M mount Classic lenses

This classic Leica lens has an interesting history. Since the Hektor 28mm 6.3 didn’t have a true aperture ring, it needed to be upgraded. They redesigned it with new glass and a half-stop increase in aperture, plus more refined craftsmanship. When this 28mm lens was first released, it was only available with the L39 mount. When the M3 was released in 1954 with the new M mount, there was no M mount version. It wasn’t until 2017 that an m-mount version of this lens became available.

Yes, it’s a recently listed older lens.

f/5.6

This Leica lens with an f/5.6 aperture has got to be one of the best optical lenses out there. It has great sharpness and contrast, with a Leica feel to it. In fact, most Leica lenses have an optimal aperture of f/5.6. For street photographers, this aperture is more than enough during the day. It’s very compact.

Just to let you know, the lens I have is the original, not the latest production. It still performs great optically, in line with the usual Leica philosophy. Of course, the main thing is how compact it is. For street photographers, image quality isn’t the most important thing. Hahaha. In the old days, lenses were designed to be very small, which was pretty incredible at the time. These days, lenses are getting bigger and bigger, and the light gap is also getting bigger. However, with a small f/5.6 lens, you can really shoot on the street for 12 hours during the day.