Last updated May 2023

Introduction

The 50mm Summilux ASPH is one of the most popular Leica lens of the past 20 years and it carries a legendary reputation. It’s taken me a very long time to finally get around to trying one. I think this is mostly because the several 50mm f/2 lenses I’ve used over the years have fit my needs perfectly. Depth of field is already very shallow with a 50mm f/2 lens, so I just didn’t lust after the Summilux that much.

But after so many years of hearing about this lens, I eventually gave in and decided to see what it was about. I also sold my other lenses in an effort to simplify my setup and force myself to get more comfortable shooting exclusively 50mm.

About this lens

The 50 Summilux ASPH is a very interesting lens. It was released all the way back in 2004, before digital M cameras even existed (the Leica M8 was released on 2006). As we’ll see, the optical performance of this lens is shockingly good for a lens this old, and arguably over-engineered for most film stocks.

Leica must have been motivated to make a 50/1.4 lens that was truly groundbreaking, even though the digital technology to demand this level of performance didn’t yet exist. Here’s a small excerpt of what designer Peter Karbe says about the 50 Summilux ASPH:

“The glass I chose for lens element 3 is of crucial importance in minimizing the secondary color aberration. This glass, formerly made at the Leitz glass laboratory, was for a long time offered by another supplier who had taken over its production. But they had stopped making it, so I had to “encourage” another German glassmaker to literally reinvent this glass type. Today this glass is extremely expensive. Indeed, the material for this lens element alone costs as much as the glass used in all the other lens elements of the Summilux 50mm f/1.4 ASPH!”

The 50 Summilux ASPH also pioneered the use of a floating group in an M lens. This was not easy to engineer, but was necessary to correct for spherical aberration at all distances:

“The challenge was to achieve this floating element without enlarging the size of the lens and keeping the well-known, super-smooth “Leica feel” in the focusing mount. This proved to be a nightmare on the production line and we needed several trials to achieve an optimized production process.”

In addition to being one of the earliest lenses to use aspheric surfaces and a floating group, the 50 Summilux ASPH is also described by Peter Karbe as having an apochromatic design, even though it is not marketed as APO.

I’m not sure how meaningful this is, but I also noticed that the optical design of the 50 Summilux ASPH is even similar to the 50 APO-Summicron, a landmark lens that was released much later in 2012:

In summary, regardless of how this lens stacks up in 2022 and beyond, it will always be impressive that it was released in 2004, and it will always be an interesting and important lens in Leica’s history.

The 50 Summilux ASPH comes in three versions: black aluminum, silver brass, and black brass (called “black-chrome”). The black-chrome version has a vintage exterior design that subtracts the focusing tab and built-in hood. Although the black-chrome version is smaller, in terms of weight it goes silver > black-chrome > black.

2023 close focus version
Leica has now released an updated version of this lens with several changes: close focusing to <0.5m, more aperture blades, and a slightly updated optical formula. It’s also significantly thicker. Both black and silver are made of aluminum, so the silver version is significantly lighter than before. I haven’t tested this version and don’t know how significant the changes in optical formula are.

Size and handling

The 50 Summilux ASPH does not excel in terms of size and weight. While not a large lens in absolute terms, it is significantly longer and heavier than several other 50mm f/1.4 lenses, including:
•Leica 50 Summilux pre-ASPH
•Voigtlander 50mm f/1.5 Nokton II
•Zeiss 50mm f/1.5 Sonnar
•Voigtlander 50mm f/1.5 Heliar

For another comparison, it’s about the same size and weight as the Voigtlander 50mm f/1.2, which is a half stop faster.

I wouldn’t say the 50 Summilux ASPH’s size and weight are a huge deal, but after spending a few months using the silver brass version (which is significantly heavier than the black aluminum version) I started to get a little excited about switching to a smaller and lighter lens.

Build quality and mechanics

Build quality is all-metal and fantastic. The aperture ring and pull-out hood feel perfect.

I had problems with the mechanical feel of the focus ring. The focus, while not outright sticky, is stiffer compared with other Leica and Voigtlander lenses. I never felt completely comfortable using the focus tab, which is normally a major part of why I love shooting with Leica cameras so much. Of note, both of the two copies I tried had stiff focus rings, and both were the silver version. The second copy was basically brand-new from the factory. Based on what people have said on forums, focus stiffness is a common issue, but especially with the silver version due to the extra weight on the focus helicoids. This issue may be something that improves as the lens is broken-in over time (I have only used my copy for about 3 months). It could also probably be improved by having it re-lubricated with a different grease. But it’s nonetheless disappointing to have a more difficult focusing experience with a brand-new, super-expensive lens.

To summarize, I did not particularly enjoy how it felt to shoot with this lens, but I think I would have a significantly better experience with the more lightweight black aluminum version, particularly if it had a smoother, broken-in focus ring.

Image quality

Distortion:
No noticeable geometric distortion.

Vignetting:
Definitely present at f/1.4, but a normal amount for a 50/1.4 lens.

Lateral chromatic aberration:
Minimal/none.

Longitudinal chromatic aberration (AKA spherochromatism):
Longitudinal CA can be quite distracting in fast lenses. With the 50 Summilux ASPH, longitudinal CA is impressively well-controlled and I never noticed a significant amount even at f/1.4. I can see why Peter Karbe describes this lens as having an apochromatic design. The following photo demonstrates a notable lack of chromatic aberration in the foreground and background highlights:

Purple fringing:
I didn’t do a torture test for this, but purple fringing is well-controlled even at f/1.4 and never caused problems for me. The fact that none is visible in the following photo is quite reassuring:

Bokeh/rendering:
I really love how the 50 Summilux ASPH renders out-of-focus areas in both the foreground and background. The bokeh is smooth and creamy, without being so perfect that it lacks character, if that makes sense. The transition zones are clean as well.

Sharpness, infinity:

Analysis: A very uneven performance. The center is sharp already at f/1.4. The mid-frame and corners are noticeably unsharp at f/1.4. They improve a lot by f/2.8 which is usable for landscapes, but optimal performance starts at f/4.

Sharpness, 2m:

Analysis: Pretty much the same performance as at infinity. The center is already beautifully sharp at f/1.4. The mid-frame and corners are unsharp at f/1.4, which can be a significant issue given how common it is to have the subject placed in the mid-frame. The mid-frame and corners are sharper at f/2.8 but still far from perfect; f/5.6 is needed to get perfection across the frame.

Sharpness, 0.7m:

Analysis: Thanks to the floating group, the center is beautifully sharp even at f/1.4. The mid-frame and corners are pretty rough at f/1.4 but at 0.7m, it’s hard to achieve focus there anyways. The mid-frame and corners become acceptable at f/2.8 but still far behind the center.

Summary and recommendations

I didn’t enjoy using my 50 Summilux ASPH enough for it to become a permanent part of my kit. But I think most of that is because of the stiff focus ring on my copy. I might one day try to find a copy of the black aluminum version with a smooth focus ring, which would be significantly more enjoyable to shoot with.

In terms of image quality, I was overall happy with the 50 Summilux ASPH. Its performance is highly uneven and strongly optimized for central performance. The mid-frame is soft enough that while using this lens at f/1.4, I frequently found myself asking, “Did I miss focus, or is that just as sharp as it gets?” For landscapes and other situations where corner-to-corner performance matters, this lens needs to be stopped down to f/4. But although peripheral performance is pretty bad for a >$4000 lens, the 50 Summilux ASPH makes up for that with its superb central performance. In the center 50% of the frame, image quality is amazing: perfectly sharp even at f/1.4, excellent control of chromatic aberration, beautiful rendering, and consistent performance from infinity to 0.7m wide open. Most of the time, I was happy to trade peripheral sharpness for this performance. I found that the 50 Summilux ASPH’s image quality is particularly excellent for photographing people. The smooth transition zones and lack of chromatic aberration make a big difference for things like weddings and portraits, and mid-frame performance usually doesn’t matter for these.

So is this lens worth the exorbitant price? I think what it comes down to is the answer to this question: does the f/1.4 aperture provide a significantly different look than a 50mm f/2 lens? I find myself frequently asking myself this because going for that extra f-stop comes with trade-offs in size, weight, and cost. After reviewing the photos I took with the 50 Summilux ASPH and comparing them with photos I took with several different 50mm f/2 lenses, all I can come up with is, maybe?

For those who are confident they want more bokeh than a 50mm f/2 lens can provide, I think paying for the 50 Summilux ASPH is reasonable, especially for those who primarily photograph people. But I would also give strong consideration to the Voigtlander 50mm f/1.5 II (review) and Voigtlander 50mm f/1.2. The 50/1.5 II doesn’t have as nice of a rendering as the Summilux; in particular, I was bothered by how hazy the transition zones can look. But it’s much smaller and lighter, 1/5th the price, and actually sharper in the mid-frame and corners. I haven’t used the Voigtlander 50mm f/1.2 before but Fred Miranda directly compared it to the 50 Summilux (link) and it sounds like a very similar lens for a lot less money, with the added bonus of an extra half stop.

For those who aren’t convinced about needing f/1.4, there are several great options. The Zeiss 50/2 Planar (review) and the Leica 50/2 Summicron (review) are two fantastic 50mm lenses that are cheaper, smaller, and lighter than the 50 Summilux ASPH while providing more consistent sharpness. The Voigtlander 50/2 APO (review) is not as compact but still beats the Summilux on cost, weight, and image quality (including a very smooth rendering and apochromatic correction).

Will I keep shooting with the 50 Summilux ASPH long-term? I think I would if 50mm was my most-used focal length. But taking time to focus on 50mm has mostly reminded me how much I love shooting 35mm. For a focal length that’s not my favorite, the 50 Summilux ASPH feels like too much lens.

Circling back to this lens’s history, it continues to amaze me how good this lens is considering it was released in 2004. This leaves me with one last question: with all of the advances in lens technology since 2004, could Leica make a much better 50/1.4 today while maintaining the same size? I think the answer to that is, almost certainly.

Good
Perfect central sharpness with beautiful rendering
Excellent chromatic aberration control
Build quality

Bad
Stiff focusing ring
Soft mid-frame and corners until f/4
Price

Which version to buy
Personally, I find the magnification of 50mm at 0.7m to be enough, so I don’t think I would opt for the 2023 version with closer focusing. The increased thickness of the new version is also a big turnoff for me, and black aluminum copies of the 2004 version sell for $2500-$3000 on the used market. But if I were buying one in silver, I would actually go for the 2023 version because it’s lighter and probably focuses more smoothly than the 2004 version.

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Other alternatives (not recommended)

Leica 50mm f/2 APO-Summicron ASPH
This lens offers similar performance to the Voigtlander 50/2 APO and is slightly better in terms of size and ergonomics. But that’s not enough to overcome its price tag of over $8000.

Voigtlander 50mm f/3.5 Heliar
This lens offers optical perfection with a fairly limited f/3.5 aperture in a tiny but odd-looking package. For a similar price you can just get the Zeiss 50/2 Planar, so I’m not sure who this lens is for.

Zeiss 50mm f/1.5 Sonnar
Voigtlander 50mm f/1.5 Heliar
These lenses use vintage optical designs and should only be used by those who intentionally want soft, dreamy images with lots of aberrations. They also have very strong focus shift, which makes them a pain to use on rangefinders.