Leitz Cine HEKTOR T2.1 Mirrorless Hybrid Cinema Lenses

In a move that slightly resembles what Cooke did with their SP3 lenses, Leitz Cine has announced its new HEKTOR T2.1 Mirrorless Hybrid Cinema Lenses.

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The Leitz HEKTOR lenses are a series of six full frame prime lenses that support multiple formats through user-interchangeable mirrorless mounts (E, L, RF, Z).

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The focal lengths are 18, 25, 35, 50, 73 and 100mm, all at T2.1. Each lens is fully manual with matched focus and iris ring spacing for quick lens changes. The 120° focus rotation makes them easy to work with by hand as well.

The lenses are compact and lightweight, with an 80mm diameter (all) and a 77mm screw-in filter thread (except the 18mm). The 9-blade iris remains circular through all stops to create consistency in the out-of-focus areas.

Leitz Cine states that they offer a gentle Petzval effect, colorful flares, and subtle focus fall-off towards the edges of the frame.

The lens mounts are passive and do not pass metadata or lens information to the camera. Due to the design of the lenses, they will not be available in PL, LPL, or Leica M mount.

While the look of the HEKTOR lenses is unlike anything the company has ever created before, the way we make them is the same as all our other premium cine lenses. Leitz cine decided early on to build the lenses to the same standard as their most expensive lenses, with a level of precision and attention to detail beyond anything else in the mirrorless lens market. To achieve this, the lenses were 100% designed in-house and are manufactured and assembled at the factory in Wetzlar, Germany.

Premium cine lenses are often seen as an investment because of their build quality and enduring character. Leitz Cine approached the HEKTOR lenses from a similar perspective. These lenses are claimed to have an inherently beautiful look, build quality to stand the rigors of production, and serviceability to make them relatively easy to maintain. Much like an old Leica camera or a classic cine lens, the Leitz HEKTOR lenses are an investment that can be maintained and used for many years to come.

Who is Hektor?

The original Leica Hektor lenses were introduced by Ernst Leitz Wetzlar in the 1930s for their early screw-mount cameras and are considered Leica’s first professional series of interchangeable lenses. Lens designer Max Berek named them after his dog Hektor. Though not directly adapted from these lenses, the new HEKTOR series pays homage to their inspiration through the inclusion of a 73mm, an iconic f/1.9 lens in the original series, as well as their silver anodized finish, which echoes the chrome finish of many early Leica lenses.

Pricing & Availability

As far as mirrorless mount cine lenses go, these are not what you would classify as affordable. The lenses start at $7,390 USD each.

The Leitz Cine HEKTOR T2.1 6-Lens Set is $42,490 USD.

Specifications

Competition

Direct competition arguably comes in the form of the Cooke SP3 Prime Lenses, which were designed for use with mirrorless hybrids and announced 2 years ago. The lenses are somewhat based on the legendary Speed Panchros.

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The SP3 range is available in the following focal lengths:

• 25mm T2.4
• 32mm T2.4
• 50mm T2.4
• 75mm T2.4
• 100mm T2.4

The SP3 series features user-interchangeable mounts. The lenses come with E-Mount as standard, and RF-Mounts will be available soon. Early purchasers will be able to get a set of RF mounts at no cost. L-Mount is also available as an optional accessory, as well as M-Mount.

Even though the lenses are being targeted for use with mirrorless hybrids, these are still Cooke lenses, so they aren’t $1,000 each! The SP3 Prime Lenses retail for $4,500 USD / £3,250 / €3,900 per lens and $21,375 USD / £15,400 / €18,525 for the complete set of five lenses, which comes in a heavy-duty carry case.