Leica Summilux-SL 50mm f/1.4 ASPH : Specifications and Opinions

Reviews

What do you think?

Do you want add your opinion? You do it by joining JuzaPhoto, it is easy and free!

There is more: by registering you can create your personal page, publish photos, receive comments, join discussions and you can use all the features of JuzaPhoto. With more than 259000 members, there is space for everyone, from the beginner to the professional.

The following opinions have been automatically translated with Google Translate.

Michele Azzetti

sent on 20 Agosto 2025

Pros: Full aperture rendering of colors contrast all wonderful!!

Cons: Slow autofocus in low light/contrast

Opinion: Despite weight and price, it is a lens that associated, in my case with the SL3, makes excellent files. With the 60 sensor it excels but with 36 or 18 (in print) it is superb. Never had a lens like this. Beautiful colors, sharpness from 1.4 upwards, super micro contrast. In short, it is worth every euro spent and every gram. Only the slowness of the autofocus is felt but the performance is such as to make you forget the small problem I presume due to the fact that the internal mechanism has to move a kg of glass. As for the other Leica lenses I have reviewed, the construction is really "German".

Dionei Galdino

sent on 15 Marzo 2021

Pros: Autofocus, sharpness, bokeh, colors, 3d detachment and microcontrasto.

Cons: Weight, footprint, focal distance not present on the body such as Leica M, R, etc.

Opinion: For those who know the cinematic goals, it can be said that it is a Leica Summilux-C with Auto-focus... I confess that at first I really wanted a 24-90... Performance information: Excellent IQ, minimal PRESENCE of AC (almost an APO), I couldn't find distortions... Excellent micro-contrast, incredible sharpness even at F1.4 100% crop... Really amazing colors... i wish I could use this lens on a Leica M240... As for autofocus, having bought with the new firmware I have nothing to complain about... Yes! It's true! it's big ... it's heavy... misery but you couldn't make a more compact goal??? Though... All right... it makes you forget everything as you shoot and look at the results of your work... It is an optics for those who want the best of the best in terms of image quality.

Berserk84

sent on 09 Novembre 2020

Pros: very high quality, blurred among the best ever seen, rendered by lux optics

Cons: weight, AF speed not always at the top in low contrast conditions

Opinion: Exceptional portrait lens, it guarantees a very high yield at any opening, without the slightest presence of AC or distortion. It creates an impressive 3d detachment effect, while maintaining the creaminess in the blurry, that is, a transition from the focus zones to the absolutely superb out-of-focus zones. Forget the yield of sigma optics at 1.4, the blurry is of a different paste, never nervous. Among the cons, in addition to the price but it is not a con when talking about a hand-built optics and with such a quality standard, there is obviously the weight (when compared to another 50 ini, but if we talk about portrait optics Sigma makes them bigger... not to mention the weight of canon 85 1.2, which I had....) Another counter is the speed of the focus that in some situations of low brightness and poor contrast (the Leica SL has focus through contrast variations), has some uncertainty and this "gives" several blurry shots. To avoid focus with facial recognition on the SL with such a lens, it is better to go on an AFs focus (not continuous AFc) and with the setting of focus points or spots or zone. Apart from these small problems, but in Leica they have developed the lens well knowing about this but focusing rather on the maximum possible yield, I can say that it is a stratospheric lens that I will never sell.

Ilir.s

sent on 20 Ottobre 2020

Pros: The quality of construction, sharpness, bokeh, no vignettes even at TA

Cons: Footprint.

Opinion: Extraordinary optics, it offers beautiful colors and incredible quality. I was lucky enough to buy it together with the SL2 and the 24-90 various elmarit, this "team" are an incredible combination, if you do the tests in the various stores or stores that treat Leica you will see that the price becomes secondary. Very recommended for portraiture.

Cabe

sent on 14 Agosto 2018

Pros: Impeccable construction, image quality

Cons: Heavy and cumbersome (compared to the optics of the M system), price

Opinion: I switched to the SL system a little at a time: first I took the cover machine, which for some time I used with the M and R lenses, then I bought the proprietary lens (50SL and 90SL). What about the 50SL? It is heavy and cumbersome (compared to the M system lenses) but its quality is truly incredible. QI exceeds the excellent summilux m 50 asph and reaches the levels of APO Summicron M 50 while maintaining the typical character of "Lux Lens". With the latest firmware update the autofocus is very fast, very precise, and no mistake a shot even at maximum aperture (tried on fast moving subjects). The files that come out from the optical Union/sensor leave an open mouth. I have already written in some threads and I reiterate: the SL system is the Leica system adapted to The Times today, I do not want to lovers of rangefinder.