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

Summicron-M 28mm f/2 ASPH

Leica Β· Leica M Β· 2000 Β· Nine elements in six groups, aspherical

Also known as: Summicron-M 28 ASPH Β· 28mm f/2 Summicron

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Black (11604) Leica M 2000 3900076–3901075
3913223–3914222
3922101–3923100
3928464–3929463
3945564–3946563
3981089–3981588 		Under 5,500 lenses to 2006
Silver (11661) Leica M 2000 β€” No separate figure published
  1. Designed by Michael Heiden β€” the entry carries no designer, and this is not a Mandler lens.
  2. Physical figures the entry lacks: approximately 270 g, 53 mm across, 40.8 mm from the bayonet flange, true focal length 28.5 mm, E46 filters in a non-rotating internal thread, and a separate lockable clip-on hood (12451, 12466 or 12589) rather than a built-in one. Black or clear anodised aluminium.
  3. The under-5,500 figure is contradicted on its own page. The Leica Wiki prints "< 5,500 lenses to 2006" at the head of the entry and then a serial table whose 2000–2006 blocks total 5,777-plus assigned numbers.
  4. That contradiction resolves on a closer reading of the table, and the resolution is worth keeping because it applies to every recent Leica lens page. Only the six rows of 2000–2004 are assigned blocks, and they total exactly 5,500. Every row from 2005 on records the lowest and highest number actually seen in that year β€” flagged with dashes and an "unknown" β€” and its total is the span between them rather than a quantity of lenses. The 5,777-plus in the page's footer is a sum that mixes the two kinds of row and should not be read as production.
  5. The lens went on being numbered long after the "to 2006" the production line carries. The observed-lens rows run to 2011, and the entry's open-ended years field is the right shape for it.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • 75 degrees on film, 60 degrees on an 18Γ—27 sensor
  • Entrance pupil 12.8mm behind the front surface

Serial-range notes

the whole Leica lens sequence
THE RULE. Leica numbers every lens it makes in one continuous run, whatever the model, so this Summicron is dated from the company-wide lens serial/year list. Read the seven-figure number and find its bracket: 2000 = 3882997–3912247, 2001 = 3912248–3941497, 2002 = 3941498–3970748, 2003 = 3970748–3999999, 2004 = 4000000–4010600, 2005 = 4010601–4025900, 2006 = 4025901–4034900, 2007 = 4034901–4057000, 2008 = 4057001–4080000, 2009 = 4080001–4100000, 2010 = 4100001–4115000, 2011 = 4115001–4130000 (Leica Wiki, Leica Lens Serial Numbers). The inscription puts the number after the E46 marking and it begins with 3 on the early lenses.
3981089–3981588
The two Leica Wiki lists disagree about this block by one year. The model page dates it 2004; the company-wide year list puts every number in it inside the 2003 bracket of 3970748–3999999. The same one-year offset appears on the 35mm f/2 ASPH page across 2001–2005, so it is a habit of the model pages rather than a slip on this one. Where the two differ, the company-wide list is the one that can be checked against other models.
3900076–3901075, 3913223–3914222, 3922101–3923100, 3928464–3929463, 3945564–3946563, 3981089–3981588
The six blocks the Leica Wiki assigns outright, all black, and they total exactly 5,500 β€” 1,000 in 2000, 3,000 across 2001, 1,000 in 2002 and 500 in the block above. That is the whole of the "< 5,500 lenses to 2006" figure printed at the head of the page, arrived at by addition.
4007536 onward
How to read the rest of the table, and why it does not contradict the 5,500. From 2005 the Leica Wiki stops printing assigned blocks and prints observed lenses instead: the rows carry a leading or trailing dash, an "unknown" at one end, and totals with a plus sign that are the arithmetic distance between the two numbers, not a count of lenses. The 2005 row's "31,894+" is the span from 4007536 to 4039429, not thirty-one thousand Summicrons. Those rows fix the earliest and latest number yet seen in a year; they cannot be added up.
4007584
The one silver lens the Leica Wiki identifies by number, inside the 2005 row. The page marks it with a tilde, its symbol for a stolen lens, and asks that it be reported if it appears for sale. The page was last edited in 2015; the flag is repeated here as the source has it.
no silver block
Silver cannot be dated more closely than black. No row on the list is silver alone: the finish appears only inside the mixed observed-lens rows of 2005, 2008 and 2010, and the six assigned blocks are all black. The 11661 order number is nowhere in the serial table.

Specifications

Formula
Nine elements in six groups, aspherical
Construction
9 elements / 6 groups
Aperture range
f/2–f/16
Diaphragm blades
10
Min. focus
0.7 m
Weight
270 g
Filter
46 mm
Years manufactured
2000
Country
Germany

What reviewers say

History

The 28mm Summicron is the first fast lens Leica made at this focal length, and the distance travelled is worth stating plainly: the M system’s first 28 was the f/6.3 Hektor of 1935, four and a third stops slower, needing an accessory finder and bright sun. This one is f/2, has a frameline, and works indoors.

Nine elements in six groups with an aspherical surface, under 5,500 built in its first six years. On a digital M with an 18Γ—27 sensor it covers 60 degrees and behaves as a 37mm lens, which is the second angle of view Leica has printed on every data sheet since the M8.

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 β€” but no human wrote these sentences.

Example photos

Sample photo taken with the Summicron-M 28mm f/2 ASPH
Cliffs of MolokaΚ»i β€” shot on a Summicron-M 28 ASPH (Salty Lens) β€” Salty Lens (Jonny), via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
Sample photo taken with the Summicron-M 28mm f/2 ASPH
Golden vibes, Honolulu β€” shot on a Summicron-M 28 ASPH (Salty Lens) β€” Salty Lens (Jonny), via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

Sample photo wanted β€” shot with a Summicron-M 28mm f/2 ASPH? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $5,500 across 35 fixed-price listings on 2026-10-19 (middle half $4,400–$6,400). Tracked since 2026-09-06, 10 days: down 8% from $6,000.

By day
DateMedianMiddle halfListings
2026-10-19$5,500$4,400–$6,40035
2026-10-18$5,500$4,400–$6,40035
2026-10-17$5,500$4,400–$6,40035
2026-10-16$5,500$4,600–$6,60037
2026-10-15$5,300$4,600–$6,40029
2026-09-21$6,000$4,700–$6,50036
2026-09-19$6,000$4,700–$6,50039
2026-09-18$6,000$4,700–$6,50039
2026-09-11$6,000$4,900–$6,30037
2026-09-06$6,000$4,900–$6,30037

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

Show 39 more listings

Listings updated 2026-10-19. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.

Related: Elmarit-M 28mm f/2.8 ASPH (v5, 2006) Β· Hektor 2.8cm f/6.3 Β· Summilux-M 28mm f/1.4 ASPH

Sources (4)

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 β€” corrections, serials and sample photos are all worth having.