The name Summilux is used by

Leica Leica may refer to: Companies * Ernst Leitz GmbH, later divided into: ** Leica Biosystems GmbH, a cancer diagnostics company ** Leica Camera AG, a German camera and optics manufacturer ** Leica Geosystems AG, a Swiss manufacturer of surveying and ...

and

Panasonic is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturer, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Kadoma, Japan. It was founded in 1918 as in Fukushima-ku, Osaka, Fukushima by Kōnosuke Matsushita. The company was incorporated in 1935 and renamed and c ...

Lumix Lumix is Panasonic's brand of digital cameras, ranging from pocket point-and-shoot models to digital SLRs. Compact digital cameras DMC-LC5 and DMC-F7 were the first products of the Lumix series, released in 2001. Most Lumix cameras use diffe ...

to designate

camera A camera is an instrument used to capture and store images and videos, either digitally via an electronic image sensor, or chemically via a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. As a pivotal technology in the fields of photograp ...

lenses A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements''), ...

that have a maximum

aperture In optics, the aperture of an optical system (including a system consisting of a single lens) is the hole or opening that primarily limits light propagated through the system. More specifically, the entrance pupil as the front side image o ...

brighter than f/2, typically at f/1.4, but dimmer than f/1.0. The lens has been in production since 1959 and carries on to the present day.

History

The name Summilux is a combination of ''Summum'', which is the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

word for highest, while ''Lux'' is for light. The first Summilux was the 50 mm of 1959, followed by a new 50 mm Summilux design in 1961, whose optics remained unchanged until replaced by the 50 mm Summilux-M ASPH of 2004.

Description

The Summilux lenses have a maximum

f-number An f-number is a measure of the light-gathering ability of an optical system such as a camera lens. It is calculated by dividing the system's focal length by the diameter of the entrance pupil ("clear aperture").Smith, Warren ''Modern Optical ...

of f/1.4, f/1.5 or occasionally f/1.7. This one to 1.5 stops lower than Leica's

Noctilux The name Noctilux is used by Leica Camera, Leica to designate their camera camera lens, lenses with the widest maximum aperture. Lenses with that name have been in production since 1966. So far all Noctilux lenses have been made for the Leica M m ...

lenses, but the Summilux lenses are smaller as a result. Summilux lenses are designed for low-light photography.

Market position

The Summilux lenses are less expensive than the Noctilux lenses, which has a smaller f-number. However they are bigger, heavier and more expensive than the

Summicron The name Summicron is used by Leica to designate camera lenses that have a maximum aperture of f/2 after 1953 and to present day. History The name Summicron is derived from ''summus'', latin word for maximum and ''kronos'', the ancient Greek wo ...

List of Summilux lenses

;For the Leica Q system (Leica Q,

Leica Q2 The Leica Q2 is a full-frame fixed-lens camera introduced in 2019. It was succeeded by the Leica Q3 in 2023. The Q2 itself succeeded the original Leica Q and Leica Q-P. The Q2 has a stabilized 28 mm f/1.7 Summilux lens with digital crop ...

Leica Q3 The Leica Q3 is a full-frame fixed-lens camera introduced in 2023 as the successor to the Leica Q2. Specifications The Q3 has a stabilized 28 mm 1.7 Summilux lens with digital crop modes corresponding to 35 mm equivalent focal lengths o ...

): * Summilux-M 28 mm ASPH. ;For the

Leica M mount The Leica M mount is a camera lens mount introduced in 1954 with the Leica M3, and a range of lenses. It has been used on all the Leica M-series cameras and certain accessories (e.g. Visoflex reflex viewing attachment) up to the current film L ...

: * Summilux-M 21 mm ASPH. * Summilux-M 24 mm ASPH. * Summilux-M 28 mm ASPH. * Summilux 35 mm * Summilux-M 35 mm ASPH. FLE Version V * Summilux-M 35 mm ASPH. FLE "Short Focus" Version VI * Summilux 50 mm * Summilux-M 50 mm ASPH. * Summilux-M 75 mm * Summilux-M 90 mm ASPH. ;For the Leica R mount: * Summilux-R 35 mm * Summilux-R 50 mm 1st version * Summilux-R 50 mm 2nd version * Summilux-R 50 mm 3rd version – 1997 (ROM contacts) * Summilux-R 80mm ;For the Leica L Mount: * Summilux-TL 35 mm ASPH. * Summilux-SL 50 mm ASPH. ; For the

Four Thirds The Four Thirds System is a standard created by Olympus and Eastman Kodak for digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR) design and development. Four Thirds refers to both the size of the image sensor (4/3") as well as the aspect ratio (4:3). T ...

mountmanufactured under license by Panasonic: ; For the

Micro Four Thirds The is a standard released by Olympus Corporation, Olympus Imaging Corporation and Panasonic in 2008, for the design and development of mirrorless interchangeable lens digital cameras, camcorders and Camera lens, lenses. Camera bodies are availab ...

mount: * Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Summilux 10–25 mm ASPH. * Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 12 mm ASPH. * Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 15 mm ASPH. * Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 25 mm * Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 25 mm II ASPH.

References

External links

* Summilux.net lens review site * Overgaard Leica 35mm Summilux article * Overgaard Leica lens compendium of all Summilux lenses Leica lenses Photographic lenses {{optics-stub