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

Summilux-R 35mm f/1.4

Leica · Leica R · 1984

Also known as: Summilux-R 35mm f/1.4 · Summilux-R 35mm f1.4 · Summilux-R 35mm F1.4 · Summilux-R 35mm 1.4 · Summilux-R 35mm 1:1.4 · Summilux-R 35/1.4 · Summilux-R 1.4/35 · Summilux-R 1:1.4/35 · Summilux-R 1,4/35 · Summilux-R 1.4/35mm · Summilux R 35mm f1.4 · Summilux R 35mm f/1.4 · Summilux R 35 f1.4 · Summilux R 1:1.4/35mm · Leica R 35mm f1.4 Summilux · Leica R 35mm f/1.4 Summilux · 35mm f1.4 Summilux-R · 35mm f/1.4 Summilux-R · 35mm Summilux-R · Summilux-R 11143 · Summilux-R 11144 · Summilux-R 11337 · Leica 11143 · Leica 11144 · Leica 11337 · ズミルックスR 35mm F1.4 · ライカ ズミルックスR 35mm F1.4

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
3-cam (11143) Leica R, 3-cam (Leica's 1989 handbook lists the R bodies and the Leicaflex SL2 only) 1984–1992 327xxxx (earliest seen) —
R-only (11144) Leica R, R-cam only (R bodies; not the Leicaflex bodies) 1992 — —
11143 or 11144 converted to ROM by Leica service Leica R, ROM (R3 and later; not the Leicaflex bodies) — — —
Factory ROM (11337) Leica R, ROM (R3 and later; Leicaflex SL2 only after modification) — 386xxxx (seen, 1999) —
  1. Specification from Leica's own documents: the Handbook of Dec 1989 (11143, 0.660 kg) and the Handbook 2000/2001 (11337, 0.685 kg). Both handbooks give 64°; Leica's later data sheet gives 63° (54° horizontal, 38° vertical) and adds a focal length of 35.9 mm, an entrance pupil 32.6 mm behind the first surface and a highest reproduction ratio of 1:11. Weight is given here as the data sheet's 685 g.
  2. Seven diaphragm blades are given by Kamerastore and by Cinelenswiki, not by a Leica document.
  3. Dates: Puts, Kamerastore and Flashback Camera give 1984 for the introduction; the earliest serials seen fall in a block Flashback dates to 1983. The end date of 2009 is Cinelenswiki's and matches the end of R production. The 1992 start of the R-only 11144 is Kamerastore's; no Leica document consulted dates it.
  4. Body fit: Leica's 1989 handbook lists the 3-cam lens for the R models and the Leicaflex SL2, and Leica's 2000/2001 handbook says the ROM lens can be modified for additional use on the SL2. Neither names the original Leicaflex or the SL. Apotelyt says the 35 mm Summilux-R should not be attached to the Leicaflex or the SL because it needs more clearance between the mirror and the rear element; Doug Herr, as quoted by Photoethnography on this site's Leicaflex page, also names it for those two bodies; camera-wiki lists it as SL2 and later only.
  5. No Leitz Canada lens, special edition or chrome finish was found for this focal length. No source consulted dates a change of engraving from Leitz to Leica on this lens.
  6. Market prices seen in November 2026 are dealer asking prices for used lenses, not list prices: Kamerastore listed an 11144 at €4,799 (sold out when seen). No period list price in DM or dollars was found.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • The only 35 mm f/1.4 in the R range: a near-cylindrical barrel 75 mm across and 76 mm long with a hood that slides out of it and an E67 thread; the Summicron-R 35 and late Elmarit-R 35 are much smaller and take E55
  • Turn the lens over to read the mount: two sloped cams plus a stepped cam is the 3-cam 11143; the stepped cam alone is the R-only 11144; a strip of contacts is ROM, factory (11337) or converted, and the serial tells which
  • Not the Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 rangefinder lenses (steel rim, pre-ASPH, Aspherical, ASPH, FLE), which are a fraction of the size

3-cam (11143):

  • Order number 11143; seen from the back, the two sloped Leicaflex cams and the stepped R-cam, and no row of gold contacts
  • Serial numbers in the 327xxxx block on the earliest lenses Flashback Camera has sold, which it dates to 1983 by the number, a year before the lens was announced

R-only (11144):

  • Order number 11144; the stepped R-cam alone at the back of the mount, with neither sloped Leicaflex cam and no contacts
  • Sellers call it 'R-only', 'R cam' or '3rd cam' (Kamerastore's term for a mount with only the third, stepped cam): '3rd cam' in a title does not mean a 3-cam lens

11143 or 11144 converted to ROM by Leica service:

  • A strip of ROM contacts at the back of the mount on a lens whose serial number belongs to the 1980s or early 1990s

Factory ROM (11337):

  • Order number 11337; ROM contacts at the back of the mount and the stepped R-cam, no Leicaflex cams
  • Same barrel, built-in hood and E67 thread as the 3-cam lens; Leica gives approx. 685 g against the 0.660 kg of the 1989 handbook

Serial-range notes

327xxxx
The lowest block seen in dealer listings. Flashback Camera dates its 327xxxx lenses to 1983 from the number, the year before the lens was announced; Puts and Kamerastore give 1984 for the introduction.
386xxxx
A factory ROM 11337 lens, dated 1999 by Flashback Camera.

Specifications

Formula
Retrofocus with a floating element, ten elements in nine groups
Construction
10 elements / 9 groups
Aperture range
f/1.4–f/16
Diaphragm blades
7
Min. focus
0.5 m
Dimensions
75 × 76 mm
Weight
685 g
Filter
67 mm (0.75 mm pitch), E67 screw-in; Series 8 through adapter 14264 (Leica Handbook, Dec 1989)
Years manufactured
1984–2009
Material
Black finish (black anodised in the 2000/2001 handbook), rubber-coated focusing ring, built-in telescopic hood

What reviewers say

History

The Summilux-R 35mm f/1.4 is the fast wide-angle the Leica R system waited fifteen years for. Erwin Puts writes that Leitz had no retrofocus experience when the Leicaflex arrived: its first Summicron-R 35 of 1970 needed nine elements to match the rangefinder lens of the day, and only fifteen years later could Leitz make a 1.4/35 “with the same effort”. The result, introduced in 1984, has ten elements in nine groups and a floating element that changes the spacing inside the lens as it focuses, to keep the field flat close up. Puts points out that all its elements have about the same diameter: a long, narrow lens with small angles of refraction, 75 mm across and 76 mm long, where a classical retrofocus would have a much larger front element. Leica’s December 1989 handbook gives E67 filters, f/16, a 0.5 m close focus (about 1:11), a built-in telescopic hood, a rubber-coated focusing ring and 660 g. The later Leica figures are 685 g.

Puts rates it highly. Wide open he finds it much better than the first Summilux-M 35 of 1961 and nearly the equal, in practice, of the Summilux-M 35 ASPH. Overall contrast is high, but the major outlines have soft edges. Flare and veiling glare are well suppressed but can show when a light source shines straight into the front lens, coma is very low, and vignetting reaches 2.4 stops at f/1.4. Contrast and the outer zones improve at f/2.8, the optimum is reached at f/4, and the floating element keeps near-range performance excellent once the lens is stopped down. Among the R 28s and 35s it was his first choice, and the one he thought best suited to available light. Its M-mount namesakes are unrelated designs and have their own pages.

The versions differ at the back of the mount. The lens was first sold as 11143, a 3-cam lens with the two sloped Leicaflex cams and the stepped R-cam. Leica’s 1989 handbook lists it for the R models, in all exposure modes, and for the Leicaflex SL2 only. Apotelyt says it should not be attached to the original Leicaflex or the SL, because it needs more clearance between the mirror and its rear element than they give, and Doug Herr names it for those two bodies as well, even though the cams are there. Kamerastore says an R-cam-only mount, 11144, followed in 1992, and that it does not fit any Leicaflex. Sellers write it as “R-only”, “R cam” or “3rd cam”, so “3rd cam” in a listing does not mean a 3-cam lens. By the time of Leica’s Handbook 2000/2001 it was sold as 11337, with ROM contacts, which pass lens data such as the focal length to an R8 or R9. Leica’s Handbook 2000/2001 lists both earlier numbers as convertible to ROM, with the Leicaflex cams removed, and says the 11337 can be modified for the SL2. The glass, barrel and hood are the same throughout. None of the sources here records a Leitz Canada lens or a special edition of this focal length.

When buying, match the mount to the bodies first. A 3-cam lens fits the SL2 and every R body, an R-only or ROM lens only the R bodies, and a lens offered with a Leicaflex or SL should not be tried on one. Read the serial as well as the cams: a lens with contacts and a 1980s number has been converted. Flashback Camera notes that the helicoid of this lens tends to grow heavy and has had the floating unit regreased on lenses it sold, and Cinelenswiki warns that the floating group makes the focus feel hard to set right in a service, so try the focus through its whole travel. Check that the built-in hood slides out and holds, look for haze and coating wear on the inner elements, and expect weight: Leica’s 1989 handbook gives 660 g against 422 g for the Summicron-R 35, and later Leica figures 685 g.

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-R 35mm f/1.4? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $5,200 across 33 fixed-price listings on 2026-11-10 (middle half $4,400–$6,500). Tracked since 2026-11-09, 2 days: up 15% from $4,500.

By day
DateMedianMiddle halfListings
2026-11-10$5,200$4,400–$6,50033
2026-11-09$4,500$4,400–$4,5003

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

Show 48 more listings

Buying from Yahoo! Auctions outside Japan. It is a domestic marketplace: sellers ship within Japan, and most will not register an overseas buyer. A proxy service bids on your behalf, receives the item and forwards it, for a fee and a wait. Buyee, Jauce and ZenMarket each accept a Yahoo auction number directly. Listed alphabetically for information — none is recommended over another, and none of these is an affiliate link.

Listings updated 2026-11-10. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.

Related: Summicron-R 35mm f/2 (II) · Summilux-R 50mm f/1.4 (II, E60) · Elmarit-R 35mm f/2.8 (III) · Summicron-R 35mm f/2 (I) · Summilux-R 50mm f/1.4 (I)

Sources (10)

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.