The ever-popular Leica R primes have been modified and rehoused by many companies for several years but none so elegantly as Leicester, UK-based outfit, TLS. While a Leica R re-housing by TLS has been available for quite some time, this is the first time that TLS is offering a solution direct to customers without a middle-man. But what makes the Leica R lenses and the TLS housing such a great pairing? Let’s explore!
The R series was all but forgotten after being discontinued by Leica in 2009. Over the last decade, The Leica R series have been at the center of the pixel-driven resurgence of vintage lenses. Their popularity is due to their flexibility on a wide range of camera platforms and more importantly, the unmistakable character that their optics produce. In the now flourishing world of Full Frame digital cinematography – or “large format” cinematography as some would prefer to call it – the Leica R lenses are well suited since they were designed for 35mm Full Frame cameras and will integrate into modern camera systems very well. I would speculate that there are more modified and rehoused Leica R lenses in the world than there are original lenses. I say this with reasonable authority as one of the foremost modification outfits, in fact the pioneer of the Cine-Mod®, Duclos Lenses has modified thousands upon thousands of Leica R lenses over the last 20 years.
You may recall an article from 2017 titled Leica R Primes Done Right by Cinescope and TLS in which we announced a partnership between Cinescope and TLS. In this arrangement, TLS did the research, design, manufacturing, disassembly, re-assembly, and tuning of the Leica R re-housing while Cinescope handled the sales. This partnership enjoyed some great success with the prospect of more collaborations which never seemed to come to fruition.
Moving forward, TLS will begin offering the Leica R primes with their famed rehousing direct to customers. Mechanically there is no change from the original re-housing from the TLS/Cinescope arrangement which is not a bad thing. Once of the greatest benefits of the TLS housing has always been their robust, low-maintenance design. Ultimately, there was no room for improvement in the mechanical design of the TLS Leica R re-housing. The re-housing process that TLS, helmed by Gavin Whitehurst and Stephen Lowe, have developed is a proven recipe for success focusing on artisanal, individual attention to detail. Every re-housing is performed in-house at their state of the art facility in Leicester by skilled technicians. The true lens geeks among you will be familiar with the focus bearing system that was pioneered by Cooke Optics back in the 90’s and embraced by TLS. It’s this system that allows the TLS Leica R lenses to have a smooth, accurate, robust focus travel. The focus and T-stop marks are all done individually rather than pre-determined programs. While this does add a significant amount of time and cost to a lens re-housing, it provides results that are accurate and reliable which are critical in a production environment.
A few key features of the TLS re-housing for the Leica R primes:
- Improved close focus: Most of the rehoused Leica-R’s have an improved close focus once rehoused.
- Focus Control: An expanded 300° focus rotation provides accuracy and repeatability for operators.
- Aperture Control: The expanded aperture movement is smooth, allowing continuous, precise adjustments.
- Lens Mount: The original Leica R mount is replaced with a robust, standard PL mount.
- Housing: The new housing is comprised of aluminum alloy and stainless steel, eliminating backlash/image shift.
- Gearing: Standardized gear positions for focus and iris, making them compatible with cine lens control systems.
- Durability: Improved durability and reliability of the lens for use in demanding film production environments.
While TLS does offer comprehensive service to correct common issues with vintage lenses during the re-housing process, the optics remain un-modified including the iris which is also transplanted from the original Leica lens. This ensures the notorious Leica R image quality remains true to the original formula that we all know and love. The most notable change is the new gold anodizing on the main barrel which, personally, I think looks great. I’m not keen on the red paint-fill for the Leica name, but after speaking with TLS, this may very well change to a more sophisticated black paint-fill.
The Leica R line of lenses features over 100 unique models which can make re-housing them a monumental challenge with respect to design and logistics. TLS will offer their re-housing for very specific models:
- Wide-angle:
- Leica R 15mm f/4
- Leica R 19mm f/2.9 (V1 and V2)
- Leica R 21mm f/4.2
- Leica R 24mm f/2.9
- Leica R 28mm f/2.9 (V1 and V2)
- Standard:
- Leica R 35mm f/2 Summicron
- Leica R 35mm f/1.4 Summilux
- Leica R 50mm f/2 Summicron
- Leica R 50mm f/1.4 Summilux
- Mid-telephoto:
- Leica R 60mm f/2.8 macro
- Leica R 80mm f/1.5
- Leica R 90mm f/2
- Leica R 100mm f/2 macro
- Leica R 135mm f/3.4
- Leica R 180mm f/2.8 Elmarit
Be sure to explore more TLS Leica R re-housing details and the rest of the TLS re-housing options on their website – www.truelens.co.uk.
These look gorgeous, and certainly TLS seem to set the standard for rehousing.
That said, I’d have hoped they’d offer a slightly more compact rehousing, with a 95mm front. Is this just not possible with the superlative focus mechanism, or is it a hedge against vignetting on some focal lengths?
Good question. I think a lot of the housing choice has to do with manufacturing and economy of scale. When practically all of their rehousing projects use the same or similar 95mm housing, it allows TLS to streamline a lot of their design and production. I’m certain that the housing could be scaled down, especially in the case of the Leica R since the original optics are compact, but at what expense?