The Light Lens Lab 50mm f/1.9 is a Recreation of the Dallmeyer ‘Super Six’

Light Lens Lab has announced the Light Lens Lab 50mm f/1.9 “Rigid-ZS6,” a recreation of the Dallmeyer Super Six 50mm f/1.9. The body design is a departure, though, since it uses a “rigid” design.

Firstly, as a bit of background, Dallmeyer lenses (named after John Henry Dallmeyer) are highly collectible lenses from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The “Super Six” was a series of Dallmeyer optics renowned for their speed and shallow depth of field. Light Lens Lab has recreated one of these, the 50mm f/1.9, and is making it available in two styles: a normal and a low contrast version (which Light Lens Lab says emphasizes the original “Super-Six” character with a more film-like tonal response).

Of note, there is another company called Dallmeyer Optics that also chose to remake this lens, although availability is unclear.

“The 50mm f/1.9 ‘Rigid-ZS6’ pays homage to the original 50mm f/1.9 ‘Super-Six’ optical schematic and rendering characteristics, while integrating them into the proven mechanical platform of the 50mm f/2 ‘Rigid.’ This combination merges a historically significant optical formula with a robust, field-tested mechanical design,” Light Lens Lab says.

The “rigid” platform that the company describes is the name of its series of optics that use a unified mechanical platform designed to house “a range of historically significant optical formulas.” Light Lens Lab has two other lenses in this series: the 50mm f/2 “Rigid” and 50mm f/2 “Rigid-SPII.” It says it has ongoing development of two more: a 50mm f/1.9 “S5” and a 50mm f/2 Apochromat.

Back to the 50mm f/1.9 Rigid ZS6, the company says that it is based on a classic double-Gaussian configuration, which Light Lens Lab says is newly refined to preserve the distinctive “Super-Six” rendering, which is characterized by strong, swirly bokeh and color rendition. While it recreated this look, the company also designed the optics for use on digital cameras, which largely means improved center sharpness.

The 50mm f/1.9 Rigid ZS6 features an optical construction of six elements arranged into four groups with an aperture range of f/1.9 through f/22. Light Lens Lab says that the brass chrome version will be available in the United States for $799, with both the low contrast and the standard version shipping starting May 31.

Image credits: Light Lens Lab