Karbe (Leica's current head optical designer), the ASPH version uses eight elements in five groups, includes one aspherical element, has a built-in retractable hood with a more refined mechanism, and uses an E46 filter thread.
The optical jump is real. The ASPH Summilux is sharp wide open across the entire frame, not just the center, with very low chromatic aberration and excellent micro-contrast even at f/1.4. By f/2 it's the sharpest 50mm Leica has ever made by most measurements. Out-of-focus rendering is smoother and more controlled than the Pre-ASPH, with less field curvature and a more "modern" character.
Whether this is an improvement depends on what you photograph. For documentary, photojournalism, and any work where sharpness wide open matters, the ASPH is dramatically better than the Pre-ASPH. For portrait work where the Pre-ASPH's softness and glow are features rather than flaws, many shooters specifically prefer the older design.
The current production list price is approximately $4,800 new. As of May 2026 we track 164 active Summilux-M 50mm ASPH listings typically asking around $3,595. Clean used examples sit closer to $3,000–$3,800, and mint-with-box examples approach new retail.
Multiple limited editions of the ASPH have been produced over the years, including the Black Chrome Edition (2015) and various commemoratives, and these trade at substantial premiums over the standard production version.
The choice between a Pre-ASPH Summilux and an ASPH Summilux is one of the most-debated buying decisions in the M-mount world, and it's worth thinking about clearly rather than emotionally.
The ASPH is technically better in every measurable way. It's sharper at every aperture, has better corner performance, lower distortion, better contrast, and lower chromatic aberration. For shooters who want their 50mm Summilux to be "the best 50mm Leica makes," the ASPH is the answer. The price premium over a Pre-ASPH is roughly $700 (around $3,595 vs $2,926), which on a $3,000+ lens isn't dramatic.
The Pre-ASPH is preferred by a meaningful subset of working photographers and serious collectors specifically for its rendering character. The soft wide-open look, the warm color, the specific quality of out-of-focus highlights: these are not bugs being corrected, they're a visual style. If you shoot portraits, available-light environmental work, or any photography where you want your lens to leave a recognizable fingerprint on the image, the Pre-ASPH has a look the ASPH simply cannot produce.
The honest framing: the ASPH is the better lens, and the Pre-ASPH is the more distinctive lens. Which is the right buy depends on whether you want a tool or a voice.
The Summilux-M 50mm in any version is one of the most consequential lenses in the M-mount lineup. Whichever version you buy, expect to keep it. These lenses don't depreciate meaningfully, and the optical character (whatever the generation) is genuinely a tool you grow into rather than upgrade out of.
Browse current Summilux-M 50mm listings on UsedLensTracker across all versions to compare prices and conditions side by side.