How Much Is a Used Leica Summitar 50mm Worth? (2026 Price Guide)

Postwar coated examples (from roughly 1946 onward) handle flare and contrast noticeably better than the uncoated prewar lenses, which is the main practical difference. Early lenses also use a ten-blade aperture versus six on later ones, affecting out-of-focus rendering. For everyday shooting a clean coated copy is the safer choice.

Look for haze, internal fog, and cleaning marks on the glass, plus oil on the aperture blades, all common in lenses this old. Confirm the collapsible tube locks firmly and the helicoid is smooth. Coating wear or scratches on coated examples reduce both contrast and value.

The Summitar is the direct predecessor of the 50mm Summicron. The first collapsible Summicrons shared the Summitar barrel design, and early Summicron prototypes were even marked Summitar, so the two are closely linked but the Summicron uses a revised optical formula.

Yes. It is a 39mm screw-mount lens, so an inexpensive LTM-to-M adapter fits it to any Leica M body, and further adapters allow mirrorless use with manual focus and aperture.