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Full LEITZ PRIME Set and Two LEITZ ZOOM Lenses Announced

April 30^th, 20194

Full LEITZ PRIME Set and Two LEITZ ZOOM Lenses Announced

by Olaf von VossApril 30^th, 2019

After last year’s exclusive sneak peak, Leitz/Leica recently finally unveiled their new LEITZ PRIME lenses and LEITZ ZOOMs. While the PRIMEs come in a full set of 11 lenses, the ZOOMs come as two lenses covering focal lengths from 25mm to 125mm. And all 13 lenses are color-matched!

Just a brief history course before we get started about these new primes and zooms: Regarding the company names Leitz and Leica, there might be some confusion, but to clarify things, here it is in a nutshell: it’s basically the same company. It was founded as Ernst Leitz Wetzlar GmbH and –much later, in the 1980s– transformed into Leica (Leitz Camera).

Leica and Leitz logos. Spot the difference!

That’s why the logos of Leitz and Leica look so similar. In 2008, CW Sonderoptic was founded in order to develop and manufacture Leitz-branded cine lenses, though now the name is Ernst Leitz Wetzlar GmbH once again. Ok, back to our set of new prime lenses and two new zooms!

Leitz has just introduced a new set of primes, simply called LEITZ PRIME. They cover full frame/vista vision sensors and are color-matched to each other, plus to the other new line of zoom lenses Leitz unveiled, consequently called LEITZ ZOOM.

LEITZ PRIME Lenses

Leitz/Leica have some reputation regarding cine glass: Summilux-C, Summicron-C, Thalia and M 0.8 primes are their take on high-end cinema lenses. And now, the new PRIMEs and ZOOMs. Here’s a list of features of the set of the 11 prime lenses:

11 lenses ranging from 18mm to 180mm
T1.8
Choice of PL or LPL mount
Support for Cooke/i and Arri LDS-2 data
Color Matched with LEITZ ZOOM
Breathing is minimal
Distortion is exceptionally low
Chromatic aberration is not visible

LEITZ PRIME 135mm T1.8 with Macrolux +1 diopter attached.

In order to decrease the minimum focus distance, you can deploy the newly designed Macrolux 114 adapters, which –just like the existing Macrolux 95 diopters– come in +0.5, +1 and +2 strengths. They are stackable and Leitz claims that they won’t present any chromatic aberration.

LEITZ ZOOM Lenses

In addition to the full set of prime lenses, Leitz has introduced two new cine zoom lenses, called LEITZ ZOOM. The first lens covers focal lengths from 25-75mm, the second one takes over at 55mm and ranges all the way up to 125mm. More features include:

25-55mm T2.8 and 55-125mm T2.8
Choice of PL or LPL mount
Support for Cooke/i and Arri LDS-2 data
Color Matched with LEITZ PRIME
No light loss (no ramping) over entire zoom range
Parfocal
Breathing is minimal
Distortion is exceptionally low
Chromatic aberration is not visible

LEITZ ZOOM 25-75 T2.8 and 55-125mm T2.8.

The major benefit of using these primes in conjunction with the two new zoom lenses is the fact that they match perfectly in terms of color. So you end up with a set of 13 lenses, which you can mix’n’match to taste and will always match on your timeline. Neat!

Pricing and Availability

No word on availability, yet. Pricing is not confirmed, either, but don’t expect these lenses to be cheap. We’re talking high-end cine lenses here and these usually come at a price. Maybe these lenses are targeted more towards rental houses than to individual customers, but in the end, it’s nice to have some choice, isn’t it? Pick the lens that suits your taste/budget/project best and off you go!