NEWS: Introducing the Omnar 35mm f/3.5 Pantessa FLB (YS35-35FLB)

The Omnar 35mm f/3.5 Pantessa (short for pancake-tessar) is a limited-edition rehousing of the Carl Zeiss 35mm f/3.5 optics found in the Yashica T, T3, T4 and T5 Super cameras.

Fans of this lens might well be aware that all previous attempts to rehouse it have suffered issues with focus shift and breathing. These issues are often manageable when lenses are mounted on cameras such as SLRs and mirrorless cameras where the focus is achieved by means of a through the lens system. In rangefinder systems on the other hand, focus shift in particular can be especially problematic.

Our rehousing of this optic is unlike any previous attempt. The optical formula has been modified slightly from stock to reposition the glass elements into a continually optimized state. In order to mitigate focus breathing and focus shift, in simple terms, we have designed the lens so the position of the optical block subtly moves within the housing as the aperture is adjusted.

We call this new aperture-dependent optical repositioning system “FLB”, meaning Floating Lens Block. This design feature, which is entirely unique to our rehousing, is the key reason the Pantessa lens maintains such high optical performance and rangefinder accuracy across the entire 0.65m through Infinity RF coupled focus distance.

The Omnar Pantessa also happens to be one of the smallest 35mm rangefinder lenses ever made with dedicated focus and aperture control rings as well as a front (E39) filter thread. Like a mechanical watch, the 35mm Pantessa has many complex and highly precise interlocking components that fit perfectly together in a package that, when mounted on a camera, is smaller than a typical rear M bayonet cap. It also weighs a mere 108 grams, and this is while maintaining an all-brass helicoid system to ensure the smoothest possible focus feel. The quality of construction we employ within our manufacturing processes also ensures that, with appropriate care, our lenses will last a lifetime and beyond.

The Pantessa is a very sharp lens for its size, in addition to being distortion-free, making it an excellent lens for hiking, landscape, documentary, travel, and anywhere else where the combination of portability and weight savings are valued. The Pantessa can easily fit inside a pocket when not in use. The 10-blade aperture also ensures that when stopped down, the lens’s lovely bokeh is arguably improved over the original implementation within the Yashica cameras.

We’ve tested the Pantessa lenses on a wide variety of Leica M cameras, and have image sample images from M9, M Monochrom, M10 and M11 cameras as follows:

The 35mm Pantessa lens has also been designed with Hasselblad XCD and Fuji GFX users in mind. Like the Omnar CX38-28 lens, the unique pancake tessar optical formula found in the Yashica T, T3, T4 and T5 Super cameras projects a massive 60mm+ image circle when placed into our unique rehousing mechanics.

This ensures the Pantessa lens can cover the 44x33mm digital sensors meaning that when used in conjunction with appropriate LM to GFX/ XCD adapter, it will not induce any hard vignetting. When the 35mm f/3.5 Pantessa lens is used on either Fuji GFX or Hasselblad XCD cameras, it becomes equivalent to a 26mm f/2.8 full-frame focal length lens. In tests using the 100mp 44×33 sensors found on the Hasselblad X2D and Fuji GFX 100ii cameras, no color shifts (aka: purple corners) were exhibited. On the older 50mp 44×33 sensors found on the Hasselblad X1D and Fuji GFX 50 cameras, due to these sensors lacking both BSI and the sensor cover micro lens arrays, these cameras will exhibit some corner color shifts at further focus distances. We have included image sample galleries from both the older 50mp X1D camera and newer 100mp GFX100ii cameras. We would like to thank photographer David Andrews for helping us test the Pantessa lens on digital medium format and providing the GFX 100ii sample images.

Specs

Names: 35mm f/3.5 Pantessa FLB
Weight: 108 grams
Protrusion off camera: 16.5mm
Aperture blades: 10
RF Coupling: 0.65m thru Infinity
Uncoupled MFD: 0.35m/ 1 foot
Optical Formula: 4 Element “Pancake-Tessar”
Image Circle: ~60mm

Availability

The first production run of this lens will comprise a total of 20 lenses. We anticipate all lenses will be ready to ship by the end of February 2025.
The Omnar 35mm f/3.5 Pantessa FLB will be available to pre-order off the Omnar Lenses website from today here.

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