There’s a strange thrill in convincing yourself you’ve found a bargain alternative to the thing you really want to buy. For two years I carried around the TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 Asph on my Leica M, telling myself I’d outsmarted the system.
Here was a lens that looked the part, felt decent in the hand and produced images that – at first glance – seemed close enough to the legends it mimicked. For a fraction of the price, I had what looked like a classic Summilux. I was very happy, mostly.
But the illusion started to wear thin the more I shot with it. It was good, no doubt. It was solid value, sharp enough stopped down and even had a bit of character wide open.
But every so often I’d see an image from the real Leica 50mm Summilux-M Apsh and feel that tug again – that subtle punch in the gut that tells you you’re missing something.
And then, eventually, I caved. I bought the brass Summilux V1. The one I’d wanted all along.
What happened next was nothing short of alchemy. Every frame had that indescribable glow. The transitions, the bokeh, the micro-contrast and the edge-to-edge consistency – even wide open – was on another level entirely.
The Summilux didn’t just render a scene; it whispered poetry. It wasn’t about sharpness, specs or MTF charts – it was the way it made me feel while shooting. The confidence. The joy. The sense of finally owning the real thing, not pretending.
That’s the thing about the best Leica M lenses – they're expensive, yes, but they earn their keep in ways that a spreadsheet can’t quantify.
You feel it when the lens glides into focus with a satisfying silence. You feel it when you lift the camera to your eye and know – really know - that what you’re seeing is exactly how you want it captured. It makes photography feel effortless and serious, all at once. And it reminds me, daily, why I love making pictures.
I’m not here to knock TTArtisan or the other budget-friendly brands. Their lenses serve a purpose – often beautifully. They give access to people getting started, to those saving, to anyone who just wants to shoot now and worry about upgrades later. I get it. I did it!
But, let’s be honest: if you're lusting after a Leica lens, deep down, nothing else will satisfy you. You’re not just buying a lens. You’re buying years of craftsmanship, of heritage, of obsession over detail. You’re buying the lens.
So here’s my advice: if there’s a lens you can’t stop thinking about, the one you keep comparing everything else to – buy it.
Don’t wait two years like I did. Don’t talk yourself into the “close enough” option. Because once you finally shoot with the real thing, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.
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