CameraWorth.com

Leitz Noctilux

The Leitz Noctilux is a lens. CameraWorth tracks 43 auction records for this model, with prices ranging from £977 to £300,000 (median £12,000).

Variants

Select a variant to filter the sales history below.

Variant Years Edition Sales Price Range
35mm f/1.2 M ASPH 0
50mm f/0.95 M ASPH 7 £9,000 – £32,000

{"overview":"The Leitz 50mm f\/0.95 Noctilux-M ASPH is an ultra-fast standard prime for the Leica M rangefinder bayonet mount, designed for available-light photography at extreme apertures. Introduced as the aspherical successor to the earlier f\/1.0 and f\/1.2 Noctilux lenses, it remains one of the fastest 50mm lenses produced for any 35mm system.","market_narrative":"At recent UK auction, hammer prices for the 50mm f\/0.95 Noctilux-M ASPH have ranged from £10,000 to £16,000, with a median around £13,000 based on the sales on record. Clean, boxed examples sit at the upper end of that band, and as of today in 2026 the lens continues to command strong saleroom interest given its limited availability and reputation. Note that these figures are wholesale hammer results and exclude buyer's and seller's commission, so the price a collector ultimately pays or receives will differ.","buying_guide":"Inspect the front and rear elements carefully for fungus, haze, coating scratches and any hint of separation around the aspherical element, as repair costs on this lens are substantial. Check the aperture blades for oil, confirm the focus ring moves smoothly without stiffness or grease migration, and verify that the 6-bit coding and floating element mechanism operate correctly. Boxed examples with hood, caps and paperwork consistently achieve higher prices than bare-lens copies.","specs":"Standard 50mm focal length with a maximum aperture of f\/0.95, in Leica M bayonet mount.","faq":[{"q":"How much does a Leica 50mm f\/0.95 Noctilux-M ASPH sell for at UK auction?","a":"Recorded hammer prices range from £10,000 to £16,000, placing the typical value around £13,000 depending on condition and completeness."},{"q":"What is a 50mm f\/0.95 Noctilux-M ASPH worth in today's market?","a":"Based on sales history, the lens is worth roughly £10,000 to £16,000 at UK auction hammer, with clean boxed copies achieving the higher figures."},{"q":"Why is the price of the Noctilux 50mm f\/0.95 ASPH so high?","a":"It is Leica's fastest current 50mm M-mount lens with an aspherical optical design, and limited supply combined with strong collector and user demand keeps auction values in five figures."},{"q":"What should I check before buying a used Noctilux-M 50mm f\/0.95 ASPH?","a":"Inspect for fungus, haze, separation, oil on the aperture blades, coating condition and smooth focus action, and confirm the lens is complete with hood, caps and original box to protect resale value."}],"confidence":55,"reasoning":"Only three unverified sales records are available and no SPECS or variant data was supplied, so market range is indicative and technical detail is kept to widely-known public facts."}

50mm f/1 M 16 £977 – £14,000

{"overview":"The Leitz 50mm f\/1 Noctilux-M is an ultra-fast standard prime for the Leica M rangefinder system, designed around an f\/1 maximum aperture for available-light and low-light photography. Widely known among M-system users simply as the \"Noctilux\", it remains one of the most recognisable fast-fifty designs made for the M bayonet mount.","market_narrative":"At recent UK auction, hammer prices for the 50mm f\/1 Noctilux-M have ranged from £3,625 to £5,000, with the most recent saleroom result in November 2025 settling at £3,625 and a 2023 sale reaching £4,750 — these are wholesale auction figures that sit below dealer retail. As of 2026, the recent three-sale median is close to £4,750, which is a useful benchmark for what a clean working copy is worth today. Older results from 1999 (£977) and 2004 (£1,250) show how far the market price for this lens has climbed over the past two decades.","buying_guide":"Inspect the front and rear elements for fungus, haze and cleaning marks, as any coating damage will compound the demanding rendering this lens already produces wide open at f\/1. Check the aperture blades for oil, confirm the focus ring moves smoothly end to end with no stiffness or slack, and look along element edges for signs of separation. The Noctilux-M was produced in more than one version, so verify the seller's stated variant matches what is pictured before bidding.","specs":"From the data provided, the key specifications are a 50mm focal length, a maximum aperture of f\/1 and the Leica M bayonet mount; detailed optical formula, coating and production-code information is not supplied.","faq":[{"q":"What is a 50mm f\/1 Noctilux-M worth today?","a":"Recent UK auction hammer prices have sat between £3,625 and £5,000, so the current wholesale value of a clean, working copy falls within that band."},{"q":"How much does a Leica Noctilux 50mm f\/1 sell for at auction?","a":"The three most recent UK saleroom results were £5,000 in 2021, £4,750 in 2023 and £3,625 in 2025, giving a recent median price near £4,750 at the hammer."},{"q":"Has the price of the f\/1 Noctilux-M gone up over time?","a":"Yes — the same lens sold for £977 in 1999 and £1,250 in 2004, well below the £3,625–£5,000 range seen in UK auctions over the last five years."},{"q":"Why do two clean Noctilux-M copies sell for very different prices?","a":"Glass condition, mechanical feel, completeness of accessories and the specific production variant all move the price materially, which is why hammer results span a wide range even in the same year."}],"confidence":50,"reasoning":"Five dated UK sales give a usable price picture, but the SPECS, variants and facts arrays are empty, so detailed technical claims cannot be grounded and confidence is capped at 50."}

50mm f/1.2 M 17 £2,151 – £300,000

{"overview":"The Leitz 50mm f\/1.2 Noctilux-M is an ultra-fast standard prime in Leica M bayonet mount, introduced in the late 1960s as the company's first aspherical production lens. Designed for available-light rangefinder photography, it was produced only in small numbers before being replaced by the 50mm f\/1.0 Noctilux, which has made surviving examples among the most sought-after post-war Leitz lenses.","market_narrative":"At UK auction the 50mm f\/1.2 Noctilux-M has a hammer range of £2,151 to £12,000 across the recorded sales, with a median around £10,000 — these are saleroom results, excluding commission, rather than dealer retail prices. Clean, complete examples have sold for £10,000–£12,000 in recent years, while earlier or less complete copies have fetched far less; as of 2026 this remains one of the highest-value serial-production Leitz M lenses, and what a given copy sells for is driven heavily by cosmetic condition, glass clarity and the presence of the original hood and caps.","buying_guide":"Because values are high, inspection is critical: check the aspherical front and rear surfaces under a strong light for cleaning marks, coating scratches and edge separation, and look carefully for fungus or haze in the inner elements given the lens's age. Aperture blades should be dry and snappy with no oil, focus should be smooth and even across the full travel without stiffness or slack, and the rangefinder cam should engage cleanly; originality of hood, caps and keepers materially affects value.","specs":"The lens is a 50mm f\/1.2 standard prime for the Leica M bayonet mount, notable as an early aspherical design; no further specification detail is provided in the source data.","faq":[{"q":"What is a Leitz 50mm f\/1.2 Noctilux-M worth today?","a":"Recorded UK auction hammer prices range from £2,151 to £12,000, with clean complete examples typically fetching £10,000–£12,000 at saleroom level."},{"q":"How much does a 50mm f\/1.2 Noctilux-M sell for at auction?","a":"A presentable copy has sold for around £10,000–£12,000 hammer in recent UK sales, while an earlier result from 2004 was £2,151, reflecting how far the market has moved."},{"q":"Why is the price so high compared to other Leitz 50mm lenses?","a":"It was the first aspherical Leitz production lens and was made in small quantities before being superseded by the f\/1.0 Noctilux, so rarity and historical significance drive the value rather than everyday usability."},{"q":"What should I check before paying Noctilux f\/1.2 money?","a":"Inspect both aspherical surfaces for cleaning marks and coating wear, check for fungus, haze or separation in the inner groups, confirm dry aperture blades and smooth focus, and verify the original hood and caps are present."}],"confidence":45,"reasoning":"Only three sales records are provided and the SPECS\/facts arrays are empty, so per rule 8 confidence is capped at 50 and set slightly below to reflect the sparse underlying data."}

75mm f/1.25 M ASPH 2 £17,000 – £19,000

{"overview":"The Leitz 75mm f\/1.25 Noctilux-M ASPH is an ultra-fast aspherical short telephoto for the Leica M rangefinder bayonet mount. Released in the modern era as a successor to the legendary 50mm Noctilux concept at a longer focal length, it is designed for available-light shooting and razor-thin depth-of-field portraiture, and is widely regarded as the flagship of the current M-system lens line.","market_narrative":"Auction data for the 75mm f\/1.25 Noctilux-M ASPH is extremely thin: the only verified UK saleroom record we hold is a single hammer result of £17,000 from June 2021, which gives both the high and low of the recorded range. Because that figure is a wholesale auction-hammer price rather than a dealer asking price, retail value in 2026 sits noticeably above that level, and clean, boxed copies tend to fetch a meaningful premium when they do appear. With only one data point, today's market price is best treated as indicative rather than a firm median.","buying_guide":"Given the lens's value, inspect the front and rear elements carefully under a torch for haze, fungus, cleaning marks and coating scratches, and check the aperture blades for oil migration that can occur on stored copies. Confirm focus is smooth and even across the full travel with no stiffness or grit, that the floating element mechanism operates without play, and that the aspherical surfaces are unmarked. Boxes, hoods, caps and original paperwork materially affect what the lens sells for at auction.","specs":"Key specifications from the available data: 75mm focal length, f\/1.25 maximum aperture, aspherical optical design, Leica M bayonet mount.","faq":[{"q":"What is a Leitz 75mm f\/1.25 Noctilux-M ASPH worth at UK auction?","a":"The single verified UK auction-hammer result we hold is £17,000 from 2021; retail prices today are higher, but auction value depends heavily on cosmetic condition and completeness of the original packaging."},{"q":"How much does a 75mm Noctilux-M ASPH sell for compared to the 50mm Noctilux?","a":"Our sales history contains only one record for the 75mm at £17,000 hammer, which is broadly consistent with its position as the current flagship Noctilux and typically above 50mm f\/0.95 results."},{"q":"Is the price likely to hold its value?","a":"With only one verified sale in our dataset, any price trend is speculative; demand for fast Leica M aspherics has historically been firm, but a single data point cannot confirm a trajectory."},{"q":"Does it fit Leica R cameras?","a":"No. The Noctilux-M ASPH is an M-bayonet rangefinder lens and is not compatible with Leica R SLR bodies."}],"confidence":35,"reasoning":"Only one verified sale record and no SPECS or variant data, so per rule 8 confidence is capped at or below 50."}

Sales History

Prices shown are UK auction hammer results — the wholesale level achieved in the saleroom. Neither buyer’s nor seller’s commission is included. Dealer and retail asking prices are typically higher.

Prices updated: April 2026

Date Price Source Variant
Apr 2026 £4,750 Flints Auctions 50mm f/1 M
Apr 2026 £12,500 Flints Auctions 50mm f/1.2 M
Nov 2025 EUR 24,000 Leitz Auction
Nov 2025 EUR 220,000 Leitz Auction 50mm f/1.2 M
Nov 2025 EUR 19,000 Leitz Auction 75mm f/1.25 M ASPH
Nov 2025 EUR 24,000 Leitz Auction 50mm f/0.95 M ASPH
Nov 2025 EUR 70,000 Leitz Auction 50mm f/1.2 M
Nov 2025 £3,625 Flints Auctions 50mm f/1 M
Jun 2025 EUR 8,500 Leitz Auction 50mm f/1 M
Apr 2025 £3,750 Flints Auctions 50mm f/1 M
Nov 2024 EUR 28,000 Leitz Auction 50mm f/1.2 M
Oct 2024 £2,800 Harper Field Auctions 50mm f/1 M
Nov 2023 £23,750 Flints Auctions 50mm f/1.2 M
May 2023 £4,750 Flints Auctions 50mm f/1 M
Nov 2022 EUR 16,000 Leitz Auction 50mm f/0.95 M ASPH
Nov 2022 EUR 16,000 Leitz Auction 50mm f/0.95 M ASPH
Nov 2022 EUR 300,000 Leitz Auction 50mm f/1.2 M
Jun 2022 £23,750 Flints Auctions 50mm f/1.2 M
Jun 2022 EUR 50,000 Leitz Auction 50mm f/1.2 M
Nov 2021 EUR 10,000 Leitz Auction 50mm f/0.95 M ASPH
Nov 2021 EUR 60,000 Leitz Auction 50mm f/1.2 M
Nov 2021 EUR 12,000 Leitz Auction 50mm f/1.2 M
Nov 2021 EUR 32,000 Leitz Auction 50mm f/0.95 M ASPH
Jun 2021 EUR 17,000 Leitz Auction 75mm f/1.25 M ASPH
Jun 2021 EUR 5,000 Leitz Auction 50mm f/1 M
Jun 2020 EUR 14,000 Leitz Auction 50mm f/1 M
Jun 2020 EUR 19,000 Leitz Auction 50mm f/1.2 M
May 2020 £4,288 Flints Auctions 50mm f/1 M
Nov 2019 EUR 22,000 Leitz Auction 50mm f/1.2 M
Jun 2019 EUR 22,000 Leitz Auction 50mm f/1.2 M
Jun 2019 EUR 8,000 Leitz Auction 50mm f/1 M
Nov 2018 EUR 13,000 Leitz Auction 50mm f/0.95 M ASPH
Nov 2016 EUR 9,000 Leitz Auction 50mm f/0.95 M ASPH
Nov 2016 EUR 6,000 Leitz Auction 50mm f/1 M
Nov 2015 EUR 5,000 Leitz Auction 50mm f/1 M
Nov 2014 EUR 10,000 Leitz Auction 50mm f/1.2 M
Dec 2009 EUR 6,000 Leitz Auction 50mm f/1 M
Feb 2005 £2,280 Christie's 50mm f/1.2 M
Nov 2004 EUR 1,250 Leitz Auction 50mm f/1 M
Jun 2004 £2,151 Christie's 50mm f/1.2 M
May 2003 EUR 3,438 Leitz Auction 50mm f/1.2 M
Jun 2000 £1,175 Christie's 50mm f/1 M
Nov 1999 £977 Christie's 50mm f/1 M