leica 50mm M-summilux 1.4 ASPH (2023 edition) thoughts and sample images
All images in this review were shot with the Leica 50mm Summilux 1.4 ASPH and the Leica SL2-S. Most of the time somewhere between 1.4 and 2.8.
SHORT AND SWEET FIELD TESTS
My reviews aren’t technical nor are they sales pitches. I review equipment I like and that I use as a professional photographer. I don’t conclude my reviews by telling you to buy anything, I just tell you why I bought something and how I use it and I don’t talk about things that don’t interest me much like bokeh balls and lens charts, sorry.
ABOUT ME
My name is Justin Mott and I’m a professional photographer with 20 years of experience. I’ve photographed over 100 assignments for the New York Times around the world and I shoot documentary and commercial photography. These reviews aren’t paid or endorsed although I do have an existing relationship with Leica as an educator in photography. You can visit my portfolio here and my YouTube channel here.
KEY FEATURES
$4495 usd
Full-Frame | f/1.4 to f/16
Fast Normal-Length Prime
Improved Sharpness and Bokeh
Manual Focus Design, 1.5' Min. Focus
One Aspherical Element
11-Blade Diaphragm
Built-In Retractable Lens Hood
I recently purchased a demo version of the Leica M series 50mm Summilux lens(2023 edition) from Leica Singapore. The timing was serendipitous as I live in Vietnam and they happen to have a staff member from Leica Vietnam that was willing to shuttle back for me. It all happened in sort of a flurry actually, but I’m glad it happened at all. . I’m a 35mm photographer through and through but part of my resolutions for the new year were to expand my horizons and experiment with different focal lengths. Here are my thoughts on this beauty of a lens.
HOW I USE IT
You can use it as you please, I’m not one of those photographers who says it has to be for this or that type of photography. I’ll use it for street photography, video b-roll, and portraits, oh my goodness will I use it for portrait photography.
EXPERIENCE
It’s not like I’ve never owned a 50mm or anything like that, but I’ve never found it as nifty as others, I wish there was a cool phrase for a 35mm but revive with the 35 seems off. I’m not a technical photographer, and I’m not going to compare lens charts and such, I just shoot and edit and I review my images for myself and my clients and I go off of what my eyes tell me.
WORTH THE UPGRADE?
For me it’s the close focus capabilities, it’s not macro, but it matters. Sure you can crop if you’re and SL2 owner that’s pretty easy and in most scenarios I can crop it on my SL2-S as well but since I shoot for clients and every shot has the chance to end up in my print store I prefer not to. I would say the average person isn’t going to notice the optical upgrade from the last version but since Leica M glass holds it’s value quite well you could sell your old one and pay the difference, I probably would if owned the last version.
WORTH THE PURCHASE?
For me yes indeed, I love it. I’d go used or demo to save yourself some cash if boxes and stuff. don’t matter and if you have a trustworthy vendor to buy from. I love this lens, I’m a month in and for portraits I just absolutely love it. I’ve done some self-portraits here with the SL2-S along with some street shots and yes, my go-to when I buy new equipment, is dog documentary photography and dog portraits.
LUX VS CRON?
I’m all about wide open, maybe too much but whenever I’m in a creative pickle, I open it up and and 1.4 it. Ok, that doesn’t fix all problems and it doesn’t make any photo portfolio worthy because it’s 1.4 but it doesn’t hurt. If you shoot wide open and you have the extra cash go for it, if not, the Cron is a fabulous lens as well.
BOKEH
You’ve got the wrong photographer for comparing bokeh balls and shapes and such, not my thing at all. I think it looks incredible wide open and the out-of-focus stuff I shoot is out of focus for a reason. Sorry to leave you with blue balls if you came here for bokeh balls.
CONCLUSION
Is this lens for you? How the heck should I know, I have no idea what you shoot, how often you shoot, and how much disposable income you have so stop asking me to make important decisions in your life. I love it and have zero buyer’s remorse. If you want to buy it and my review helped, I’d appreciate it if you use my affiliate link or at least if you pop into a Leica store name drop me so Leica knows that I’m giving them some love. Don’t buy it because I said so, buy it because you’re an intelligent consumer who will use this lens and feel that your happiness will equal its price.
Here are some sample images shot so far, I’m taking it on its first assignment next week for the New York Times so let’s see how she performs when she’s getting paid to perform. Ok, that sentence sounded kind of gross, not my intention, sorry about that.
This gallery is a great representation of how versatile this lens is. I use it for street photography, portraits, dog portraits, and details, and yes while I hate photographing flowers I photographed flowers for you guys so you can see the color and details. The images were all shot using the Leica 50mm M Summilux Lens with my Leica SL2-S and mildly edited in Lightroom. Rather than label the metadata I can tell you most images were shot using natural light wide open at 1.4 and occasionally I drift to 2.5 but not often. These images are all copyright-protected and may not be used without my consent.
