Summilux 35mm f/1.4 (v2, pre-ASPH)

Ernst Leitz · Leica M · 1967 · Seven elements in five groups

single source, unconfirmed

Also known as: Summilux 35mm f/1.4 v2 · Summilux-M 35 pre-asph · Summilux 35mm f/1.4 (second version) · Summilux 35mm f/1.4 (second version) · Summilux 35 v2 · Summilux 35mm v2 · pre-ASPH Summilux 35

Variants & identification

Variant	Mount	Years	Serial ranges	Production
Black (11870)	Leica M	1967–1995	—	The bulk of about 28,550 lenses
Titanium (11860)	Leica M	1967–1995	—	No separate figure published
M3 version with goggles (11871)	Leica M	1967–1995	—	No separate figure published
Ernst Leitz Canada	Leica M	1967–1986	—	No figure published
1913–1983	Leica M	1983–1983	—	No figure published

Buyers name the 35mm f/1.4 Summiluxes by barrel and glass rather than by strict number, but the sequence is: v1 the steel-rim of 1961 and v2 of 1967 (one design, the pre-ASPH); the double-aspherical 'AA' of 1990; the ASPH of 1994; the FLE of 2010 with its floating element, and the 2022 close-focus barrel of the same glass. Where a seller writes v3, v4 or v5 they mean the AA, the ASPH and the FLE. This entry carries its place in that sequence; the other pages carry the rest.

How to tell them apart (expand)

No filter thread as such: Series VII or E41 with an adapter
28 years in production, the longest of any 35mm Summilux

M3 version with goggles (11871):

Focuses to 0.65 m against 1 m without goggles

Ernst Leitz Canada:

Canadian markings

Ernst Leitz Canada: The Canadian lenses specifically "cannot be used on M9 cameras without modification", on the Leica Wiki's account, where the German ones can.

Serial-range notes

2221201–2222200: 1967: 1 batch, 1,000 numbers (ELW+ELC.black). Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
2289951–2290950: 1968: 1 batch, 1,000 numbers (M3+M-ELC+ELW.black). Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
2347301–2348300: 1969: 1 batch, 1,000 numbers (M3-ELW+M-ELC.black). Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
2391201–2393400: 1970: 1 batch, 2,200 numbers (ELC.black). Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
2547551–2549550: 1972: 1 batch, 2,000 numbers (ELC.black). Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
2625601–2626600: 1973: 1 batch, 1,000 numbers (M3-ELC.black). Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
2679701–2680700; 2721821–2722620: 1974: 2 batches, 1,800 numbers (ELC.black). Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
2768501–2768900; 2802401–2803400: 1976: 2 batches, 1,400 numbers (ELC+ELW.black). Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
2870001–2870600: 1977: 1 batch, 600 numbers (ELC.black). Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
2899401–2899800: 1978: 1 batch, 400 numbers (ELC.black). Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
3051101–3051600; 3081001–3082000: 1980: 2 batches, 1,500 numbers (ELC.black). Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
3139301–3140300: 1981: 1 batch, 1,000 numbers (ELC.black+13-83). Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
3191701–3192700: 1982: 1 batch, 1,000 numbers (ELC.black+13-83). Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
3253101–3254100; 3281401–3282400: 1983: 2 batches, 2,000 numbers (ELC.black; ELC.black+13-83). Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
3375001–3375500: 1985: 1 batch, 500 numbers (ELC.black). Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
3394601–3395600: 1986: 1 batch, 1,000 numbers (ELW.black). Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
3433001–3434500: 1987: 1 batch, 1,500 numbers. Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
3467071–3467570; 3474701–3475150: 1988: 2 batches, 950 numbers (ELW.black). Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
3501201–3501700: 1989: 1 batch, 500 numbers (ELW.black). Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
3519796–3520295; 3537468–3538467: 1990: 2 batches, 1,500 numbers (ELW.black+titan). Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
3570133–3571132: 1991: 1 batch, 1,000 numbers (titanium). Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
3599720–3602719: 1992: 1 batch, 3,000 numbers (ELW.black+titanium). Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
3637326–3637625: 1993: 1 batch, 300 numbers. Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
3709803–3710002: 1995: 1 batch, 200 numbers. Leica Wiki batch table, archived.

Specifications

Formula: Seven elements in five groups
Construction: 7 elements / 5 groups
Aperture range: f/1.4–f/16
Diaphragm blades: 10
Min. focus: 0.65 m
Weight: 200 g
Filter: Series VII in the 12504 hood
Years manufactured: 1967–1995
Country: Germany

What reviewers say

Farzaan Kassam (fcracer), 11870 (blog) — Two lenses in one: dreamy at f/1.4, modern by f/2.8, with halation and dimensional bokeh that viewers respond to. The 90 cm minimum against 70 cm on modern glass limits close work, and the packed aperture ring, tab and hood release want a glance to operate. "The lens will provide decades of use without any issues."
Dan Kerin (blog) — Smaller and lighter than a Voigtländer 35mm f/1.4 Nokton, with buttery blooming out-of-focus areas at f/1.4 on Kentmere, FP4 and Portra. Sharpness and the edges fall away wide open and vignetting is heavy until f/2. "This is what Leica glass is all about."
Ken Rockwell (blog) — The world's fastest wide-angle at its 1960 launch and the lightest Leica 35 he has measured — mostly air and aluminium. Extreme sharpness at reasonable apertures with no distortion or finder blockage, so for daylight and travel he prefers it to the ASPH; strong coma at f/2, and the 1967–95 version takes Series VII filters inside the hood.

History

The second 35mm Summilux ran for twenty-eight years and 28,550 lenses, which makes it the fast 35 that the whole pre-aspherical reputation rests on. Optically it is the steel rim’s seven-in-five continued; what changed is the barrel and the price.

Its awkwardness is filters. The lens has no ordinary thread — Series VII, or E41 with an adapter — so it does not share filters with anything else in a normal kit. Its charm is the same as its predecessor’s: at f/1.4 it flares and glows, and by f/2.8 it is a different and much duller lens.

One compatibility note is oddly specific and worth reading before buying. The Leica Wiki says the ELC versions cannot be used on an M9 without modification by Leica. Not the model — the Canadian-built examples. Where the lens was assembled determines whether it fits a camera made thirty years later.

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 taken with the Summilux 35mm f/1.4 (v2, pre-ASPH) — Tokyo café — shot on a pre-ASPH Summilux 35, version not stated (Osamu Kaneko) — Osamu Kaneko from Tokyo, Japan, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

Sample photo wanted — shot with a Summilux 35mm f/1.4 (v2, pre-ASPH)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $3,700 across 10 fixed-price listings on 2026-10-19 (middle half $3,300–$5,000). Tracked since 2026-09-06, 10 days: unchanged from $3,700.

By day

Date	Median	Middle half	Listings
2026-10-19	$3,700	$3,300–$5,000	10
2026-10-18	$4,500	$3,300–$5,600	11
2026-10-17	$4,500	$3,300–$5,600	11
2026-10-16	$3,700	$3,500–$4,500	10
2026-10-15	$4,500	$4,100–$5,000	5
2026-09-21	$4,800	$4,300–$7,900	5
2026-09-19	$4,800	$3,100–$7,900	4
2026-09-18	$4,800	$3,100–$7,900	4
2026-09-11	$3,900	$3,100–$5,200	7
2026-09-06	$3,700	$2,900–$3,900	7

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

LEICA Summilux-M II 35mm F1.4 pre-asph schwarz 1983 CANADA [11870] — €1,895.00 · eBay
LEICA Summilux 35mm f/1,4 made in Canada - SNr: 2547684 — €1,899.00 · eBay
Leica Leitz Summilux-M 35mm F1.4 Pre-ASPH V2 Canada (1974) SN 2722614 — €2,099.95 · eBay
Leica Leitz Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 v2 (Pre-Asph) | Top Zustand — €2,210.00 · eBay
LEICA Summilux-M 35mm f/1,4 pre ASPH Serie VII - SNr: 2870364 — €2,299.00 · eBay
Leitz Wetzlar Summilux 35mm F1.4 — CA$3,500.00 · eBay
Leica SUMMILUX 1:1.4/35 Ver. 2 11870 35mm F1.4 Lens made by LEITZ CANADA in 1972 — £1,999.15 · eBay
Leica SUMMILUX-M 35mm F1.4 Canada Rangefinder Camera Lenses Tested [Read Cond] — £2,075.01 · eBay
Leica Leitz Canada Summilux-M 1,4/35 Leica M Weitwinkel Lens f/1.4 35mm — €2,490.00 · eBay
Leica Summilux-M F1.4 35mm 11874 - Leica Store Heidelberg — €2,500.00 · eBay
Leica SUMMILUX-M 35mm f/1.4 Black 11870 2026.09 Overhauled!! from Japan — £2,138.42 · eBay · likely black
Leica Summilux-M 35mm f1.4 Pre-FLE #11874 6-bit coded — $2,799.00 · eBay
Leitz Canada Leica Summilux 35mm f/1.4 Manual Focus Lens for Leica M — $3,099.00 · eBay
Leica Summilux 35mm F1.4 2nd Generation Yamazaki Polished — £2,526.66 · eBay
Leica SUMMILUX-M 35mm f/1.4 Black 11870 2026.09 Overhauled!! from Japan — $3,313.80 · eBay · likely black
Leica Summilux-M 35mm F/1.4 Pre -A Titanium #3571041 — HK$26,800.00 · Meteor (HK) Ltd (Meteor · Leica) · likely titanium
Leica Summilux M 35mm f/1.4 - Pre ASPH v2 - DAG CLA - Near Mint — $3,495.00 · eBay NEW
LEITZ Leica Summilux M 35mm/F1.4 Pre-Asph Black Lens Yr.1970 Canada #88930 — $3,669.00 · eBay
Obiettivo manuale Leica M Summilux 35mm F1.4 11870 — €3,469.00 · eBay
Seltenes [Top NEUWERTIG] Leica Summilux-M 35mm F1.4 Titan Objektiv Leica... — €3,545.06 · eBay NEW

Show 15 more listings

Leica Summilux-M 35mm F1.4 2nd Version No Infinity Stopper Germany M-Mount M0926 — £3,104.72 · eBay
[Top MINT/Box] Leica Leitz Summilux M 35mm F1.4 2nd Ver.2 Lens from Japan — $4,499.99 · eBay
Leica Summilux M 35mm f1.4 titan pre asph germany 11860 near mint 99660 — €4,250.00 · eBay
Leica Summilux-M 35mm F1.4 - Black / Pre-ASPH / Infinity Lock — SN 2347986 — HK$36,800.00 · Fotopia Gallery & Camera Equipment
Leica Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 Version 2 (MPN. 11870) Original Box. — $4,999.99 · eBay NEW
Leica Leitz Summilux 35mm f1.4 with Goggles Canada CLA'd by DAG *Read Condition* — $5,599.99 · eBay
Leica Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 Prime Objektiv Mit Manuellem Fokus Leica M — €5,320.55 · eBay NEW
Leica Summilux M 35mm f1.4 Steelrim 11870 Objektiv lens Leitz M3 99168 — €5,950.00 · eBay NEW
Leica Summilux-M 35mm f1.4 Pre Asph Lens with Black Paint Infinity Lock RARE — $6,999.99 · Cardinal Camera (Used)
Leica Summilux M 35mm f/1.4 - Black Paint Infinity Lock - Near Mint — $8,995.00 · eBay NEW
【中古】Leica ライカ SUMMILUX 35mm f/1.4 スチールリムブラックリペイント — from ¥4,000,000 · Yahoo! Auctions Japan · auction 2026-10-23
Leica Summilux 35mm F1.4 フード　フィルター　176万代　カナダ　レンズ前後キャップ — from ¥1,200,000 · Yahoo! Auctions Japan · auction 2026-10-23
【中古】Leica ライカ SUMMILUX-M 35mm f/1.4 ブラック 11870 2026.9月オーバーホール済み — from ¥519,800 · Yahoo! Auctions Japan · auction 2026-10-23
LEICA SUMMILUX 35mm F1.4 2nd #4092 — from ¥538,000 · Yahoo! Auctions Japan · auction 2026-10-25
美品ライカ M6 TTL 0.72 + SUMMILUX 50mm f1.4 & SUMMILUX 35mm f1.4 — from ¥1,000,000 · Yahoo! Auctions Japan · auction 2026-10-25

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