New in LeicaLand 🔴 Jul26
Leica news for Blog Insiders
Leica related news
Updates from LeicaLand –
- (NEW) Mandler 50mm f.1.4 Pre-ASPH “E46” – Following the successful launch of their first lens, the Mandler 35mm f2 (a Leica Summicron 35mm f2 v4 King of Bokeh remake), they are back with perhaps an even more exciting lens. If you know your Leica lenses one of the nicest 50s ever made was the Leica Summilux 50mm f1.4 Pre-ASPH (specifically the v3 which has the same optics as the v2 but focuses down to 0.7m. Sadly the v3 Leica lenses are plagued with haze issues so it’s a lens I never purchased). Mandler have made a 50mm Pre-ASPH lens which has the built-in hood of the v3 Leica original AND focuses down to 0.5m! I’ve been testing the prototype lens for Mandler and first impressions are very positive. I’ll be able to share more info next month so sub to the newsletter so not to miss that. **Many of you have asked me about the price. All I can say is it will likely be in line with their 35mm lens pricing (where it’s seems too good not to buy!)
- (NEW) Voigtlander APO-Lanthar 90mm f4 “Close Focus” VM (M) – Another exciting new release from Voigtlander. This lens competes with the Leica Macro-Elmar 90mm f4 that I used to own, which also has the close focus option. I’ll share more info next month once the lens becomes available.
(NEW) Brightin Star 35mm f1.7 APO (M) – Following their popular 28mm pancake lens (see video), Brightin Star have announced the launch of their new 35mm APO lens (via a Kickstarter project). Size is bigger than the Mandler 35mm f2 and Funleader Artizlab 35mm f1.4 and it gives a nod to the Leica 35mm f2 APO with its rectangular lens hood. If the launch is successful I’ll try to get one to review for YouTube.
- (NEW) Viltrox 28mm f4.5 AF (pancake lens) (L) – If you use a Leica SL series camera and are tired of carrying big heavy lenses around this might be for you. It’s the size of a Leica M-L adapter yet takes photos and gives you autofocus. See my YouTube video for more info.
(NEW) TTArtisan 50mm f1.8 “Neo” AF (L) – If you looking for a super affordable compact nifty 50 for your Leica SL / CL (or any L mount camera), this punches well above it’s price tag. Video coming this week (subscribe on YT).
- (UPDATE) 7Artisans / Seagull 35mm f1.7 (M) – A new collaboration, this is a limited production lens, only 500 units. I was able to borrow it from my Patreon buddy Tobi. I’m interested to see how it performs compared to the Mandler 35mm f2.
- (UPDATE) Light Lens Lab 75mm f1.5 “Z21” (M) – I’ve been enjoying this lens for portraits thanks to the beautiful rendering. This is a longer version of the LLL 50mm f1.5 Z21 lens which sold out. See my YouTube review for more photos.
- (UPDATE) Light Lens Lab 50mm f1.9 “Rigid-ZS6” (M) – If you’re mostly a 50mm shooter like me and shoot portraits this lens is fantastic. At first glance this looks like their LLL 50mm f2 Rigid but the optics are based on the Dallmeyer Super Six so you get that vintage swirly bokeh magic. See my YouTube review for more.
- (UPDATE) Voigtlander APO-Skopar 75mm f2.8 VM (M) – I’m loving this lens on my Leica MP (especially) but great for digital too. It’s super sharp from wide open and smaller/ lighter than my Voigtlander Nokton 75mm f1.5 VM. Video coming soon. (If you’re based in the UK you can find this lens at Robert White).
2025 “Leica battery crisis” is over?
If you remember my video from last year I talked about the Leica battery crisis. Leica M cameras like the M240 series and Leica M10 series were still going strong years after their release yet there were no batteries available to feed them. (Leica M9 and M8 cameras were less affected as third party batteries were available).
Thankfully, Leica have woken up to the problem and have finally sourced a fresh supply of batteries for the mentioned cameras. If you’re looking to buy an older digital Leica M camera now you no longer need to worry about batteries. See my digital Leica M camera buyer’s guide.
Lighting – 15% off
Cameras and lenses are nice but if you photograph people or products it’s the lighting that makes the most difference. If you saw my latest video I show how I use the Ulanzi X200 for my model photography.
Ulanzi are offering 15% off ALL their products for July – Just use my discount code ZHIYUNMM10 for the Zhiyun store or Amazon. (Links are to the X200 but you can select any Zhiyun product).
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