Leitz Cine enters the mirrorless lens market with the Leitz Hektor lenses, a brand-new set of prime lenses designed specifically for cameras using mirrorless mounts. The lenses come in six focal lengths: 18, 25, 35, 50, 73 and 100mm, all T2.1. The user interchangeable mount options include E, L, RF and Z for maximum flexibility.
“The Leitz Hektor lenses prioritize two things: image character and build quality. The look of Hektor has been curated by examining lenses from the past 100+ years of cinema and photography history,” according to the announcement.
The look is inspired by classic M lenses from the 1930s and 1950s, as well as Petzval lenses, with characteristics like dynamic flare, field curvature and spherical aberration. By utilizing non-aspherical designs reminiscent of the 1980s/90s, modern touches include coatings that control veiling glare better than older lenses as well as significantly reduced chromatic aberration.
“The Leitz Cine brand has always stood for a high standard of quality, and although these lenses were designed for less expensive camera systems than Leitz’s high-end glass, the same amount of care, consideration and attention to detail exists in the Hektor lenses,” the announcement continues.
The lenses are designed, manufactured and assembled in Germany by the same people that build other Leitz lenses like Summilux-C and Hugo. While more expensive than many mirrorless lenses, the Leitz Hektor series is "designed to last, to be easily serviced, and with available parts for a reliable, long-term investment," the release states.
The lenses are fully manual and feature an 80mm outer diameter. The 25-100mm lenses have a 77mm screw-in filter thread. Focus and iris ring locations match for quick lens changes with 120° and 49° rotations, respectively, making them easier to work with when operating and pulling focus. A nine-blade iris maintains a round shape through all stops for consistency in the out-of-focus areas.
“We spent a lot of time exploring and testing to get the character of these lenses right, to make them something that would be appealing to modern cinematographers but timeless in their beauty,” says managing director Rainer Hercher. “Too often lenses are designed to be as fast, clear and as inexpensive as possible without giving attention to the attributes that create a great, compelling image. In listening to our customers, we heard them asking for something with soul, with emotion, something that could help elevate their work. The Leitz Hektor lenses are for them.”
The name Hektor is a reference to the original Leica Hektor lenses created in the 1930s by lens designer Max Berek for Leica’s original screw mount 35mm cameras. Though not an adaptation of those lenses, the new Hektor series pays homage to the inspiration they provided with a silver anodized finish and the inclusion of a 73mm, an iconic lens in the original line.
More information can be found at: leitz-cine.com/product/hektor
