Leica has re-released a classic M-mount wide-angle lens the company has proclaimed “the king of bokeh”.
The 35/1.4 Summilux-M is based on the original version of the lens which was first released in 1961 and gained an enviable reputation for sharpness and character.
Only 1,500 examples of the original version were made before it was superseded in the M-mount line-up. The lens weighed only 200g, but had seven elements in five groups and a minimum focusing distance of only a 1m (3.3ft).
The lens was relaunched alongside the classic M6 rangefinder at an event in Wetzlar in Germany on Thursday (20 October).
Leica said in a press release: “Photographing with maximum aperture creates pictures with an especially soft, almost magical bokeh that is hard to achieve even with digital image processing. Its extraordinary pictorial look earned the Summilux-M 35 f/1.4 the title “True King of Bokeh”.
“Photographing at open aperture in backlit conditions creates intended lens flares that can be used for specific creative effects. Even after stopping down to f/2.8, it produces very sharp and particularly distortion-free pictures which also meet modern requirements for image quality. Its relaunched edition is made in the Leica manufacture in Wetzlar – in the original vintage design and with the identical optical calculation of the first Summilux-M 35 f/1.4.
“Furthermore, the stainless-steel front ring known as “Steel Rim”, lockable focus ring and black attachable lens hood are also modelled on the original. What is new, however, is the second, round lens hood with E46 thread which enables the use of filters and is also included in delivery.”
The lens is available to order now and costs £3,450 in the UK.
I'm a New Zealander who has been living in London since the mid-1990s, shooting film seriously since the year 2000. Kosmo Foto was launched in 2012 and has since become a film brand, with the release of my first films Kosmo Foto Mono 35mm (2017) and Kosmo Foto Mono 120 (2019).
I’m doing everything I can to promote film photography in the 21st Century, and help it survive and thrive. If you want to write something for Kosmo Foto, please drop me a line at foto.dowling@gmail.com.
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