Last Updated on 11/02/2018 by Mark Beckenbach
Attention, Leica photographers! MS Optics has made a new lightweight Sonnetar 73mm lens for your portrait shooting needs.
If you’ve been a fan of the creations of one-man optics company MS Optics (also known MS Optical), you’ll surely be delighted to know that Sadoyasu Miyazaki has a new release for the Leica M-mount. DP Review has recently given a heads up on the new Sonnetar 73mm f1.5 FMC; a lightweight lens with a unique aesthetic especially developed for portraits.
As with the previous MS Optics releases, the medium telephoto lens was inspired by Miyazaki-san’s love for Zeiss’ Sonnar lens. This handmade lens has five elements in four groups, and was multi-coated on every surface to ensure a 97.5% transmission rate. It measures 50mm/1.97in in diameter, 56.4mm/2.22in in length, and just 197g/6.95oz in weight. This new Sonnetar lens also has a 50mm filter and hood thread size, and a minimum focus distance of 0.8m/31.5in.
Chiba-based MS Optics, run by Miyazaki-san in the basement of his home, has previously churned out other notable niche lenses for the Leica M-mount. These include the Sonnetar 50mm f1.1, the 28mm f2 Pancake Lens, and the Super Triplet Perar 28mm f4, most likely the tiniest lens ever made for the mount.
Curious about how the new Sonnetar 73mm f1.5 FMC performs? Japan Camera Hunter has shared some sample shots, including some tests of the aperture from f1.5 to f16 (check out their post to view all the photos).
Japan Camera Hunter currently has the new Sonnetar 73mm f1.5 FMC on sale for ¥140,000 (USD $1,252), and said that the lens should be available at the end of October. However, the quantities are very limited since these are handmade lenses. While the pre-order has already opened and expected delivery will be around mid-November, it’s possible to have delays in the delivery times due to the production.
All images by Japan Camera Hunter.