Leica KE-7A

​Leica KE-7A with 50mm F2 Elcan Lens

The Leica KE-7A was manufactured in Canada for US Army in the 1970s and this M4 special model can withstand temperatures down to -20 degrees with dust sealed. Only 505 units were produced and 460 were acquired by the US military, identifiable as Army issue due to engravings and the rest were sold to the civilian market.

To make the military KE-7A, the company took their standard M4 beefed it up with weather sealing and a burlier shutter that could function in subzero temperatures, finished it in black chrome and removed the red dot from the front.

The Leica KE-7A was most often paired with the high performance resolving 50mm f/2 Elcan Lens. The 50mm Elcan f/2 lens uses infrared-absorbing glass made with lanthanum, a radioactive element that helps achieve an exceptionally high refractive index for heat control in making the optics. Also the 50mm Elcan lens was designed and manufactured to withstand a blast using special gaskets, which helped absorb the shock of an explosion.

Nikkor P.C 8.5cm F2 LTM

The Nikkor-P.C 8.5cm f/2 was a significant lens introduced by Nikon. The medium telephoto lens was introduced in 1953 as Nikon’s first attempt at this focal length. The lens is based on the popular Zeiss Sonnar design and It was one of their best selling lens. The Nikkor 8.5cm f/2 was competing against likes of Leica and Canon with similar focal length offerings. The size advantage and smooth rendering makes the Nikkor stands out from the rest of the competition.  

Lens Version

Chrome Barrel

1. Nikon S
2. Contax
3. Leica Screw Mount

Black Barrel

1. Nikon S
2. Leica Screw Mount (Rare)

Specifications

Lens Mount: Nikon S | Contax | LTM

Production Year: 1953

LTM Mount

Construction: 5 Elements / 3 Groups

Diaphragm: 10 Aperture Blades

Maximum / Minimum Aperture:  F2 - F32

Closet Focusing Distance: 1m

Filter Size: 48mm

Weight: 425g

Gallery

Angenieux S3 75mm F1.8 Lens

Angénieux is a French optics company in Paris founded by Pierre Angenieux in 1935. It has manufactured lenses for still and movie cameras, and also for military applications. 

The Angenieux Type S3 Lenses are the rarest and most expensive offered by Angénieux Paris. The Angenieux S3 75mm F1.8 is arguably more rare and better portrait performer than the Amazing Angenieux S3 100mm F2. It is the Holy Grail of Angenieux Lenses due to its insane rarity but also it’s magical rendering, thus demands astronomical prices in the current market.

What’s so magical about the Angenieux S3? It combines the best of both worlds, the sharpness and charmastic rendering from the Angenieux S5 & P1, with slight hint of the magical glow from the S21. The bokeh is very unique with a swirly character and is extremely smooth.

Specifications

Lens Mount: Leica M

Format: 35mm | 120mm (Covers Medium Format)

Focusing: Manual Focus (MF)

Diaphragm: 12 Blades

Maximum Aperture: F1.8

Minimum Aperture: F22

Closet Focusing Distance: ~0.8m

Filter Size: 49.5mm

Gallery 

Kinoptik Apochromat 75mm F2 Lens

Kinoptik is a French cinematic optics manufacturer founded by Georges Grosset and Gerozes Perthuis in 1932. The Kinoptik Apochromat lens series has excellent apochromatic optical design and also benefits from the symmetrical Double Guass lens construction, which results extreme high resolution with rich colour saturation and unique bokeh.

Versions:

1. FOYER
2. FOCALE
3. APO

Specifications

Production Year: 1944 onwards

Construction: 6 Elements / 4 Groups

Diaphragm: 16 Blades

Design Features: 

• Double Gauss

Maximum / Minimum Aperture:  F2 - F16

Closet Focusing Distance: 1m

Weight: 490g

Gallery

Fujinon 5cm f/2 | Fujinon 50mm F2 LTM Lens

The Fujinon 5cm f/2 is a rare lens released in Japan, nowadays commonly known as Fujifilm or Fuji 50mm F2 lens offered in original Leica L39 screw mount with rangefinder coupling capability. This lens was supplied as a standard lens of Leotax from 1957 to 1985.

Build Quality

The Fujinon 50mm F2 LTM is a relatively large lens for its maximum aperture of f2 and it is equivalent to some f1.4 vintage lenses in terms of size. There are two production types with later models offered with a focusing lever. The lens had a black paint barrel design along with a chrome ring on top.

Image Quality

The Fujinon 5cm f/2 lens is a stellar performer, it offers high image resolution and great optical performance. There is a tendency to flare wide open at f2 but when steps down to f4 and beyond, the sharpness increases significantly and image rendering is equally pleasant.

It is uncommon for a lens produced in 1950s to flare at f2. However, when narrow down f2.8 the flare suddenly disappears and the resolution is very high. The out of focus area rendering is both natural and eye-pleasing. In addition, the contrast and colour rendition is towards the lower side with signature Fuji colours.

Fujinon 5cm F2 vs Fujinon 5cm F2.8

The Fujinon 5cm F2.8 is much smaller and lighter than the bigger brother Fujinon 5cm F2 LTM lens. It is still well constructed yet feels incredibly small in the hands, as it’s relatively compact compared to the Fujinon 5cm F2 lens.

The Fujinon 5cm F2.8 LTM lens is a step down in terms of maximum aperture but still renders very similar to the Fujinon 5cm F2 lens. When shot wide open, it’s out of focus area isn’t as creamy but very pleasing to the eyes. At aperture beyond F4, both lens produces classic image with signature Fuji colours.

Specifications

Lens Mount: Leica Thread Mount | LTM

Production Years: 1950s

Production Numbers: 5000+ units

Construction: 6 Elements / 5 Groups

Diaphragm: 10 Blades

Maximum / Minimum Aperture:  F2 - F22

Closet Focusing Distance: 1m

Filter Size: 43mm

Conclusion

The Fujinon 5cm F2 LTM is a rare lens that produces high resolution images with classic rendering in a fast maximum aperture at F2. It is a vintage lens design from the 1950s that offers the complete package as a classic daily lens with stellar optical performance.

Hasselblad 110mm F2.0 Planar T* Lens Review

I would like to share my recent experiences with a legendary Hasselblad 110mm F2.0 Planar lens. I am a big fan of super shallow depth of field and bokehlicious images, I believe with the correct use of aperture that one can enhance the subject of the photo. The Hasselblad medium format film camera has been my companion for quite some time now, it is the "perfect" MF camera for me and part of this is due to the superb qualities of those Carl Zeiss lenses. After owning and shooting with a variety of these lenses, there is always a lens in back of my mind. 

The Hasselblad 110mm F2.0 Planar lens is indeed a "dream" lens, just like the noctilux of Leica which outputs incredible bokeh and unique characteristics. I have been searching lens on the internet for quite awhile since there are not too many of them available at once. There are basically two versions of the lens: the F and FE models of the lens. The F lens can only be used on focal plane Hasselblad bodies with builtin camera shutter and the FE version has some electronic parts specially designed for FE series Hasselblad bodies such as the 203FE, which demands a higher price tag for its more modern electronics. My lovely 2000 FC/M camera that I did my street photography work with has broken down due to focal plane failure so I upgraded to a more recent model, the 201F with a cloth focal plane shutter rather than fragile titanium ones in the 2000FC/M. It is the perfect match with the Hasselblad 110mm F2 lens and this combination works like a charm. 

The first thing you notice when you are holding the lens is quite heavy, coming at 750 grams, which is significantly heavier than my Hasselblad 100mm F3.5 C lens. The F version of this lens were produced between 1991&1998 and the construction consists of 7 elements/5 groups with the aperture ranges from an insane F2 to F16 in 1/2 stop increments. Keep in mind that F2 in the Medium Format world is approximately similar to F1 in the 35mm format, which produces incredibly shallow paperthin DOF. In practical use, the lens at the start was very challenging to use, especially for living subjects on the streets that I like to photograph but once you get used to it then everything becomes easier. Just as a side note, I would recommend for Hasselblad users to change their focusing screen to either Matte or Matte D with increased brightness/clarity when working with this lens, which helps significantly in practical use. The filter size for this particular lens is in bayonet mount (Bay 70) and I would recommend the 77mm UV size adapter since this is a much affordable option. 

The performance of the Hasselblad 110mm F2.0 Planar lens is truly remarkable, it deserves to wear the crown of superfast lenses in the Medium Format world. The rendering is typical Zeiss with tendency to the warm side with vivid colours and the out of focus areas are pleasing to the eye with smooth bokeh. The images coming out of this lens are very sharp, probably not as sharp as the Hasselblad 100mm F3.5 lens since that one is the sharpest but the 110mm lens possesses very unique and special characteristics. If you like superfast lenses and looking for an unique lens in the medium format world then the Hasselblad 110mm lens cannot be missed.

My Flickr Set: 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jerrybay/sets/72157632109503805/