How Much Is a Used Leica Summicron 50mm (Screw Mount) Worth? (2026 Price Guide)

The collapsible f/2 is the original and by far the easier to find, with the compact retracting barrel that defines the look. The rigid screw-mount version was made in very small numbers in the early 1960s and is a collector item that commands a steep premium. For shooting, the collapsible is the practical choice; the rigid screw is mainly for collectors. Note the rigid and dual-range versions are far more common in M mount than in screw mount.

Some early collapsible Summicrons use thorium-bearing glass that is mildly radioactive and can develop a slight yellow cast over the years. The radioactivity is very low and not a practical hazard in normal handling. A yellowed element shifts color balance slightly, which is easy to correct in editing or with a white-balance adjustment, and prolonged exposure to UV or sunlight can reduce the tint.

Check the glass for haze, fog, fungus, and cleaning marks, and look closely for element separation, which appears as colored or cloudy edges and is a known issue on some of these lenses. Confirm the aperture blades are dry and snappy and that focus is smooth. Make sure the collapsible tube extends and locks firmly without play, since a loose mount affects focus accuracy.

The collapsible screw Summicron and the early M lenses share the same seven-element optical design, so the rendering is closely related. The screw version mounts on a Leica M with an LTM-to-M adapter, so you are not locked out of M bodies, and it also adapts to mirrorless. The later M-mount Summicrons brought rigid barrels and revised optics; for those see the <a href="/price-guide/summicron-m-50/">Summicron-M 50mm</a>.