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

Summilux-R 50mm f/1.4 (I)

Leica · Leica R · 1970 · Seven elements in six groups

our own finding

Also known as: Summilux-R 50mm f/1.4 · Summilux-R 50mm f1.4 · Summilux-R 50mm F1.4 · Summilux R 50mm f1.4 · Summilux R 50mm f/1.4 · Summilux-R 50mm f/1.4 E55 · Summilux-R 50mm f1.4 E55 · Summilux R 50mm E55 · Summilux-R 1.4/50 · Summilux-R 1:1.4/50 · Summilux-R 1.4/50mm · Summilux-R 50/1.4 · Summilux-R 50 1.4 · Summilux R 1.4/50 · Summilux-R 50mm Type I · Leica R 50mm f1.4 Summilux · Leica R 50mm f/1.4 Summilux · 50mm f1.4 Summilux-R · 50mm f/1.4 Summilux-R · Summilux-R 11776 · Summilux-R 11777 · Summilux-R 11875 · Leica 11776 · Leica 11777 · Leica 11875 · ズミルックスR 50mm F1.4 · ライカ ズミルックスR 50mm F1.4

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
First barrel, Series VII and separate hood (11875) Leica R, 2-cam or 3-cam (fits every Leicaflex; a 2-cam lens needs the R-cam fitted before use on any R body) 1970–1976 up to 2806500 (Leitz 1978 catalogue: '11875 up to No. 2.806.500') —
Safari, olive green (11876) Leica R, 3-cam 1977 2807165 (olive lens sold with an R3 Safari, Leitz Auction) —
E55 barrel with built-in hood, 3-cam (11776) Leica R, 3-cam (fits every Leicaflex and R body) 1976 from 2806501 (Leitz 1982 Handbook: 1.4/50 11776 'Code No. 2 806501') —
E55 barrel, R-only (11777) Leica R, R-cam only (R3 and later; Leicaflex only after Leica fits the cams) 1983 from 3291801 (Leica Handbook Dec 1989: fits all Leica R models but no longer the Leicaflex models) 4,149 lenses as 11777, 1989–1995 (Shige, citing the Leica Wiki)
Gold-plated, with the R3 Gold and the R4 Gold Leica R 1979 2933074 (with an R3 Gold, Leitz Auction 11, unsold)
3295753 (with an R4 Gold, Leitz Auction 43, unsold)
3296105 (with an R4 Gold, Leitz Auction 41) 		—
Converted to ROM by Leica service Leica R, ROM (R3 and later; not the Leicaflex bodies) — — —
Factory ROM order number 11343 Leica R, ROM (R3 and later) — — —
  1. Specification from Leitz's own documents: the General Catalogue of 15 Sept 1978, the Handbooks of July 1982 and Dec 1989 (all 0.395 kg, 50.6 mm, 66.5 mm, E55) and the 1978 accessory table for the first barrel. Leitz gives 45°; English Wikipedia gives 47°.
  2. Six diaphragm blades are reported by Kamerastore and Shige, not by a Leitz document. Shige's specification table gives 68.5 mm diameter and 395 g for his lens and 398 g measured; Kamerastore gives 67 × 51 mm. The Leitz figures are 66.5 × 50.6 mm.
  3. Dates: Erwin Puts dates the first version to 1970 and the redesign to 1998; English Wikipedia and Photoethnography give 1969 for the first barrel. Kamerastore and English Wikipedia date the E55 barrel 1978 and Photoethnography 1979, the year it first appears in a Leitz catalogue, though its first serial falls in the 1976 band. The end date of 1998 is English Wikipedia's and Puts' date for the E60 successor; Leica's Handbook 2000/2001 range table lists only the E60 lens.
  4. Order numbers: English Wikipedia lists the E55 lens as '11778, 11777'. Neither Leitz's 1978 catalogue and 1982 handbook nor Leica's handbooks of 1989 and 2000/2001 show an 11778; the 1978 and 1982 documents show 11776 and the 1989 handbook 11777, so 11778 is treated here as a misprint.
  5. Shige, citing the Leica Wiki, gives the optical design of both barrels of the old type as six groups and seven elements, but in the prose of the same review calls it six elements in six groups. Leitz's catalogues give seven elements in six components.
  6. Fit on the Leicaflex: Apotelyt names the 50 mm Summilux-R, without a version, among lenses that should not be mounted on the Leicaflex; Doug Herr, quoted by Photoethnography, says only the current Summilux-R 50 is a problem on the Leicaflex and SL and the older versions are fine (both on this site's Leicaflex page). Leitz's catalogues sold the 3-cam lens for all Leicaflex models, and Leica's 1989 handbook offered to fit the cams to the R-only lens for 'all' Leicaflex cameras.
  7. Market prices seen in 2026, all secondary-market and none a list price: Kamerastore asked €1,399, €1,091 and €1,044 for three 11776 lenses (dealer prices); Leica Store London Mayfair asked £1,280 for 11776 no. 2901458 (dealer price including VAT under the margin scheme). Auction results are given with the Safari and gold variants and include buyer's premium. No period list price in DM or dollars was found.
  8. No source names a designer, and no lens of this family engraved Leitz Canada is recorded.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • Seven elements and a 55 mm or Series 7 filter: the Summilux-R 50 with an E60 thread, 70 mm across and about 490 g is the 8-element successor of 1998 (11344), a different lens
  • Two barrels: the first has no hood of its own and takes hood 12508 with a Series 7 filter; the second, from serial 2,806,501, has a telescopic hood built in and an E55 thread
  • Read the mount from the back: two sloped cams plus a stepped cam is 3-cam; the stepped cam alone is R-only; gold contacts are ROM. The serial dates the change: 3-cam up to 3,291,800, R-only from 3,291,801
  • Not the Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 rangefinder lenses, which have no cams and are a fraction of the size, nor the Summilux-R 35mm f/1.4 or 80mm f/1.4, which take E67

First barrel, Series VII and separate hood (11875):

  • No hood on the barrel: a separate hood, 12508, holds a Series 7 filter, and the front ring has an internal M48 × 0.75 thread; the later barrels have a hood that slides out of the lens
  • Order number 11875 and a serial number no higher than 2,806,500
  • At the back of the mount: two sloped Leicaflex cams only on a lens made before the R3 of 1976; a third, stepped R-cam on lenses made or converted later
  • About 460 g (Kamerastore; English Wikipedia), some 65 g more than the E55 lens

Safari, olive green (11876):

  • Olive green barrel and fittings instead of black, matching the olive R3 Safari of 1977–78
  • Kamerastore's example has the first barrel: Series VII, no built-in hood, hood 12508, three cams
  • Leitz Auction's lens no. 2807165 came with an R3 Safari, an olive hood, cap and case; Leitz Auction gives its order number as 11877

E55 barrel with built-in hood, 3-cam (11776):

  • Hood built into the barrel and pulled forward to use; E55 filter thread inside the front ring; 50.6 mm from the flange, 66.5 mm across, 395 g
  • From the back: two sloped Leicaflex cams and the stepped R-cam, and no row of gold contacts
  • Order number 11776; serial numbers from 2,806,501 to the R-only change at 3,291,801

E55 barrel, R-only (11777):

  • The same E55 barrel with built-in hood as the 11776, but only the stepped R-cam at the back of the mount, without the two sloped Leicaflex cams
  • Serial number 3,291,801 or higher; order number 11777

Gold-plated, with the R3 Gold and the R4 Gold:

  • Gold-plated metal parts, sold in a set with a gold-plated body in reptile covering: the R3 Gold of 1979 for Oskar Barnack's centenary, or the R4 Gold of 1984
  • Serial numbers seen: 2933074 with an R3 Gold, in the E55 3-cam run; 3295753 and 3296105 with R4 Golds, both above the 3,291,801 R-only change

Converted to ROM by Leica service:

  • The E55 barrel with built-in hood and a strip of ROM contacts at the back of the mount, next to the R-cam, with no Leicaflex cams
  • A serial number from the 1970s to 1990s E55 run; the 8-element successor of 1998 has an E60 thread and weighs about 490 g

Factory ROM order number 11343:

  • Order number 11343 on the box or paperwork; ROM contacts at the back of the mount

Serial-range notes

up to 2806500
The first barrel, 11875, by Leitz's 1978 catalogue. No source gives its first serial; on Leitz's general year list the last number, 2,806,500, falls in the 1976 band (2,761,101–2,809,400).
2806501–3291800
The E55 barrel with built-in hood and three cams (11776), by the 1982 handbook's start number and the 1989 handbook's R-only change. On the year list, 1976 to 1983.
3291801 onward
R-cam only (11777): the Leica Handbook of December 1989 says lenses from this number fit all R models but no longer the Leicaflex, and that Leica service can fit the cams for all Leicaflex bodies. The number falls in the 1983 band of the year list.
the seven-digit number on the front ring
Leitz and Leica lens numbers run in one sequence shared across models and reserved in blocks, so a number dates a lens only roughly. A lens with ROM contacts and a serial from the 1970s or 1980s has been converted. Shige, citing the Leica Wiki, gives 35,322 numbers for the seven-element lens in all barrels.

Specifications

Formula
Seven elements in six groups
Construction
7 elements / 6 groups
Aperture range
f/1.4–f/16
Diaphragm blades
6
Min. focus
0.5 m
Dimensions
66.5 × 50.6 mm
Weight
395 g
Filter
48 mm, Series 7 in hood 12508; internal thread M48 × 0.75 (Leitz 1978 catalogue) (First barrel, Series VII and separate hood (11875)) · 55 mm (0.75 mm pitch), E55 screw-in on the barrel with built-in hood; Series 7 through adapter 14225 (1978 and 1982 Leitz catalogues) (Safari, olive green (11876), E55 barrel with built-in hood, 3-cam (11776), E55 barrel, R-only (11777), Gold-plated, with the R3 Gold and the R4 Gold, Converted to ROM by Leica service, Factory ROM order number 11343)
Years manufactured
1970–1998
Country
Germany (Leitz Wetzlar, per Kamerastore; Photoethnography gives Germany for both barrels)
Material
Metal barrel, black finish, hard-chrome bayonet (Leitz); built-in extensible hood from the second barrel

What reviewers say

History

The Summilux-R 50mm f/1.4 was Leitz’s first f/1.4 lens for the Leicaflex. Erwin Puts dates it to 1970. Leitz made it to one optical design, seven elements in six groups, for almost thirty years, until the eight-element E60 Summilux-R of 1998 replaced it. That successor has its own page. Puts’ verdict on the first lens is measured. It was as good as the competition but not better, at a time when every leading maker had to offer an f/1.4. Wide open it was soft and low in contrast. It improved when stopped down, but it never matched the Summicron-R 50, and the outer zones were weak even at f/4. Shige, who has used an E55 example on an R8 with the Digital-Modul-R and on mirrorless bodies, describes the same character: a little less resolution wide open than modern lenses, vignetting and double-line bokeh, flare against the light, barrel distortion near the edges, and high resolution across the frame by f/3.5.

The glass stayed the same while the barrel changed once and the mount three times. The first barrel, 11875, has no hood of its own. It takes a separate hood, 12508, which holds a Series 7 filter, and weighs about 460 g. Leitz’s 1978 catalogue ends it at serial 2,806,500. From 2,806,501 the lens has a telescopic hood built into the barrel and an E55 thread, and Leitz’s 1982 handbook adds a rubberised focusing ring. Leitz gives that version as 50.6 mm long, 66.5 mm across and 395 g, and sold it as the 3-cam 11776. Leica’s December 1989 handbook records the next change. From serial 3,291,801 the lens has only the R-cam and no longer fits the Leicaflex bodies, and it was sold as 11777. In the R8 era Leica’s 2000/2001 handbook lists the 11875 and 11777 as convertible to ROM contacts. The same handbook gives a factory ROM number, 11343, without saying which barrel it belongs to. The special editions are an olive Safari lens made to accompany the R3 Safari of 1977–78 and gold-plated lenses sold in sets with the R3 Gold of 1979 and the R4 Gold of 1984.

Which bodies the lens fits depends on its mount, not its optics. A 3-cam lens fits everything from the 1964 Leicaflex to the R9. A first-barrel lens with only its two Leicaflex cams fits the Leicaflex bodies. English Wikipedia has such lenses metering only at working aperture on the R bodies, but Leica’s R9 instructions say Leicaflex lenses must have the R-cam fitted before use on any R body from the R3, and must not be mounted on the R9 without it, as they can damage the camera. An R-only lens fits the R3 to the R9. Leica offered to fit the Leicaflex cams to it, for all three Leicaflex models. A ROM lens, factory or converted, fits only the R bodies, and on an R8 or R9 it passes the focal length to the camera. Apotelyt names the 50 mm Summilux-R among lenses not to mount on the original Leicaflex. Doug Herr, quoted by Photoethnography, says only the “current” Summilux-R 50, which at the time was the E60 lens, is a problem on the Leicaflex and SL, and that older versions are fine. Leitz itself sold the 3-cam lens for all Leicaflex models.

When buying, turn the lens over and read the cams, then check that the serial agrees with them. A lens with ROM contacts and a serial from the 1970s or 1980s has been converted. Check that the built-in hood slides out smoothly, because it cannot be swapped like the first barrel’s separate hood; Shige notes that it extends only about 10 mm and has no lock. Look for haze, separation and scratches, and test the aperture’s half-stop clicks. Order numbers in listing titles are often wrong. Leitz Auction describes its olive lens as 11877 and English Wikipedia lists an 11778, and neither number appears in Leitz’s or Leica’s catalogues and handbooks of 1978 to 2000/2001. The Summilux-M 50mm rangefinder lenses, the Summilux-R 35mm and 80mm, and the E60 Summilux-R of 1998 are different lenses that share the name.

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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 50mm f/1.4 (I)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $1,300 across 32 fixed-price listings on 2026-11-10 (middle half $1,100–$1,500). First day tracked.

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

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

Related: Summilux-R 50mm f/1.4 (II, E60) · Summicron-R 50mm f/2 (I) · Summicron-R 50mm f/2 (II) · Summilux-R 35mm f/1.4 · Summilux-R 80mm f/1.4

Sources (11)

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.