LEICA SUMMILUX M 50mm 3rd

Review and Photo example of the Leica SUMMILUX M 50mm F1.4 3rd(Titan color).

Table of contents

Gallery

  • Sample photos taken with the LEICA M9

Review

The 3rd generation M-mount Summilux 50mm has an amber lens coating, a simple cylindrical lens barrel with no irregularities that has continued from the first generation, and a beautiful integrated minimal design of the lens with a built-in hood.

Production numbers were made from 1992 to 2006.
There are many color variations including black, silver, titanium, and black paint. The black paint is limited edition and has different designs such as the focus ring.
There are M mount and L mount, and the minimum shooting distance of M mount has been changed to 0.7m. Since the mount shape is new, official modification to add a 6-bit code for lens recognition is possible. Please note that the L mount version is a limited silver color model and the minimum shooting distance is limited to 1m, which matches the Barnack Leica.

The amber coating looks like the relatively new R-mount Summilux 55mm filter diameter (E55 type) lens has the same coating.

Although the images are not as sharp as the 4th generation aspherical lens, they are cleaner and clearer than older lenses, and there were many scenes where I felt that the depiction was preferable without being too sharp.

The built-in hood, which is a feature of the design, is not long enough to be practical, only slightly exceeding the length of a genuine LEICA 46mm lens filter even when pulled out, and because of its poor light-blocking properties, it was rarely extended for use. If I had to praise this small hood, it would be that because of its length, it doesn’t get in the way of the viewfinder window.

I suspect that the evolution of lens coatings over time has increased resistance to backlight, leading to the creation of such a bonus hood.
There is a fair chance that you will find cloudy M-mount lenses from the same generation, including this lens, on the used market. Glass types, balsam materials, etc. may be prone to fogging depending on storage conditions.

Specification

ItemValuenote
focal length(mm)50
Maximum aperture1.4
Minimum aperture16
Leaf blade12
Lens configuration5groups 7elements
Minimum distance(m)0.7Camera distance meter interlocked in all areas
Lens length(mm)55Distance from mounting surface
Lens max diameter(mm)49
Filter diameter(mm)46mmE46
Weight(g)380
Release date *11992〜2005,2006
Production number *118132
(1992-2005)
*1: Quoted numbers from LEICA WIKI

Reference links

Update history

  • 2024.03.11
  • 2023.04.14

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