Glass Bodies a variant-level encyclopedia of vintage lenses and cameras by iwillpat

Summilux-M 24mm f/1.4 ASPH

Leica ¡ Leica M ¡ 2008 ¡ Ten elements in eight groups, aspherical

Also known as: Summilux-M 24 ASPH ¡ 24mm f/1.4 Summilux

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Summilux-M 24 ASPH (11601) Leica M 2008 — No figure published
  1. Introduced at Photokina in September 2008. Published optical detail beyond the ten elements in eight groups: one aspherical surface, two floating elements, five elements of anomalous partial dispersion glass, and eleven straight aperture blades.
  2. No allocated serial block has been published for this lens. The Leica Wiki's serial section holds three rows, each of them a range between observed examples, two of them with an unknown end, and its TOTAL row reads "unknown". No production figure has been published either.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • f/1.4 at 24mm: 84 degrees at full aperture
  • Entrance pupil 19.2mm behind the front surface

Summilux-M 24 ASPH (11601):

  • 6-bit coded
  • Ten elements — among the most complex lenses in the M catalogue

Serial-range notes

the seven-digit number on the front ring
The rule for every Leitz and Leica lens: the numbers run in one running sequence shared across models, so a serial normally gives an approximate date — but the sequence does NOT begin at 100,000 in 1931, and a serial usually identifies the model too. The register behind the published year list records reserved BLOCKS, each entered with a date, a range and a lens name, which is why per-model batch tables exist and why they are the better evidence where the two disagree. The date is when the block was reserved, not when the lens was finished. Date a copy by the year band it falls into. The bands covering this lens are 4,057,001–4,080,000 for 2008, 4,080,001–4,100,000 for 2009, 4,100,001–4,115,000 for 2010, 4,115,001–4,130,000 for 2011 and 4,130,001 onwards for 2012. The published list stops there, so a copy numbered above 4,130,000 can be dated no closer than 2012 or later.
4079764–4088299
The Leica Wiki's first row, headed 2008–2010 and printed with leading and trailing dashes: a bracket around the lowest and highest examples then known, not an allocated block. The general year list splits it — 4,079,764 falls in 2008, within 300 numbers of that year's close, and 4,088,299 falls in 2009. Its stated total of 8,536+ is the arithmetic difference between the two numbers and is not a production figure, since the sequence is shared with every other Leica lens of those years.
4106908
The start of the wiki's second row, headed 2011–2012. The general year list puts 4,106,908 in 2010, since 2011 does not open until 4,115,001. The two sources disagree by a year and both readings are recorded.
4188538–4188880
The wiki's third row, headed 2013–2014, and beyond the reach of the general year list, whose last published band opens at 4,130,001 for 2012. Its opening number carries the page's stolen-lens marker, and the same number 4188538 also opens a row on the wiki's 21mm f/1.4 Summilux-M page. One serial cannot belong to two lenses; the wiki does not say which page is in error, so both are recorded.

Specifications

Formula
Ten elements in eight groups, aspherical
Construction
10 elements / 8 groups
Aperture range
f/1.4–f/16
Diaphragm blades
11
Min. focus
0.7 m
Weight
500 g
Years manufactured
2008
Country
Germany

What reviewers say

History

In 2008 Leica introduced f/1.4 wide-angles at 21mm and 24mm together, and a 28mm followed in 2015. Before that the fastest wide in the M system had been f/2 at 28mm and f/2.8 at anything shorter. This is the moment a rangefinder stopped being a camera where wide meant slow.

Ten elements in eight groups is a great deal of glass for 24mm, and the reason is the aperture: correcting a 84 degree field at f/1.4 takes complexity that an f/2.8 design does not need. It is also, unavoidably, large — which on a rangefinder means it intrudes into the finder, and the photographer sees a corner of their own lens while composing.

Like every Leica 24, it has no frameline of its own and needs an accessory finder.

Expand Collapse

This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.

Example photos

Sample photo wanted — shot with a Summilux-M 24mm f/1.4 ASPH? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $6,400 across 5 fixed-price listings on 2026-09-11 (middle half $5,400–$7,200). Tracked since 2026-09-06, 2 days: unchanged from $6,400.

By day
DateMedianMiddle halfListings
2026-09-11$6,400$5,400–$7,2005
2026-09-06$6,400$5,400–$7,2005

Asking prices from the listings scanned, not sales; junk-flagged rows and auction lots excluded; other currencies are not converted.

eBay links are affiliate links. If you buy through one, Glass Bodies earns a small commission from eBay at no cost to you. It does not change which listings appear, their prices or their order — those come from the search and the sort described above.

Listings updated 2026-09-11. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.

Related: Elmar-M 24mm f/3.8 ASPH ¡ Elmarit-M 24mm f/2.8 ASPH ¡ Summilux-M 21mm f/1.4 ASPH ¡ Summilux-M 28mm f/1.4 ASPH

Sources (5)

Every page here is assembled from public sources, and the gaps are real ones. If you own this lens, know a serial number I'm missing, or can see where I have it wrong, tell me — corrections, serials and sample photos are all worth having.