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
Item | Value | note |
focal length(mm) | 50 | |
Maximum aperture | 1.4 | |
Minimum aperture | 16 | |
Leaf blade | 12 | |
Lens configuration | 5groups 7elements | |
Minimum distance(m) | 0.7 | Camera distance meter interlocked in all areas |
Lens length(mm) | 55 | Distance from mounting surface |
Lens max diameter(mm) | 49 | |
Filter diameter(mm) | 46mm | E46 |
Weight(g) | 380 | |
Release date *1 | 1992〜2005,2006 | |
Production number *1 | 18132 (1992-2005) |
Reference links
Update history
- 2024.03.11
- 2023.04.14
Affiliate links
- Some external links are advertisements and clicking them may generate income for the site administrator.