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Introduced in 1958, the first 35mm Summicron used eight elements in six groups, a formula Leitz never returned to, and German-built examples carry the Wetzlar engraving. Bayonet production up to 1969 came to 21,492 lenses, with 577 more in screw mount. The lens covers f/2 to f/16 on a sixteen-blade diaphragm, takes E39 filters and focuses to 0.7m. It is valued for holding contrast wide open while letting backgrounds fall away quietly, and clean early examples surface less and less often.