Compare lenses

Leica Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 vs Voigtländer Heliar Classic 50mm f/1.5

Which to pick

On these specs they are close to even: hold both if you can, and let the price, the handling and the lenses you want decide.

Rows that differ are in full colour; the better value is marked where one is better by any measure.
Spec	Leica Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4	Voigtländer Heliar Classic 50mm f/1.5
Maker	Leica	Voigtländer
Focal length	50mm (prime)	50mm (prime)
Full-frame equivalent	50mm	50mm
Maximum aperture	f/1.4	f/1.5
Made for	Full frame	Full frame
Mounts	Leica M	Leica M
Stabilised	no	no
Autofocus	no, manual focus	no, manual focus
Cameras it fits	20 in this guide	20 in this guide

Leica Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4: 50mm.

Voigtländer Heliar Classic 50mm f/1.5: 50mm.

Leica Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4: f/1.4 wide open.

Voigtländer Heliar Classic 50mm f/1.5: f/1.5 wide open.

Each opening drawn to scale against f/1.4: a smaller f-number lets in more light and blurs the background more.

How wide each sees, at each end, on the sensor it was made for.

20 cameras in this guide take both, so either works on the same body.