I was able to acquire one of these very unique classic remakes from Omnar this weekend. Thought I do a progressive review. With only 20 made and MSRP of $2500, this probably is going to be a fun read for most rather than a purchase decision.
The Omnar 35mm f/3.5 Pantessa was originally used as a Tessar 3.5/35 lens by Carl Zeiss in the Yashica T, T3, T4 and T5 Super cameras. Some consider the T4 and T5 some of the best point and shoot film cameras ever made.
One of the unique traits of this lens is that it focuses down to 0.35mm making it a very versatile travel camera. When compared to the tiny Color Skopar 35mm f3.5 from Voigtlander, it's on a hair taller.
They also modified the optical formula to address focus shift and focus breathing using what they call Floating Lens Block (FLB).Tthe position of the optical block moves minimally within the lens housing when the aperture is adjusted. The result is the Pantessa remain accurate over the entire distance range from 0.65 meters to infinity. I can confirm that on M11.
The construction of this lens is exquisite. Every part of the barrel, even the front and back caps, is made of brass. The front cap is a screw-in type, so it's a bit annoy to remove. Since it takes E39 filter, I would just put a UV filter on and never mess with the cap.
One quirk with this lens is the aperture ring. To adjust f-stop clicks, you have to put focus at infinity. There is one single golden marking at the base of the lens which is used both for focusing and aperture adjustment.
gordec wrote:
Anyone interested in this lens? It has same specs as the wonderfully small CV Color Skopar 35 f3.5. However, the Pantessa can focus to 0.35m vs typical 0.7m for the CS. The price is outrageous given how great the CS already is. It certainly is a very intriguing lens for those of us who appreciate a lens cap 35mm.
Perhaps it didn't quite take off? It mentions "We anticipate all lenses will be ready to ship by the end of February 2025", which makes me wonder what happened there.
As you mentioned, the Voigtander 35/3.5 seems to be the better corrected lens (I consider it APO) despite being smaller and lighter. Still, I can see how someone might be after that Tessar-style rendering and be willing to pay for it. It does seem like a very limited production, if it even made it out at all.
Their website showed samples with various bodies like M9, M10, M11, XCD and GFX. The close focus really makes it an interesting travel option. To address focus breathing and maintain RF accuracy across focus range, they designed Floating Lens Block. I guess this is similar to Leica's FLE.
Miraculously there is a copy on sale on my local Facebook marketplace. So I picked it up. It's a beautiful little lens. I'll post some impressions later.
gordec wrote:
Miraculously there is a copy on sale on my local Facebook marketplace. So I picked it up. It's a beautiful little lens. I'll post some impressions later.
'Floating Lens Block' is actually a better description, as many such systems move many elements as you focus closer. Leica use fewer elements in their floating systems, often the last two to four elements.
I like the cut of their jib:
'In the world of cinema, lenses are chosen for their image qualities and character, not the objective measures so much more commonly used by photographers.' https://omnarlenses.com/
I haven't had time to really do a lot of shooting, but we are going to Vancouver this weekend, and I'll try to put it through its paces. I'm going to replace Color Skopar 35/3.5 with the Pantessa given it's more versatile. A famous ramen chain called Marufuku opened next to my work. If you are sitting down to get a food shot, you don't need to stand up to with its close focus capability.
There is some vignetting wide open. It is very sharp across the frame even wide open.
Some additional points on the build, the lens is all metal, matte black. It pairs with a black M perfectly. You get a real focus tab with is an upgrade over CS 35/3.5. The focus is smooth but stiffer than all my other 35s. The focus throw is about 100 degrees from infinity to 65mm RF coupled, but goes to like 200 degrees to the extreme close focus. It also extends quite a bid at close focus revealing the inner brass construct.
I'm pretty thrilled with it as my new EDC. It blends in really well for street shooting.
Put a couple of samples here without adding any color profile, so you can see what it looks like SOC on M11.
A very interestingly designed lens! If I understand you correctly, each time you want to change the aperture, you first have to turn the focusing ring to infinity, then change the aperture, and then focus?
How are you liking the open helicoid- I have a Bertle coming next months that has the same type open helicoid......
It's an interesting look for sure. I'm not sure if it's going to trap dust. I won't be taking this to the beach.
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DandA123 wrote:
A very interestingly designed lens! If I understand you correctly, each time you want to change the aperture, you first have to turn the focusing ring to infinity, then change the aperture, and then focus?
The infinity marker serves as the aperture marker, so you just need to align the aperture with the infinity marker. You don't need to actually focus to infinity every time. When you move the aperture ring, the focus ring moves a little too, so I have to set aperture first.
gordec wrote:
It's an interesting look for sure. I'm not sure if it's going to trap dust. I won't be taking this to the beach.
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The infinity marker serves as the aperture marker, so you just need to align the aperture with the infinity marker. You don't need to actually focus to infinity every time. When you move the aperture ring, the focus ring moves a little too, so I have to set aperture first.
Thanks, now I understand fully. Not only interestingly designed but as mentioned, has an interesting look too!
Really love seeing another very small lens in M mount as I appreciate the high image quality of point-and-shot cameras in film era as EDC.
I agree with the comment that the looking of an image is very subjective, sometimes we don’t look for technically perfection but artistic to pleasing our eyes.
I have bought Color Skopar 35mm f/3.5 and enjoy using it on M camera as EDC. There is, nevertheless no available option for 34mm colour filter for b&w film photography (B&H store). 39mm filter thread with Omnar 35mm lens is attractive but for USD 2,500, a 34-to-37 step up ring seems an economic solution for Color Skopar 35mm f/3.5 lens.
Looking forward to seeing more photos taken by Onmar 35mm.
Really enjoying the Pantessa as EDC. Today I didn’t bring Q3 or other lenses out in Vancouver. Took the kids on Aquabus ride on False Creek water front. Then had lunch of the famous Beijing duck at Quan Ju De. My wife and I went to the original in Beijing 15 years ago. Mounting it on M11, the overall footprint is smaller than carrying a X100. People don’t even notice it.
Aquabus near Science Center.
Water front. The lens is very sharp starting at f3.5.
Arriving at Quan Ju De after a short bus ride.
They slice it differently than the original in Beijing. They include more meat with the skin in Vancouver.
