Walter Mandler - Mandler Lenses

Mandler Lenses

Walter Mandler is credited with the design of more than 45 high performance Leica lenses for the Leica rangefinder cameras and Leica SLR cameras, including many landmark designs:

A complete list of Leica M and R Lenses designed by Dr. Walter Mandler as selected by Dr. Mandler himself not in chronological order (Viewfinder Vol 83.2):

• A) SCREWMOUNT LENSES:
• 1) Summicron 35/2
• 2) Summicron 90/2
• 3) Elmar 135/4
• 4) Telyt 200/4
• 5) Telyt 280/4.8
• 6) Telyt 400/5 (2nd)

• B) LEICA M LENSES:
• 7) Elmarit 21/2.8
• 8) Elmarit-M 28/2.8 (3rd) (excellent retrofocus lens for M rangefinder cameras, in production from 1980 until 1993)
• 9) Summicron 35/2 (1st)
• 10) Summicron 35/2 (2nd & 3rd)
• 11) Summicron 35/2 (4th)
• 12) Summilux-M 35/1.4 C27 (the first 35mm focal length lens with a f/1.4 aperture, designed in 1958 and produced from 1961 until 1993)
• 13) Summicron 50/2
• 14) Summicron 50/2 (4th)
• 15) Summicron-M 50/2.0 C368 (a landmark Double-Gauss design of 1974, still in production, since 1979)
• 16) Elcan 50/2
• 17) Summilux 50/1.4 (2nd)
• 18) Summilux-M 50/1.4 (in production for more than 40 years, from 1959 until 2004)
• 19) Noctilux-M 50/1.0 C271 (the fastest lens for 35mm format for many years, since 1975, designed in 1969, "before computer optimization was introduced at Leitz Canada" (Jonas & Thorpe, 2006)). This lens is now replaced by a faster model: Noctilux-M 50mm f/0.95 ASPH, from 2008)
• 20) Summilux-M 75/1.4 (in production for 27 years, from 1980 until 2007. This was the favourite design of Mandler himself)
• 21) Summilux 75/1.4 (2nd) (only a mechanical revision; the same optical cell)
• 22) Elmar 90/4 (3 elements)
• 23) Tele-Elmarit 90/2.8 (1st)
• 24) Tele-Elmarit 90/2.8 (2nd)
• 25) Elmarit 90/2.8 (2nd) (different redesigns, from 1959, 1964, 1974 and 1990 for M cameras, to 1964 and 1980 for R cameras)
• 26) Summicron 90/2 (1st)
• 27) Summicron 90/2 (2nd)
• 28) Summicron 90/2.0 (3rd) (the last design was for M cameras, in production from 1980 until 1998; previous versions from 1963 and 1970 also for R cameras)
• 29) Elmar 135/4
• 30) Tele-Elmar 135/4
• 31) Elmarit 135/2.8 (1st)
• 32) Elmarit 135/2.8 (2nd)
• 33) Elcan 66/2 (Extra-high resolution lens for the US Navy)
• 34) 90/1.0 C164 (another special ELCAN lens for the US Navy)

• C) LEICA R LENSES:
• 35) Elmarit-R 19/2.8 (1st)
• 36) EElmarit-R 19mm/2.8 (2nd) (retrofocus design in production from 1975 until 1990)
• 37) Summicron-R 35/2 (2nd)
• 38) Summicron-R 50/2 (1st)
• 39) Summicron-R 50/2 (2nd & 3rd)
• 40) Summilux-R 80/1.4 (from 1980)
• 41) Elmarit-R 90/2.8 (1st)
• 42) Elmarit-R 90/2.8 (2nd)
• 43) Summicron-R 90/2
• 44) Elmarit-R 135/2.8 (1st)
• 45) Elmarit-R 135/2.8 (2nd)
• 46) APO-Telyt-R 180/3.4 (from 1975, this lens had extra low dispersion or anomalous dispersion elements, specially developed at the Leitz Wetzlar glass research lab, that equaled the performance of fluoride crystal elements without their drawbacks. (only 6.000 units were produced).
• 47) Telyt-R 250/4 (1st)
• 48) Telyt-R 250/4 (2nd)
• 49) Telyt 350/4.8
• 50) APO 75/2.0 C341 (an apochromatic R lens for a U.S. Navy High Resolution Small Format Camera System. Only two types of glass were employed in this 8 elements, Double-Gauss based design. Only a few units were produced in 1973)

Mandler also designed lenses for IMAX movie projection systems, high-aperture lenses for Picker X-ray applications, lenses for RCA Victor television cameras, extrahigh resolution lenses for intelligence-gathering, scopes for the Canadian, US and NATO armed forces, lenses for HP scanners, etc...