MS Optics Lumitar 50mm f/3.5

MS Optics · Leica M + LTM · 2025

Also known as: MS Optics Lumitar 50mm f/3.5 · MS-Optics Lumitar 50mm F3.5 · MS-OPTICS LUMITAR 50mm F3.5 · MS-OPTICS LUMITAR 3.5/50 · MS Optics LUMITAR 3.5/50 · MS-Optical Lumitar 50mm f3.5 · MS Optics 50mm f3.5 Lumitar · MS Optics 50mm f/3.5 Lumitar F.MC · Miyazaki Lumitar 50mm f3.5 · Lumitar 50mm f/3.5 · Lumitar 50mm F3.5 · Lumitar 50/3.5 · LUMITAR 3.5/50 · LUMITAR3.5/50 · Lumitar 3.5 50mm · Lumitar 50mm · 宮崎光学 LUMITAR 3.5/50 · 宮崎光学 LUMITAR 50mm F3.5 · 宮崎光学ルミター 50mm F3.5 · MS-OPTICS ルミター 50mm F3.5 · ルミター 3.5/50

Variants & identification

Variant	Mount	Years	Serial ranges	Production
LUMITAR 3.5/50 F·MC, black, Leica M	Leica M	2025	No.008B and No.056B (the maker's photographs on MK Direct's black product page; No.056B also in Leica Rumors' launch report) No.033B (a used copy offered by Kamerastore from September 2025)	—
LUMITAR 3.5/50 F·MC, silver, Leica M	Leica M	2025	No.040S (the maker's photograph on MK Direct's silver product page)	—
LUMITAR 3.5/50, uncoated (limited to 70)	Leica M or L39 (both offered uncoated)	2025	No.119B (black) and No.100S (silver): lenses without the F·MC mark in the maker's photographs on MK Direct's product pages, probably uncoated but not captioned as such	Limited to 70 (MK Direct; Leica Rumors)
LUMITAR 3.5/50, Leica thread mount (limited)	LTM	2025	—	Limited; no number stated (MK Direct: 本数に限りがございます)

Weight: 54 g with hood on the official MS-OPTICS shop page, the maker's handwritten data sheet and Phillip Reeve's site; 55 g with hood in MK Direct's launch post and product pages, whose description also says under 60 g (60ｇ以下). Kamerastore gives 50 g without saying whether the hood is included.
Focus: MK Direct and the official shop give 0.6 m closest focus, with the rangefinder coupled to 1 m on the Leica M3 and to 0.8 m on other M bodies. The maker's handwritten data sheet gives ∞–0.6 m with the rangefinder coupled to 0.7 m (0.7Mまで距離計連動). Kamerastore gives 0.8 m, probably the coupled limit; the distance scale in its photographs starts at 0.8.
Size: the maker's data sheet, drawn at actual size, gives 50 mm across the mount, 34 mm at the front, a 10 mm hood and 33 mm for the body; Phillip Reeve's site gives 50 mm diameter and 33 mm length, and says the specifications match the Xenomax 50mm f/3.5's; Kamerastore gives 41 × 50 mm. None says whether the lens is collapsed or extended in that length, so no length is entered here.
Focal length: the data sheet's specification box and Phillip Reeve's site give 51.9 mm. The sheet's handwritten text, where it says the focal length was changed for Leica coupling, appears to read 51.6.
The f/16 minimum aperture is read from the aperture scale in Kamerastore's photographs of No.033B; MS-OPTICS does not state one.
Dates: MK Direct announced the lens and opened reservations on 4 May 2025, saying it would go on sale from late May 2025 and ship in order of paid reservation. MK Direct's news list dates its announcement of the start of sales (発売開始のご案内) to 14 June 2025. Phillip Reeve's site gives June 2025 as first release. Leica Rumors reported it on 21 June 2025.
Market: Kamerastore has asked €849 for a used black multicoated copy (No.033B) since listing it on 26 September 2025, a dealer's asking price, and still offered it in November 2026; its spec line misnames the lens Luminar.

How to tell them apart (expand)

Front ring reads LUMITAR 3.5/50 with MS-OPTICS and a No. serial ending in B (black) or S (silver); the other MS 50mm f/3.5 lenses are engraved XENOMAX or APOQUALIA instead
Collapsible, like a Leitz Elmar: of the MS 50mm f/3.5 lenses, the Apoqualia of 2009 and this lens collapse; Phillip Reeve's site says the Xenomax does not, though Shige calls its barrel collapsible
Small 30.5 mm reverse-mounted filter thread and 12-blade round diaphragm

LUMITAR 3.5/50 F·MC, black, Leica M:

Front ring engraved LUMITAR 3.5/50, F·MC in red, a serial in the form No.033B, and MS-OPTICS, in gold-coloured lettering on matte black; every black serial seen ends in B
Collapsible tube on a wide focusing mount with a knob-ended focusing tab, distance scale in metres marked Mtr., and a red mount index on the bayonet
Aperture ring behind the knurled front ring, marked 3.5 to 16 with a red index dot
Sold with a screw-in hood and front and rear caps (Kamerastore's copy)

LUMITAR 3.5/50 F·MC, silver, Leica M:

Matte silver barrel (MK Direct calls both colours matte); the ¥3,000 dearer finish
Front ring engraved LUMITAR 3.5/50, F·MC in red, No.040S and MS-OPTICS in dark lettering on silver; both silver serials seen end in S

LUMITAR 3.5/50, uncoated (limited to 70):

Probably no F·MC on the front ring: the maker's photographs of No.119B (black) and No.100S (silver) show LUMITAR 3.5/50, MS-OPTICS and the serial with no F·MC, where every coated lens photographed has it
Reflections in the glass of those two lenses look pale and whitish, as on uncoated glass, rather than tinted

LUMITAR 3.5/50, Leica thread mount (limited):

39 mm screw thread at the rear in place of the M bayonet

LUMITAR 3.5/50 F·MC, black, Leica M: The standard lens, and the only version seen on the second-hand market. MK Direct's launch post calls both colours matte. Kamerastore's used copy No.033B and the maker's photographs of No.008B and No.056B all carry the red F·MC mark. Kamerastore noted that the collapsing mechanism is "a bit finnicky, but it's usable", adding "That's just how this lens is, though, it's not a fault with this specific example".
LUMITAR 3.5/50 F·MC, silver, Leica M: Listed by MK Direct as a separate product, LUMITAR3.5/50 SILVER, at ¥100,000, with the same four choices of mount and coating as the black page (M or L39, multicoated or uncoated), and offered as the SILVER colour option at the same price on the official MS-OPTICS shop. MK Direct's silver page was marked out of stock (在庫なし). The maker's photograph of No.040S on that page shows the F·MC mark. No silver copy has been seen for sale second-hand.
LUMITAR 3.5/50, uncoated (limited to 70): MK Direct offered it from launch in both colours and both mounts (黒・Mマウント・ノンコート, 黒・L39・ノンコート, SILVER・Mマウント・ノンコート, SILVER･L39・ノンコート), at the same ¥97,000 black or ¥100,000 silver as the coated lens. The maker says the uncoated lens draws closer to the pictures of the period, while the multicoated one gives clear images from full aperture. The 70 is a single total; MS has not said how it was split between mounts or colours. MS does not caption its photographs of No.119B and No.100S as uncoated; the missing F·MC mark and the pale reflections are the evidence. Leica Rumors' launch report shows No.100S on a Leica M3. None has been seen on the second-hand market.
LUMITAR 3.5/50, Leica thread mount (limited): MK Direct's launch post says the lens comes in L39 as well as Leica M, in limited numbers, and its black and silver product pages offered L39 both multicoated and uncoated, at ¥97,000 black and ¥100,000 silver. The official MS-OPTICS shop page lists only Leica M. No photograph of an L39 lens has been published, and none has been seen for sale.

Serial-range notes

No.008B, No.033B, No.056B, No.119B: Black lenses. No.008B, No.056B (F·MC) and No.119B (no F·MC) are in the maker's photographs on MK Direct's black product page; No.056B is also in Leica Rumors' launch report. No.033B (F·MC) is a used Leica M copy offered by Kamerastore from September 2025, the only one seen on the market.
No.040S, No.100S: Silver lenses in the maker's photographs on MK Direct's silver product page: No.040S with F·MC, No.100S without it (also in Leica Rumors' launch report, on a Leica M3). The suffix matches the finish on all six lenses seen, B on black and S on silver, but MS has published no numbering scheme and has not said what the letters mean, nor whether the coated and uncoated lenses are numbered in one series. Six lenses say nothing about where the numbers stop.

Specifications

Formula: Elmax type (Tessar-derived anastigmat), five elements in three groups
Designed by: Miyazaki Sadayasu (宮崎貞安) — optical design; the maker's handwritten data sheet for the lens is signed S.MIYAZAKI
Construction: 5 elements / 3 groups
Aperture range: f/3.5–f/16
Diaphragm blades: 12
Min. focus: 0.6 m
Dimensions: 50 mm diameter
Weight: 54 g
Filter: 30.5 mm, M30.5, reverse-mounted (逆付け)
Years manufactured: 2025
Country: Japan
Coating: Full multicoating on every surface (全面フルマルチコート) on the standard lens; an uncoated version limited to 70
Material: Metal barrel, matte black or matte silver
Original price: ¥97,000 black and ¥100,000 silver, before tax (税別), the maker's list prices in MK Direct's launch post of 4 May 2025. MK Direct's black product page priced all four black combinations (Leica M or L39, multicoated or uncoated) at the same ¥97,000, and its silver page all four silver combinations at ¥100,000. The official MS-OPTICS shop listed the same figures, ¥97,000 black and ¥100,000 silver, in 2026; its legal notice of sale says its prices include consumption tax (消費税（内税）), so the 2026 figures are tax-included where the 2025 launch figures were before tax.

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History

The Lumitar 50mm f/3.5 is MS-OPTICS’ homage to the Leitz ELMAX 3.5/50, the five-element anastigmat Max Berek designed in 1925, which MK Direct calls the original Elmar and the official shop calls the forerunner of the lenses that built Leica’s later reputation. MK Direct, the maker’s own shop until 2026, announced it and opened reservations on 4 May 2025, saying it would go on sale in late May; its news list dates the start of sales to 14 June 2025. It is a collapsible five-element, three-group lens with a 12-blade round diaphragm, a 30.5 mm reverse-mounted filter thread and a weight of 54 to 55 g with its hood. MK Direct calls it the first Tessar-derived design in MS history. The official shop says it was designed by hand, using the glass types of the period or the nearest equivalents where those no longer exist, and the maker’s handwritten data sheet, signed S.MIYAZAKI, adds that accurate information on the Elmax was scarce, which made the design hard. The sheet suggests that Leitz, faced with the Tessar patent, set the Elmax apart by its stop position and a cemented three-element rear group. It is not a straight copy. MS says it changed the focal length so the lens couples with Leica rangefinders; the data sheet and Phillip Reeve’s site give the true focal length as 51.9 mm.

MS describes the character it was aiming for, not only the specification. Wide open there is some flare from spherical aberration, which is gone by f/4, and the lens is at its best at f/8. To flatten the field in the intermediate zone, the meridional and sagittal fields were left slightly apart, which MS says reproduces the habits of the period lens. The official shop notes that the lens has only six reflecting surfaces and says the full multicoating gives faithful, “raw” colour. Reeve’s overview of MS lenses says its optical performance does not seem as high as that of MS’s Xenomax 50mm f/3.5 of 2022, and notes that, unlike the Xenomax, it is not advertised for 44×33 mm sensors. Of MS’s slow 50s, the Apoqualia 50mm f/3.5 of 2009 and the Lumitar collapse. Reeve’s site says the Xenomax does not, though Shige’s review calls the Xenomax’s barrel collapsible.

MK Direct offered every combination of colour, mount and coating. The fully multicoated lens came in matte black at ¥97,000 or matte silver at ¥100,000, both before tax, and the uncoated and L39 lenses cost the same as the coated M lens in the same colour. The uncoated version, which MS says draws closer to the pictures of the period, is limited to 70. The Leica thread version was offered in limited numbers, with no total given. On the official shop in 2026 the same two figures are tax-included, and only the M mount is listed. Serials seen end in B on black lenses and S on silver ones, though MS has not said what the letters mean. The maker’s own photographs show F·MC in red on coated lenses (No.008B, No.056B, No.040S) and no F·MC on two lenses whose glass looks uncoated (No.119B and No.100S), so the missing mark is probably how the uncoated lens is told apart. MS has not captioned them as uncoated. The coated black M lens is the only version so far seen second-hand: Kamerastore’s copy No.033B, offered from September 2025 with a screw-in hood and caps, whose staff called the collapsing mechanism finicky but usable. No uncoated, silver or L39 copy has been seen for sale, and no photograph of an L39 lens has been published.

When buying, work the collapse several times. Kamerastore says its copy’s finicky collapse is how the lens is, not a fault, so check that the tube pulls out fully and locks, and that the lens then reaches infinity. Closest focus is 0.6 m. MK Direct and the official shop say the rangefinder couples to 0.8 m on most M bodies and to 1 m on an M3, while the maker’s data sheet gives 0.7 m; Kamerastore’s 0.8 m figure is probably the coupling limit. A lens sold as uncoated should show the front ring without F·MC and pale reflections in the glass. An L39 copy should show the screw thread at the rear. MS also converted other makers’ lenses to Leica mount for years, so the ring should read LUMITAR 3.5/50 and MS-OPTICS.

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This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.

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