LEICA SUMMICRON M 50mm
Long-selling standard lens with built-in hood
A review and Photo example of the Fourth Generation Summicron M 50mm.
Table of contents
Gallery
- Sample photo taken with the Leica M9.
Review
1．Overview
The Summicron-M 50mm was released in 1979, and is a long-lasting lens, with over 100,000 units produced.
It has eight aperture blades in the usual octagonal shape, a retractable hood with no locking mechanism.
The filter diameter is 39mm, unchanged from the previous Summicron 50mm, and the same thread diameter is used.
Like the Summicron-M 35mm ASPH., Summilux-M 50mm, and APO Summicron 90mm, it was available in three colors: black, silver, and titanium. The titanium and silver colors use a brass lens barrel, which is heavier than the black color with an aluminum barrel.
The Summicron 50mm with built-in hood is also available in a silver barrel with an L39 screw mount for the Barnack Leica, but the minimum shooting distance is 1.0m, matching the standard minimum shooting distance of the Barnack Leica. By using an L/M conversion ring, it can be used with M-mount Leica cameras, but care must be taken as you can only get as close as 1m.
2．Usage
I have used the early retractable Summicron, the Summicron with glasses, and this one with a built-in hood for the M-series. I have had very few complaints about the image quality of any of them, and compared to the 50mm lenses before the Summicron, I feel that the Summicron series is a complete lens. For this reason, I have not yet acquired any of the lenses released between the first and this lens.
The brightness of the F2 aperture makes it easy to determine the focus position with the rangefinder of the M-series Leica, and in casual use such as snapshot photography, the focus position does not go against your intention very often, making it easy to use, unlike the Summilux 50mm ASPH., which requires razor-sharp focus accuracy.
The hood was built into the fourth generation from the later model, and the lens design was completely redesigned from the separate hood of the early fourth generation. Although the design has changed, the brightness of the lens is the same, so the filter diameter is the same as before, and I like the fact that they did not unnecessarily change the specifications of the options.
The layout of the aperture ring at the front of the lens and the focus ring in the middle has been retained, so photographers who are used to Summicron won’t be confused. However, the finger hook that was present on the second and third generation lens barrel is no longer there, so photographers who use the finger hook as a starting point may be confused.
I have bought the silver version with the built-in hood twice and sold it twice, but the focus ring on both occasions was light, so I think that’s how it’s designed.
3．Differences
There are two ways to count Summicrons: by the evolution of the lens barrel, and by the evolution of the lens configuration. The Ken Rockwell website in the reference link counts by the evolution of the lens barrel, while the LEICA WIKI counts by the evolution of the lens configuration.
In 2013, it was released as the APO SUMMICRON 50mm ASPH., a lens that combines the APO specifications, the use of aspherical lenses, and the specifications of modern Leica lenses. This lens is completely different from the regular Summicron in terms of both performance and price.
Leica makes steady improvements to its long-selling products, so I think there is a possibility that improvements such as a shorter minimum focusing distance and the use of aspherical lenses will be made, as with the latest Summilux-M model released in 2023.
Specification and Competitor
| Items | SUMMICRON(Retractable) | DR SUMMICRON | SUMMICRON |
| Focal length(mm) | 50 | 50 | 50 |
| Max aperture | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Min aperture | 16 | 16 | 16 |
| Lens Construction | 7 elements in 6 groups | 7 elements in 6 groups | 6 elements in 4 groups |
| Aperture blades (Diaphragm) | 10 | 10 | 8 |
| Min distance(m) | ∞〜1.0 | ∞〜1.0 | ∞〜0.7 |
| With goggles(m) | – | 0.9〜0.48 | – |
| Lens length(mm) | – | 43 | |
| Max diameter(mm) | 47.8 | 53 | 53 |
| Filter Size(mm) | 39 | 39 | 39 |
| Hoods | SOOFM / ITDOO / IROOA | SOOFM / ITDOO / IROOA | Build in |
| Weight(g) | – | 339 | 240:Black 335:Silver,Titan |
| Goggles weight(g) | – | 52 | – |
| Release date | 1951 | 1956 | 1978 |
| Production numbers | 253,314 | ? | 1977-2005 94,573+ |
Reference links
- Leica Wiki explaination of the SUMMICRON 50mm with built-in hood
- Leica Wiki’s explanation of the SUMMICRON 50mm with separate hood
- Leica Wiki’s explanation of the SUMMICRON 50mm retractable
- Ken Rockwell Summicron 50mm comparison page
Update history
- 2024.11.11
- 2024.03.01:Update article
- 2022.07.02:First draft
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