Every once in a while we come
across lenses from manufacturers other than Leica which are of definite
interest and well worth their use on Leica cameras. One such lens is the new Petzval lens from
Lomography.
The Petzval name is one of
the most famous in the history of optics and the development photographic
lenses. It was first introduced in 1840
by Joseph Petzval, a Hungarian mathematician, inventor, and physicist best
known for his work in optics.
Photography was just in its infancy, with photographic materials and
lenses being very slow. Especially
portraiture was difficult because lenses were essentially too slow in those
days.
Petzval set out to overcome
that problem by designing a much faster lens.
When he designed his famous portrait lens in 1840, it constituted a
quantum leap in optical design. The lens
had the unheard of aperture of f/3.6.
Petzval's portrait objective lens (Petzval Porträtobjektiv) was an
almost distortionless anachromatischer Vierlinser (double achromatic objective
lens, with four lenses in three groups). The maximum aperture was substantially
higher than the Daguerre standard of 1839, the Wollaston Chevalier lens with a
maximum aperture of f/16. The speed of f/3.6 with a focal length of 160 mm made
crucially shorter exposure times possible — using exposures of only about 15 to
30 seconds compared to the 10 minutes previously. Thus, snapshots became
possible for the first time.
Petzval allowed the Viennese
entrepreneur Peter Wilhelm Friedrich von Voigtländer to produce the lens for a
one-time payment of 2,000 guldens, without a patent or a contract, which later
led to a lasting controversy between Petzval and Voigtländer. Voigtländer, who
had confirmed the design of the lens through his own calculations, produced a
prototype, and in May 1840 he began production of the lens for the daguerreotype
cameras in 1841, making a fortune in the process.
Now Lomography is
resurrecting this lens in partnership with Zenit of Kranogorsk, Russia. The New Petzval Lenses will be manufactured
by a team of optics specialists at the Zenit factory. They are built from brass
and feature premium glass optics.
Photos shot with a Petzval
lens are immediately recognizable for their super-sharp focus and wonderful
swirly bokeh effect at the non-focused areas, including strong color
saturation, artful vignettes and narrow depth of field.
The new lens will have a
focal length of 85mm with a maximum aperture of f/2.3. Apertures will be set via Waterhouse stops
down to f/16. The image circle has a
diameter of 44mm with a field of view of 30degrees. The closest focusing distance is 1 meter.
The lens is right now being
made available for Canon EF and Nikon F DSLR mount cameras. Either one of these will allow use on the
Leica M and Leica Digilux 3 with an adapter and thus constitutes a welcome
addition to these cameras.
The original Petzval lens
(left) and the new version
For more information go to:
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