MS-Optics MS-Mode 50mm f/1.3

MS-Optics MS-Mode 50mm f/1.3

This is the lens that started MS-Optics. Released in October 2006, it was the first original design by Sadayasu Miyazaki to carry his own brand, and its quick sell-out established him as a lens maker in his own right rather than only a converter of older optics [1][3]. Miyazaki described it as a Sonnar type, and later documentation traces its formula to the Nikon S Carl Zeiss Sonnar 50mm f/1.5, reworked for a fast but very compact body [2][3]. The nominal figures of 50mm and f/1.3 are rounded; the actual values are closer to 52mm and roughly f/1.4, a habit Miyazaki carried through his whole catalogue [2][3].

Optically the lens uses five elements in four groups with multicoated glass, a layout consistent with its Sonnar lineage [1][2]. The diaphragm has twelve blades for a near-circular opening, and the aperture ring is stepless and clickless, an old-fashioned arrangement in which the spacing between marked stops is uneven rather than evenly rotated [2]. Minimum aperture is f/16 and minimum focus is one metre [2]. The barrel has a pinched mid-section that makes the lens look collapsible when extended, although it is in fact rigid, and focusing is handled by a control near the front together with a small finger tab at the rear [2]. Because the focus and aperture controls sit close together, users new to the lens can confuse them at first [2]. On a current M-mount body the lens is used without rangefinder coupling, so focusing is done by scale or with live view on mirrorless cameras.

The MS-Mode 50mm f/1.3 was offered in two mount configurations, one for Leica screw mount and one for Nikon S rangefinders, with the optical block sharing a common barrel so a single owner could change between the two mounts [2][3]. Screw-mount examples reach Leica M bodies through a standard M39-to-M adapter [2]. It was followed in the MS-Optics line by the MS-Mode-AH Apoqualia 50mm f/3.5 and the Super Triplet Perar series, and later by faster 50mm designs such as the Sonnetar 50mm f/1.1 and the ISM 50mm f/1.0 [1][3]. As the earliest release in a hand-assembled, small-batch lineup, it is comparatively scarce.

Optical qualities

Rendering Published technical detail is limited and full reviews of this specific early lens are scarce, so its rendering is best understood through its Sonnar design and its descent from the Nikon S Sonnar 50mm f/1.5 [2][3]. As a five-element Sonnar opened to about f/1.4, it belongs to a family known for a softer, lower-contrast wide-open look that firms up on stopping down, but specific performance claims for this model are not well documented and are not asserted here.

History

Development and Launch MS-Optics, also known as Miyazaki Kogaku and earlier as MS Optical R&D, is a small Chiba-based operation run by Sadayasu Miyazaki, who turned to lens making after a career designing optics, including work connected to telescopes [1]. He first became known for converting older rangefinder and Contax G lenses to Leica thread mount before issuing his own designs [1]. The MS-Mode 50mm f/1.3, sometimes listed as the MS-Mode-S or MS-Optical-S, was announced in 2006 as the first of a planned series of rangefinder lenses and is consistently cited as his debut original product [1][2][3].

Special editions No widely documented factory special editions of this model exist beyond the two mount versions. The lens was produced both as a Leica screw-mount lens and in a Nikon S rangefinder mount, with the same optical unit usable on either [2][3].

Collector Notes Two points are worth verifying before purchase. First, sources differ on rangefinder coupling: contemporary descriptions of the screw-mount version state that rangefinder coupling was retained, whereas LeicaLensList records this lens as not rangefinder coupled, and the verified specification should be treated as authoritative for the catalogued example [2]. Second, because each lens is hand assembled in small numbers, minor unit-to-unit variation is normal across MS-Optics products [1]. The clickless aperture and the closely spaced focus and aperture controls are characteristic of the design and not faults [2]. As with any small-production lens, confirm the original caps and any hood, and check the multicoated elements for haze or cleaning marks.

Sources

• [1] Japan Camera Hunter. MS Optical Japan. https://www.japancamerahunter.com/2012/02/ms-optical-japan/
• [2] Camerapedia. MS Optical R&D. https://camerapedia.fandom.com/wiki/MS_Optical_R%26D
• [3] Phillip Reeve. Overview: MS-Optics Lenses. https://phillipreeve.net/blog/overview-ms-optics-lenses/