This Leica M-mount lens recreates a 1930s classic for a fraction of the price

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DK-Optic has released a new lens for Leica M-mount cameras. The Chiaro 1.5-inch (38mm) f/1.9 lens has been designed as a tribute to the classic Dallmeyer Super Six lens design from the 1930s, which shared the same f/1.9 aperture and was famed for its distinctive painterly bokeh and ethereal image quality. It also explains why the lens's focal length is given in inches rather than millimetres, as that's the unit of measurement used by the classic lens. To quote DK-Optic:

"The Super Six 1.5-inch f/1.9 stands as one of the most legendary standard-focal-length lenses in the realm of painterly optics. In its era, it represented the absolute pinnacle of balancing extreme resolving power with dream-like bokeh. The unique "3D Pop" it delivers wide open remains just as highly coveted today as it was decades ago. Driven by pure passion, DK-Optic has flawlessly paid homage to this masterpiece, combining its vintage soul with the extreme precision of modern industrial manufacturing."

DK-Optic's Super Six recreation stays true to the original, copying the same 6-element, 4-group optical stack, "rejecting the sterile, dry perfection of modern lenses" to instead replicate the vintage lens's image quality characteristics. Wide open at f/1.9, the Chiaro 1.5-inch is said to deliver "mesmerizing 3D spatial separation (subject isolation). The in-focus areas maintain astonishing sharpness, while the out-of-focus areas rapidly melt away into a signature, highly painterly bokeh." Sharpness and contrast increase as you stop down.

The lens is hand-made in DK-Optic's bespoke workshop using techniques like 5-axis CNC machining of core brass components, as well as grinding decades-old new old stock optical glass. The lens barrel is constructed from high-strength 7075 aerospace-grade aluminum, while the core focusing helicoid and aperture mechanics are machined from aerospace-grade brass, which DK-Optic says provides an "unmatched, buttery-smooth tactile feel".

Though a Chinese lens, don't assume the Chiaro 1.5-inch f/1.9 is just another ultra-low-cost optic. It's priced at $1,600, which evidently reflects the bespoke craftsmanship that's gone in to designing and making the lens. Although by Leica M-mount lens standards, even at this price the Chiaro 1.5-inch f/1.9 is reactively accessible.