Enna Ennaston 85mm f/1.5

Enna Ennaston 85mm f/1.5

The Enna Ennaston 85mm f/1.5 is a high-speed German short telephoto documented in an original, rangefinder-coupled Leica M39 mount from approximately 1956. Enna-Werk München built the 85mm family as a six-element Gauss-type design and offered it under several related names and in several camera mounts. This profile is restricted to the lens engraved Ennaston in its factory Leica screw-mount focusing barrel.

Sources agree on six optical elements but conflict on their grouping. AllPhotoLenses lists four groups, while M42 Lens Database and Lens DB list five groups for closely related Ennaston or Ennalyt versions. A historical Enna study identifies the design as a six-element Gauss type without resolving the exact LTM grouping. The group count is therefore intentionally left open rather than transferred from another mount or name variant.

Focus and aperture are manual, and the original Leica barrel couples mechanically to the camera rangefinder. An 85mm accessory finder is useful on screw-mount cameras without a matching view. The lens can be mounted on many Leica M bodies with a suitable M39-to-M adapter, while live view helps confirm focus at f/1.5. Minimum focusing distance, diaphragm-blade count, filter fitting, weight and dimensions published for Exakta or M42 versions are not assigned to this M39 lens.

Optical qualities

Rendering

No controlled test of the exact coupled M39 Ennaston was found. The six-element Gauss layout and f/1.5 aperture place it among the fast portrait lenses of the mid-1950s, but that classification does not prove a single visual signature. Coating, centering, focus calibration and optical condition can all affect contrast and blur. Samples from Ennalyt, Lithagon or reflex-mount Ennaston lenses should be treated as family context rather than exact evidence.

Sharpness and focus

At f/1.5, depth of field is narrow and small rangefinder errors can dominate apparent sharpness. Stopping down increases depth of field and generally reduces the visibility of residual aberrations, but no measured aperture series is available for this exact version. Test center and edge behavior on the individual lens, and confirm calibration at both close and longer distances before judging the optical design.

Bokeh and aberrations

An 85mm f/1.5 lens can produce strong subject separation at portrait distances. The texture of defocused highlights depends on focus distance, background structure, diaphragm geometry and off-axis aberrations. Because the LTM blade count is not established and the grouping is disputed, claims of a guaranteed swirl, smoothness or highlight shape would be speculative. Longitudinal color fringing may appear around high-contrast transitions, but its degree should be judged from the actual lens.

Contrast and flare

The auction title includes the suffix “C,” but the record does not explain it or state a universal coating specification for every Ennaston. A hood is useful with the large front element and bright light near the frame. Haze, separation, cleaning damage and deteriorated internal blackening can lower contrast substantially and should not be confused with the intended rendering.

History

Development and Launch

A detailed Enna history states that Alfred Neumann founded the company in Munich in 1920 and that Dr. Werner Appelt continued it after 1945. Enna began offering interchangeable lenses more broadly in the mid-1950s. The six-element 85mm f/1.5 was one of its most ambitious early small-format designs and appeared during that expansion.

General databases place first production between 1953 and 1955, while the exact OstLicht record dates the coupled M39 Ennaston to about 1956. Those dates may refer to different mounts or naming phases and should not be collapsed into a precise universal launch year. Circa 1956 is retained for the documented Leica version.

Production Evolution

Enna used Ennaston, Lithagon and later Ennalyt on related 85mm f/1.5 lenses. The historical study describes the early Ennaston as a six-element Gauss design and says the later Ennalyt retained the optical construction while the barrel and name changed. These family links do not make every mechanical specification interchangeable.

The company supplied lenses for Exakta, M42, Leica and other systems. It also produced M39 lenses for non-Leica cameras with different flange registers, so thread diameter alone is not proof of Leica compatibility. The OstLicht record is important because it specifically identifies a coupled Leica screw mount.

Special Editions/Variants

The factory coupled M39 Ennaston is distinct from reflex-mount Ennastons, later Ennalyt barrels, Lithagon-named examples and workshop conversions. A separate Leica M39 Ennalyt is also documented, reinforcing the need to preserve the front-ring name and barrel version in cataloguing. These are production variants, not commemorative editions.

Collector Notes

Verify that the lens is true Leica-register M39 and that the rangefinder cam, helicoid and infinity position agree on the intended body. Fast 85mm focusing is demanding, so testing at several distances is preferable to relying on the thread alone. Inspect the large elements for haze, separation, coating damage and signs of disassembly.

Record the optical group count as unresolved unless a primary drawing for the exact M39 Ennaston becomes available. Values such as 1.0 or 1.2 metres, 58 or 62mm filters and fourteen blades appear in sources for other barrels and should not be copied automatically. Condition and documented originality are more defensible collector notes than unsupported rarity or value claims.