Leitz Cine has introduced the brand new Leitz Cine 40mm HUGO Lens, the newest addition to their fashionable HUGO prime sequence. Based mostly in Wetzlar, Germany, Leitz Cine is the sister firm to Leica and has constructed a popularity for a number of the most premium cinema optics obtainable at the moment.
These lenses matter as a result of they create Leica’s photographic heritage into devoted cine housings, providing filmmakers character and reliability in a single package deal.
Picture credit score: Leitz
The Leitz Cine 40mm joins the HUGO household
The Leitz Cine 40mm HUGO Lens is available in at T1.5 and fills a niche many cinematographers have been asking for. With it, the HUGO set now counts 14 lenses masking every part from 18mm as much as 135mm.
You received’t discover a 40mm in Leica’s nonetheless pictures lineup, so this one was created particularly for the HUGO household. Leitz engineers teamed with Leica Digital camera designers to verify it matches the look cinematographers already love.
As Rainer Hercher, Managing Director of Leitz Cine, defined: “The 40mm is a traditional focal size in cinematography. As quickly as we launched the HUGOs, it was essentially the most requested addition.”
Attribute HUGO look
Like the remainder of the sequence, the Leitz Cine 40mm HUGO Lens makes use of Leica M-series glass. The optics sit inside a correct cine housing. It delivers a pointy heart with clean falloff towards the perimeters. This creates a delicate curvature that guides the viewer’s eye into the body.
That softer, extra natural high quality is why HUGO lenses have gained such a following. Faces and pores and skin tones render naturally, with pleasing transitions that keep away from the sterile really feel of some trendy glass.
Compact design cine glass
The Leitz Cine 40mm HUGO Lens covers full-frame sensors with a 43.3mm picture circle and ships in LPL mount. Like each HUGO lens, it has a 95mm entrance, 92mm filter thread, 0.8 MOD gears, and an extended 270-degree focus rotation.
It focuses as shut as 50cm (19.7 in), which makes it helpful for intimate photographs. Because of its compact and light-weight construct, additionally it is well-suited for drones, gimbals, or handheld setups the place each gram counts.
Picture credit score: Leitz
Just a little HUGO historical past
The HUGO sequence was first launched in 2022, based mostly on Leica M 0.8 optics however redesigned with higher housing for cinema work. The identify honors Hugo Wehrenfennig, the engineer behind the Leica M bayonet mount.
Authentic HUGO sequence | Picture credit score: Leitz
In 2024, Leitz expanded the lineup with the HUGO II sequence, which added uncommon focal lengths just like the 66mm T2.1, based mostly on Leica’s Chilly Struggle-era Spy Lens. The Leitz Cine 40mm HUGO Lens continues that mix of Leica historical past and contemporary design selections.
For filmmakers interested by how completely different Leitz lenses examine, the corporate presents the Cine Lens Check Software. It enables you to line up the HUGO primes in opposition to different Leitz households like SUMMILUX-C, SUMMICRON-C, THALIA, and LEITZ PRIME.
For extra background, you’ll be able to revisit our protection of the unique HUGO primes and the HUGO II sequence additions.
Leitz Cine 40mm Hugo Lens | Picture credit score: Leitz
How the 40mm stacks up
The 40mm HUGO Lens delivers a long-requested focal size with the identical compact construct and analog character that outline the sequence. It’s a pure addition for cinematographers already utilizing HUGOs and a tempting choice for anybody who needs Leica’s distinctive look in a cinema-ready package deal.
Availability
The Leitz Cine 40mm HUGO Lens is anticipated to ship in This fall of 2025, with preorders already open. At B&H, it’s listed as a particular order, although no pricing info is proven publicly.
As with the remainder of the HUGO lineup, patrons ought to count on this lens to sit down firmly within the premium class.
For extra details about the HUGO sequence and to study extra about Leitz, go to the official Leitz Cine web site.
What do you consider the brand new Leitz HUGO Lens sequence? Would you add the 40mm to your equipment? Drop your ideas within the feedback beneath.
