Hands-on with Leica’s new classic 90mm Thambar
Leica’s newest lens is actually one of its oldest. The Leica Thambar-M 90mm F2.2 is a (slightly) modernized recreation of a classic 1930s design, famed for decades thanks to its unique soft focus rendering for portraits. At $ 6500 it costs a pretty penny too, which for our own amusement we figured works out to $ 325 for each of its 20 aperture blades.
We’re at the Photo Plus Expo show in New York, where we just got our hands on Leica’s latest crazy diamond. Click through for a closer look.
Hands-on with Leica’s new classic 90mm Thambar
Cosmetically, the new Thambar is virtually identical to the original. The biggest difference is that now, it’s designed natively for the M-mount rather than the original screw-mount (and 6-bit coded). As such, it can be used on modern rangefinders (like the M10 pictured above) without adaptation.
Sorry about the weird color balance in this image by the way. I have no excuse.
Hands-on with Leica’s new classic 90mm Thambar
Yes, that is a 20-bladed aperture. The optical construction of the new lens is the same as the original – four elements in three groups – but in a concession to the needs of 20th Century photographers, the elements are now single-coated.
Hands-on with Leica’s new classic 90mm Thambar
There are two reasons the original Thambar is famed among Leica collectors. One is its scarcity, and the other is its unique rendering. ‘Soft-focus’ would be a bit of an oversimplification – its more of an ethereal glow. I can’t describe the appearance very well in words, but people who love it really love it. The effect can be varied by stopping down the aperture. There are some sample images at the end of this writeup.
Note the twin stepless aperture scales – that will be explained a minute.
Hands-on with Leica’s new classic 90mm Thambar
The white aperture ring refers to the effective aperture when the special ‘center-spot’ filter is attached. This filter allows photographers to modify the unique rendition of the Thambar.
Hands-on with Leica’s new classic 90mm Thambar
A dedicated screw-in hood can be reversed on the lens for storage. Without the hood or filter, the new Thambar weighs in at a respectable 500g (1.1lb) and is available now, for $ 6500.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
