MS Optics Sonnetar 73mm f/1.5 F-MC

MS Optics · Leica M · 2018 · Sonnar type, 5 elements in 4 groups

Also known as: MS Optics Sonnetar 73mm f/1.5 · MS Optics Sonnetar 73mm f/1.5 FMC · MS-Optics Sonnetar 73mm f/1.5 F-MC · MS-OPTICS SONNETAR 73mm F1.5 F・MC · MS-Optics Sonnetar 1.5/73 mm F-MC · MS Optics Sonnetar 1.5/73 · MS-Optical Sonnetar 73mm f/1.5 · MS Optical Sonnetar 73mm f1.5 · MS Optics 73mm f/1.5 Sonnetar · MS-Optics 73mm f/1.5 FMC Sonnetar · MS Optics 73mm f/1.5 · MS-Optics 73mm f1.5 · MS-Optical 73mm f/1.5 · Miyazaki Sonnetar 73mm f/1.5 · Miyazaki 73mm f/1.5 · Sonnetar 73mm f/1.5 · Sonnetar 73mm F1.5 F・MC · Sonnetar 73mm f/1.5 FMC · Sonnetar 73mm S f1.5 Full MC · Sonnetar 73mm · Sonnetar 73/1.5 · Sonnetar 1.5/73 · SONNETAR 1.5/73 MC · SONNETAR1.5/73 · Sonnetar 73 · Sonnetar 75mm f1.5 · Sonnetar 73mm f1.3 · 宮崎光学 SONNETAR 73mm F1.5 · 宮崎光学 SONNETAR 1.5/73 · 宮崎光学ゾネター 73mm F1.5 · MS-OPTICS ゾネター 73mm F1.5 · ミヤザキゾネター 73mm · ゾンネタール 73mm F1.5 · エムエスオプティクスゾネター 73mm F1.5

Variants & identification

Variant	Mount	Years	Serial ranges	Production
First issue, black (2018)	Leica M	2018	—	Part of an initial lot of 200 in both finishes (Japan Exposures), or 400 at the 2018 release (shige_yuki); no figure for black alone
First issue, silver (2018)	Leica M	2018	—	Part of the initial lot of 200 in both finishes (Japan Exposures); no figure for silver alone
2026 reissue, black · 6 elements in 4 groups according to the maker's 2026 page; the maker's launch data sheet, the 2018 reports and MK Direct (2022) give 5 in 4	Leica M	2026	—	—
2026 reissue, silver · 6 elements in 4 groups according to the maker's 2026 page, as for the black reissue	Leica M	2026	—	—

Release: shige_yuki's review dates the release to March 2018 (2018.3), and BastianK's MS-Optics overview on phillipreeve.net also gives March 2018. DPReview reported on 30 October 2018 that Japan Camera Hunter was taking what were effectively pre-orders, the lens still in development and due from the end of October, with delivery around mid-November; Leica Rumors announced it on 19 November 2018. MK Direct, the maker's shop, called it in 2022 the second Sonnetar after the 50mm f/1.1, leaving out the Pentax Q Sonnetar 25mm f/1.1.
Batch: Japan Exposures describes an initial lot of 200 lenses. shige_yuki's review table gives 製造本数 400 and notes that the figure is the number at the 2018 release and that further production is unknown. DPReview calls production very limited. No figure has been published for the 2026 reissue.
Construction: 5 elements in 4 groups on the maker's handwritten data sheet (4群5枚 Compact Sonnar), at Japan Exposures, in DPReview's and Leica Rumors' reports, in shige_yuki's review and in BastianK's review and overview on phillipreeve.net, and MK Direct, the maker's shop, said in January 2022 that all three Sonnetars are 4群5枚. The maker's 2026 page gives 4群6枚. shige_yuki's list of MS lenses gives 7 elements in 5 groups, against his own review of the lens.
Aperture blades: 16, rounded (BastianK's review and overview; the maker's 2026 page, 16枚円形絞り). shige_yuki's review and list give 12. Japan Exposures, DPReview and the data sheet give no count.
Closest focus: 1 m on Leica M, about 0.8 m on mirrorless with a focusing adapter (Japan Exposures); 1.0 m (shige_yuki, who regrets that it stops short of the 0.7 m a Leica rangefinder couples to); 0.9 m measured by BastianK, at 1:10.6, though the same review describes the focus throw as running to 1.0 m; 0.8 m in DPReview's and Leica Rumors' 2018 reports and on the maker's 2026 page, which adds that the M3 couples only to 1 m. The 2018 lenses photographed have a distance scale ending at 1 m. This entry gives 1 m for the lens of 2018.
Size and weight: φ50 × L57 mm and 200 g on the data sheet, where the weight is corrected by hand, with 56.4 mm on its drawing; 50 × 56.4 mm and 197 g (DPReview); 50 × 57 mm and 197 g in Japan Exposures' text, 200 g in its feature list; 197 g with hood on the maker's 2026 page; 49 × 57 mm and 201 g in BastianK's review, 50 × 56.4 mm and 201 g in his overview. Leica Rumors' 2018 list gives 49 × 65 mm and a 50 mm filter and hood thread beside a 49 mm filter size.
Why 73 mm: shige_yuki reports Miyazaki telling him that he had the Leica Hektor 73mm f/1.9 in mind. The data sheet sets the lens against the Summarex 85/1.5, Summilux 75/1.4, Canon 85/1.5, Nikkor 85/1.5 and Planar 85/1.4, and promises half their volume and a half to a third of their weight.
Rendering, by the maker's account (data sheet, Japan Exposures, 2026 page): seventh-order aberration is left in at f/1.5 for a soft flare suited to portraits; at f/1.8 the centre is free of flare and high in contrast; by f/2.8 the whole frame is steady and from f/4 the performance is complete; distortion is at most +0.2%, the data sheet comparing it with a copying lens. Japan Exposures also carries a one-page test report from an unnamed professional photographer who preferred its bokeh to that of his Planar 85/1.4.
The data sheet gives 100,000円 with 注文下さい (please order), the label before the price apparently 日本 (Japan), and below it a second figure, 80,000, under a handwritten label that is hard to read and is not explained.

How to tell them apart (expand)

Front ring engraved SONNETAR 1.5/73 with F-MC in red; it is a 73 mm lens, and sellers who write 75mm or f/1.3 mean this one
Small for the speed: 50 mm across, about 57 mm long and about 200 g, the size of a large 50
The whole barrel in front of the mount turns to focus, carrying the clickless aperture ring (f/1.5 to f/16, f/11 marked by a dot) round with it
A coma-adjustment ring at the rear, turned with a spanner
Short screw-in metal hood on the 49 mm thread

First issue, black (2018):

Matt black barrel and black screw-in hood; front ring engraved SONNETAR 1.5/73, F-MC in red, MS-OPTICS and the number, which on Japan Exposures' lens reads No.003 BL
Distance scale in metres, 1 – 1.2 – 1.5 – 2 – 3 – 5 – 10 – ∞ Mtr., with no depth-of-field scale beside it

First issue, silver (2018):

Satin silver barrel and a matching silver screw-in hood, with the same engraving layout as the black lens and the same 1 – 1.2 – 1.5 metre distance scale
The front ring reads MS-OPTICS No. followed by S for the finish, where the black lens has BL; on Fotopia's lens the space for the number is blank
Fotopia's boxed lens has a white box labelled MS-OPTICAL-R&D, Miyazaki Sadayasu, Funabashi, with Item Sonnetar 1.5/73 and an S written by hand

2026 reissue, black:

In the maker's 2026 product photograph the distance scale reads 1 – • – 1.5 – 2 – 3 – 5 – ∞, without the 10 m mark, and a depth-of-field scale, 16 8 4 | 4 8 16, is engraved on the ring below it
Same front-ring engraving, SONNETAR 1.5/73 with F-MC in red

2026 reissue, silver:

Silver barrel; the maker's page offers it as a colour option and shows only the black lens

First issue, black (2018): The lens of the 2018 launch, sold in Japan by the maker and abroad through Japan Camera Hunter, which took pre-orders in October 2018 for delivery in mid-November, and Japan Exposures. The four Yahoo! Auctions sales of May to August 2026 were all titled ブラック (black); the Yahoo!フリマ sales of the same months named no finish.
First issue, silver (2018): Japan Exposures lists silver beside black at the same ¥125,900. Fotopia of Hong Kong offered a boxed silver lens at the launch in November 2018, and its photographs, carried by Leica Rumors, show the lens, hood, box and a handwritten note on setting the coma adjustment for distance and for mirrorless use. The box still carries the old MS-OPTICAL-R&D name, three years after the firm became MS-Optics.
2026 reissue, black: Sold by the maker's own shop, msopticsshop.com, by reservation at ¥132,000, with stock expected during August 2026; the page does not say whether tax is included. It names the lens SONNETAR1.5/73, gives 197 g with hood, 16 round blades, full multicoating, an M49 reversed filter and 0.8 m closest focus, coupled to 0.8 m on every M body except the M3, whose rangefinder couples to 1 m. Whether the closer focus and the 6/4 count reflect a revised lens or a revised description has not been published.
2026 reissue, silver: The second colour option on the maker's 2026 page, at ¥135,000 against ¥132,000 for black, by reservation with stock expected during August 2026. No photograph of a silver reissue lens has been published, so whether it carries the depth-of-field scale of the black one is not known.

Serial-range notes

No.003 BL: The black lens in Japan Exposures' product photograph. The BL after the number matches its finish. No number has been published for a silver lens, and Japan Exposures states that it cannot take reservations for serial numbers. On the silver lens in Fotopia's photographs the ring reads MS-OPTICS No. with the number space blank, followed by S.

Specifications

Formula: Sonnar type, 5 elements in 4 groups
Construction: 5 elements / 4 groups
Aperture range: f/1.5–f/16
Diaphragm blades: 16
Min. focus: 1 m
Dimensions: 50 × 57 mm
Weight: 197 g
Filter: 49 mm (0.75 mm pitch), 49 mm screws on reversed; the same thread takes the screw-in hood
Years manufactured: 2018
Country: Japan
Coating: Multicoated on all eight glass surfaces, 97.5% transmission (Japan Exposures; DPReview's launch report says every surface); F-MC on the front ring
Original price: ¥100,000, the maker's price on its handwritten launch data sheet (tax not mentioned); shige_yuki gives ¥100,000 before tax as the reference price and says resellers vary. Dealers: Japan Camera Hunter ¥140,000 or $1,252 at pre-order (DPReview, 30 October 2018); Japan Exposures lists it at ¥125,900 in black or silver (listing undated, tax treatment not stated). The 2026 reissue from the maker's own shop: ¥132,000 black, ¥135,000 silver (tax treatment not stated). (today ¥109,000)

What reviewers say

BastianK (phillipreeve.net) (blog) — Small, light and, unlike the MS 50s he tested, genuinely capable stopped down, usable edge to edge at portrait distance from f/1.5 and good across the frame by f/8. The bokeh lets it down: busy at distance and showing odd coma- or spherical-like artefacts at f/1.5, so he treats it as a 73mm f/1.8. Longitudinal CA is strong and flare is easy to provoke; on his M10 the lens did not reach infinity wide open until he moved the coma ring. Buy it for size or for the look; otherwise he prefers the Voigtländer Nokton 75/1.5.
shige_yuki (Shige's hobby) (blog) — Remarkably compact for a 75mm-class lens and a fine travel companion. Wide open it keeps a sharp core under a light, dreamy flare and the edges can turn busy, so f/2.8 is the safe setting; ghosts appear against the light. Rangefinder focusing at f/1.5 is a little uncertain and he advises an electronic finder. The image circle is large enough to cover a 40.5 × 27 mm 3:2 crop of a 44 × 33 mm sensor, about 92% by his reckoning. His wish is closer focus than 1 m.

Optical Ratings

Aggregated from the reviews above — follow the links for the full picture.

Chromatic aberration: strong longitudinal CA
Spherical aberration: glow at f/1.5
Vignetting: about 2 EV
Flare & ghosting: easily provoked flare
Coma: visible to f/2
Distortion: very low

Optical formula — Sonnar type, 5 elements in 4 groups

ⓘ What these charts mean

MTF (modulation transfer function) shows how much contrast the lens keeps at a given fineness of detail, from the center of the frame to the corner — the coarse curves track punch, the fine ones resolving power, and a gap between solid and dashed lines means astigmatism. Relative illumination (falloff) shows how much darker the corners are than the center at each aperture. Manufacturers only began publishing these for modern lenses; no 1950s maker issued them, which is why older families here cite period magazine bench tests instead.

History

The Sonnetar 73mm f/1.5 is Miyazaki Sadayasu’s portrait lens, and it is the only fast short telephoto he has made. It came after the Sonnetar 50mm f/1.1 and before the 50mm f/1.3, and like them it is a Sonnar of five elements in four groups. His handwritten data sheet sets it against the classic fast portrait lenses, the Summarex 85/1.5, the Summilux 75/1.4 and the Canon, Nikkor and Planar 85s. It promises half their volume and a half to a third of their weight, and it gets there: the lens is 50 mm across, about 57 mm long and just under 200 g. shige_yuki compares it with a large 50, and sets it against the Summilux 75’s 560 g and the Nokton 75/1.5’s 350 g. According to shige_yuki, Miyazaki chose 73 mm with the Leica Hektor 73mm f/1.9 in mind, and shige_yuki credits him for not rounding the figures up to a 75/1.4.

The lens was released in 2018. shige_yuki and BastianK, writing on phillipreeve.net, both date it to March. Abroad it appeared in the autumn: Japan Camera Hunter took orders in late October at ¥140,000 for delivery in mid-November, and Leica Rumors announced it on 19 November. Japan Exposures lists it at ¥125,900. The maker’s data sheet gives a price of ¥100,000. The lens came in matt black and in silver, each with a matching screw-in hood. Japan Exposures describes an initial lot of 200, while shige_yuki gives 400 at release and does not know whether more were made. In 2026 the maker’s own shop, msopticsshop.com, brought it back by reservation at ¥132,000 in black and ¥135,000 in silver. The reissue page lists six elements in four groups, 16 blades and 0.8 m closest focus. The 2018 lenses photographed focus to 1 m and have a distance scale running 1, 1.2, 1.5, 2, 3, 5, 10 and infinity, with no depth-of-field scale. The reissue in the maker’s photograph has no 10 m mark and has a depth-of-field scale below the distance scale. Whether its optics changed has not been published.

Miyazaki says outright that some seventh-order aberration was left in at f/1.5, to wrap the subject in a soft flare. He also says the flare clears from the centre by f/1.8 and that distortion is no more than +0.2%. The reviewers bear this out. BastianK, testing for phillipreeve.net, found the lens usable edge to edge at portrait distance wide open and good across the frame by f/8, with very low distortion, which made it more of an everyday lens than the MS 50s he had tested. He still treats it as an f/1.8, because the bokeh at f/1.5 shows odd artefacts and turns busy against detailed backgrounds. Longitudinal colour is strong, and flare and rainbow ghosts are easy to provoke even with the small hood. shige_yuki likes the sharp core inside the glow wide open and settles on f/2.8 for steady results. He also found the image circle large enough to cover most of a 44 × 33 mm sensor.

The lens handles like other Miyazaki designs. The whole barrel in front of the mount turns to focus, carrying the clickless aperture ring with it, so set the aperture first. A coma-adjustment ring at the rear is turned with a spanner. Fotopia’s boxed lens came with a handwritten note on setting it for distance and for mirrorless use. BastianK warns that moving the ring can upset the rangefinder calibration, yet his M10 did not reach infinity at wide apertures until he moved it. shige_yuki found rangefinder focusing at f/1.5 a little uncertain and recommends an electronic finder. On BastianK’s M10 the 6-bit code reader was not fully covered, so the camera could misread the lens in bright light. When buying, check the lens against live view or an electronic finder at the aperture you mean to use. Check that the hood and caps are present, and look for the finish code after the serial number (Japan Exposures’ black lens reads No.003 BL, and Fotopia’s silver lens carries an S). Some listings call it a 75mm f/1.5 or a 73mm f/1.3. In 2026, unused black lenses sold on Yahoo! Auctions for ¥118,800 to ¥130,900 and a used one for ¥94,300. These are hammer prices, and the listings do not say whether tax was added.

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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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