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Meyer Optik has announced its new APO-Makro-Plasmat 105 F2.7 lens, a modern version of one of the classic Plasmat lenses developed by Dr. Paul Rudolph 105 years ago. As with previous Meyer Optik revivals, the company is funding its product on Kickstarter, where it explains that the new Plasmat 105 “offers natural sharpness, unbelievable color reproduction, and a glowing bokeh united at every step of the aperture.”
The name Makro, Meyer Optik explains, was chosen by Rudolph in reference to the Makro-Plasmat’s suitability for 35mm, not macro, photography. The company says that while its revamped version of the lens offers performance that’s “in the spirit of the Plasmat lenses,” it created the model with modern camera gear in mind.
The APO-Makro-Plasmat 105 has a 105mm focal length, 60mm width, an F2.7 – F22 aperture, 1.1m / 3.6ft minimum focusing distance, manual focusing, 6 elements in 5 groups, as well as 15 steel aperture blades with an anti-reflex coating.
As with the original Plasmat lenses, Meyer Optik says its remake offers a unique combination of glow, bokeh, plasticity, and sharpness, explaining:
The lens is sharp but it takes away the razor cut, sterile, microscope like sharpness and replaces it by an even sharpness around the subject that flatters it and pleases the eye of the spectator. Thus the lens fills the whole space with amazing depth and at the same time with a smooth transition from focus to softness.
The company plans to offer APO-Makro-Plasmat 105 for 35mm cameras in the following mounts: Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony E, Fuji X, and Leica M. A model will also be released for medium-format mirrorless cameras in both Fuji GFX and Hasselblad X1D mounts.
The lens has already reached nearly three times its funding goal on Kickstarter, where backers who pledge at least $ 1,050 USD (offer expires in the next 17 hours) are promised an early bird lens with a serial number that matches where they fall on the backers’ list—the first person to pledge will receive serial number 001, the second person will receive 002, and so on. Once this first early bird offer is gone, backers will be able to get the lens for $ 1,100, $ 1,150, and eventually $ 1,300 when all early bird deals are gone.
Initial shipments to backers are expected to start in February 2019; shipping costs depend on region. To learn more or secure your own, head over to the Kickstarter campaign page.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
