MITAKON F/0.95 LENS IS FASTEST YET FOR L-MOUNT

5omm optic arrives for Leica, Panasonic and Sigma shooters

Lens maker Zhong Yi Optics has released the super-fast, super-affordable Mitakon Speedmaster 50mm f/0.95 III natively for L-mount cameras.

L-mount users wanting to shoot with an f/0.95 lens have previously had to adapt oversized lenses from other systems, but now the Speedmaster 50mm f/0.95 III is available to users of full-frame Panasonic, Leica and Sigma bodies – so whether you want to shoot high-resolution stills on the Panasonic S1R, hybrid street imagery on the Leica SL2-S or fantastic footage on the Sigma fp L, you now have one of the fastest lenses on the market at your disposal. The lens is already available in Canon RF, Sony E and Nikon Z mirrorless mounts, along with a DSLR version for Canon EF bodies, but the Speedmaster 50mm f/0.95 III is officially the first nifty fifty with an f/0.95 aperture to be released for the L-mount.

A fully manually operated lens, it features manual focus (with a long, almost 360-degree focus throw that’s ideal for videography), a manual aperture ring (which is declicked, again making it more suitable for video shooting), and has no electrical contacts, meaning EXIF data won’t be transmitted.

While the information released by Zhong Yi states that the lens has 11 elements in eight groups, it appears that it actually has 10 in seven (including an extra-low dispersion element to control colour fringing and chromatic aberrations), and a 9-blade aperture.

As with other mount versions, it’s a substantial lens that weighs in at 675g and measures 88 x 75mm, with a 67mm filter thread.

The Mitakon Speedmaster 50mm f/0.95 III is available now for $799 (approximately £565) directly from the Zhong Yi website, and will also be sold via its Amazon US web store.