A stop at some good
friends during our vacation travels gave me access to a computer today to do some catching up. Good timing, because it allows me to convey
the resurrection of a great new lens, one that must be considered a valid
alternative for Leica cameras.
An international team of engineers
and manufacturers joined forces to return the famous Biotar 75/1.5. It is probably the most legendary lens ever
produced in Jena, Germany.
It is a six lens gauss
type optical scheme whose design dates back to the year 1927 when famous lens
designer Willi Merté developed his first Biotar which was designed for
cinematography. In the 1930th Merté
continued to improve the Biotar lenses among which the 75mm/1.5 reached
legendary status. The Biotar 75/1.5 was first introduced in 1938, sales began
to pick up with a presentation at the Leipzig Spring Fair in 1940.
But due to second world
war and to its high price at the time it remained a very special lens for the
selected few. Until today it has become one of the most expensive vintage
lenses easily selling for over a thousand dollars – if you get a usable one.
Even during its time in
production it was an unfulfilled dream for most photographers as it took a two
month salary for an average engineer of its time to buy this lens. Very few
were actually produced but their quality was so outstanding that some are still
in use today.
Its sharpness at the
center in conjunction with a dramatic swirl bokeh is legendary. At open
aperture the Biotar 75 is as sharp as can be in the center of the image and it
renders the famous and sought after swirling bokeh to the side. The image gets
an almost three dimensional complexion with the object stepping out in front of
the viewer. The feel of the image is at the same time somewhat delicate which
generates great contrast in available light situations with clear shadows and
lights in the background.
The “swirly bokeh” is an
outstanding feature of this lens. This means that out-of-focus highlights in
the background are subdued and at the same time rendered in a circular fashion.
You can see this effect clearly in the following image. This specific feature of the lens creates an
eye catching effect and the impact on the viewer is almost surrealistic.
Already at f2.0 contrast
goes up dramatically and at f 5.6 to 8 the optimum sharpness is obtained. It is
better than many so called modern high end lenses of today. The color
correction of the lens is outstanding. There is no lateral chromatic aberration
as it is almost apochromatic in its effect. Talking to photographers they start
to rave about the lens and its abilities not only in portraiture photography
but also for landscaping and nature.
The Biotar 75 was
considered the fastest portrait lens of its time and not many faster ones have
ben build over time. Due to its high price which would translate into something
close to eight to ten thousand dollars today the lens was manufactured in
relatively small numbers. But over time photographers around the world
cherished the lens not only for portraiture but for so much more, especially
fashion, sports, wedding, architecture and even macro. But see for yourselves.
The Biotar 75 is legendary
but it was the goal to maintain the exact Biotar characteristics while
carefully improving the mechanical aspects and making it feasible for modern
camera equipment and different mounts. So at the center of the development was
to ensure the lenses ability to produce crystal sharp images at the center of
the picture with a dramatic but not overly aggressive swirling bokeh at open
aperture and its crystal overall sharpness at f 5.6 or f 8.0. It took several
iterations to reach this goal.
Furthermore the design of
the lens was slightly changed. The later versions of the Biotar had a somewhat
different look and it was the goal to come closer to the early versions with a
straighter silhouette than the later ones and a very fine surface with a silver
shine like it used to be in the thirties of the last century.
The goal was not to create
a “looks like a famous vintage lens” but to follow the legendary imaging
abilities of the Biotar and gently change the mechanical design of the lens and
reach a more modern but still classic design that pays respect to this legend.
By using modern glasses
and hi-end coating some disadvantages of the earlier Biotar lenses due to
reflections on the surfaces could be avoided while maintaining all advantages.
The 15 aperture blades of the new Biotar support the creation of the swirly
bokeh and are of course made from steel and with a special anti-reflective
coating.
The lens will be available
in the Leica M mount with rangefinder coupling.
For complete information
go here
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