The Leica 35mm Summilux-M f/1.4 ASPH on a 60 MP Sensor: Is It Still Worth It?

The Leica 35mm Summilux-M f/1.4 ASPH has been around for 16 years, and it was never designed with a 60-megapixel sensor in mind. Whether it holds up on something like the Leica M11 is a real question, and the answer is more nuanced than you might expect.

Coming to you from Benj Haisch, this honest and detail-rich video walks through what it's actually like to shoot the Summilux-M on a modern high-resolution body. Haisch bought this lens with his own money after selling his Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 Distagon, not because the Zeiss disappointed him, but because the Summilux balances better on the M11 body and passes what he calls the "balance test." Carrying a camera all day over your shoulder sounds minor until you've done it for 12 hours at a wedding. The size and weight distribution of a lens matters in practice, and the Summilux clears that bar where the Zeiss didn't.

The lens isn't apochromatic. If you're after the clinical sharpness of the Leica 35mm Summicron-M ASPH, this isn't it. Wide open at f/1.4, the Summilux has a fall-off and bokeh character that read more vintage than modern, and on a 60 MP sensor, that quality is fully exposed. Haisch compares it directly against the Light Lens Lab 35mm f/1.4 II, which renders even more like a vintage lens, and uses that comparison to frame exactly where the Summilux sits: somewhere between old-world character and modern resolving power. 

Haisch picked up this copy, the original version one without close focus, for just under $3,000. He's clear that it's not cheap for a lens that's been on the market since 2009, but he frames it as something he spent years working toward rather than an impulse buy. His shooting style also plays into the recommendation: he's almost always at f/1.4 or stopped down to f/5.6 or f/8, with little time spent in between. At f/5.6 and f/8, the lens resolves sharply and punches well above its vintage reputation. The Leica 35mm Noctilux-M f/1.2 ASPH does intrigue him, but he's straightforward about the cost being out of reach for now. For those who can't stretch to the Summilux, he also mentions the Voigtlander 35mm lineup and the 7Artisans 35mm as worth considering. Check out the video above for the full breakdown and sample images from Haisch.