Choosing Vintage Leica R Lenses for Cinematography

Leica R vintage lenses offer phenomenal image quality and a distinctive vintage look at a budget-friendly price, suitable for various applications.

### Leica R Lenses: A Budget-Friendly Vintage Option for Cinematic Filmmaking
* 🎥 When choosing gear for a project, there are numerous options available, but the Leica R lenses, despite being 40 years old, offer **exceptional image quality** and a **unique three-dimensional look with character** in the out-of-focus areas.
* 🔍 One of the main reasons to opt for vintage lenses like the Leica R series is to **soften the digital sensor** and achieve a **more filmic image** that **elevates and stylizes the visuals**.
* 🎞 The Leica R lenses, introduced in 1964 and produced until 2009, are generally **less expensive than their Leica M counterparts**, making them a **cost-effective choice** for achieving a vintage look.
* 📷 These lenses sharpen up nicely at slower apertures, providing flexibility to alternate between a **softer vintage look** and a **sharper image**.
* 👜 Designed for old Leica film cameras, the Leica R lenses are compact and can be easily outfitted with **focus gears and a uniform front ring** to create a portable set of vintage primes suitable for **various production scales**.
* ⚙ The main downside of these lenses is that they are **fully manual**, and de-clicking the aperture is challenging due to the design of the lens.
* 💸 While lens choices are subjective, the Leica R lenses offer a **distinctive vintage look on a budget** and are available on eBay and in most camera rental houses, making them a **versatile option for filmmakers** who do not require autofocus and prefer the **aesthetic of vintage glass**.

on a given project, there are thousands of choices you can make regarding what gear you decide to shoot it with. You can shoot it digitally, you can shoot it on film, you could shoot it on an old camera, you could shoot it on a new camera. So why would you choose 40-year-old vintage Stills lenses? Reason number one would be the look. The image quality of these lenses is phenomenal. If you're looking for the type of glass that does a really good job of creating a three-dimensional image that pops but maintains some character in the out-of-focus areas of the image, look no further than Leica R lenses. The Leica R lenses are 35mm SLR lenses introduced by Leica in 1964. They were produced until 2009 and are generally less expensive than their Mount counterparts. Optically, they're pretty similar, but you're not going to find any side-by-side tests here because, frankly, I don't give a sh*t. This video is mainly about the emotional reaction I have seeing the image these lenses

produce and my experience using them out in the field. One of the main reasons you would choose to shoot on a vintage lens is to soften up a digital sensor and create a more filmic image. For some applications, sharper is better, but generally, you want to create an image that transports the viewer from their ordinary life into something more elevated and stylized. These lenses sharpen up nicely at slower apertures, which is a nice bonus as well if you don't want to commit solely to a softer vintage look, which is sometimes overused. This flexibility is what sets the Le RS apart from a lot of other vintage glass, in my opinion. These were designed to be used on old Leica film cameras, so they're quite compact. If you want to, you could outfit them with focus gears and a uniform front ring and have a very compact set of vintage primes that will fit in a backpack. For their size, they deliver a really stunning image, and so this makes them a great choice for both solo operators or larger productions.

only downside is that the lenses are fully manual, and de-clicking the aperture is not easy as the iris sometimes drifts due to the design of the lens. I really loved using these lenses on this Vans commercial I shot last year until funo Canada and Salt Lake City Utah paired with a commodo. They were super lightweight and convenient for this shoot, which was done with a very Skeleton Crew due to our crazy travel to Tofino from NYC, which took about 22 hours by a plane, car, boat, and caran. It was very important to keep gear light and compact as I was carrying my own backpack. I even have an AC on this shoot. The extra effort of pulling Focus for myself was worth it in my opinion to get the look. The kodo sensor in these vintage-like has G as a set of lenses to own. It's hard to beat the value of the Le R lenses if you buy the sumon or El Merit versions. Each lens can be bought for a few hundred bucks each.

on eBay, the suxus can be more expensive, and the Very sought-after 19 mm can be pricey too. The vast majority of focal lengths are fast enough at a f/2 or f/2.8 for most applications. While these lenses don't have the modern conveniences of a lot of newer glass, like autofocus, and is for some users, that's okay. They do work out to be a solid amount cheaper than some of the Alternatives and offer a gorgeous image. Lens choices, of course, are subjective, and a lens that works for one project may not be the right choice for another. If you're looking for glass that you can use in a variety of applications, that has a distinctive vintage look on a budget, and you don't need features like autofocus, then the Leica RS are a brilliant budget-friendly option that are readily available on eBay and in most camera rental houses.

Why I use vintage Leica R lenses for cinematography

Sharing my work and experiences as a Director and DP in Brooklyn, NY

Joe Bressler

The Advantages of Using 40-Year-Old Vintage Leica R Lenses

The Leica R lenses offer phenomenal image quality, creating a unique three-dimensional pop and character in the out-of-focus areas.

They help to soften up a digital sensor and provide a more filmic image, ideal for transporting the viewer into a stylized world.

The lenses' compact design and stunning image quality make them a flexible and practical choice for both solo operators and larger productions.

The Challenge of Using Manual Lenses for a Vans Commercial Shoot

The manual lenses used for a Vans commercial shoot provided a lightweight and convenient option for the photographer during extensive travel from NYC to Tofino.

The design of the lenses, however, made it difficult to de-click the aperture, requiring extra effort for focus pulling.

Despite the challenges, the value of the lenses makes them a worthy investment for their unique look.

The Affordable and Versatile Leica R Lenses

Leica R lenses on eBay can be more expensive, especially the sought-after 19mm, but most focal lengths offer good speed for various applications.

Despite lacking modern features like autofocus, these lenses are a budget-friendly alternative with a beautiful image quality.

The Leica R lenses are a great option for versatile use and a distinctive vintage look, available on eBay and in many camera rental houses.