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Ernst Leitz Wetzlar GmbH joins the L-Mount Alliance

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Ernst Leitz Wetzlar GmbH joins the L-Mount Alliance

The Ernst Leitz Wetzlar GmbH, which designs and manufactures premium lenses for cinematography, is the first company to join the L-Mount Alliance since the public announcement of the L-mount standard at photokina 2018. Consisting of founding members Leica Camera AG, SIGMA, and Panasonic, the goal of the alliance is to utilize the L-Mount standard developed by Leica Camera AG for cameras and lenses in future product development. This collaboration enables Ernst Leitz Wetzlar to develop products with the L-Mount which will yield great benefits for cinematographers and photographers alike.

“We are pleased to welcome Ernst Leitz Wetzlar GmbH to the L-Mount Alliance as our new, renowned partner from the field of cinematography,” says Matthias Harsch, CEO of Leica Camera AG. “Ernst Leitz Wetzlar represents an enriching addition to the alliance, offering future advantages for passionate and professional film-makers as well as photographers.” Stephan Schulz, Head of Product Management Professional Camera Systems, adds: „We believe, that the future market requires an-up-to date lens interface, that unifies photo and video applications in the best possible way and allows due to the shallow flange depth innovative optical designs. With the Ernst Leitz Wetzlar GmbH, the L-Mount Alliance gets a member that is undoubtedly the premium brand for cinematography lenses. This underlines the high-quality level and ambition of the alliance.”

About the L-Mount Alliance

The members of the L-Mount Alliance all utilise the L-Mount standard developed by Leica Camera AG for mirrorless camera systems. Currently, the members of the alliance are Leica Camera, SIGMA, Panasonic, and Ernst Leitz Wetzlar GmbH. The partners in the alliance utilise the L-Mount standard for cameras and lenses that are offered under their own brand names. They market their respective products as competitors, each with their own product and marketing strategies. The alliance works together on advancing the technology of the L-Mount standard.

Further information can be found under: https://l-mount.com/en/home

About the L-Mount Standard

The L-Mount was developed by Leica Camera with the aim of providing customers with a future-proof, flexible, robust and precise bayonet mount that would fulfil even the most demanding photographic needs. Since its initial introduction in 2014, development of the L-Mount was continued by Leica as well as by its strategic partners, leading to significant improvements and therefore an effectively new and more refined L-Mount technology.

To ensure maximum product diversity, the diameter of 51.6 millimetres was chosen to make the L-Mount suitable for use with full-frame cameras, but also to support cameras with APS-C sensors due to the optimum balance between diameter and compactness. The short flange depth of only 20 millimetres enables a short distance between the lens and the sensor – which, in turn, allows for a considerably more compact construction. This is particularly helpful for developments in the wide-angle lens segment. To ensure resistance to even the most extreme stresses, and to guarantee customers maximum reliability over many years of intensive use, the camera bayonets are manufactured from wear-resistant stainless steel and feature four flange segments that prevents tilting and ensures a particularly tight and flush coupling of camera and lens – leading to optimal focus results on the sensor.

On top of that the sealings of the lens mount prevent the intrusion of dust or spraywater even under tough environmental conditions. The standardised L-Mount contact strip enables trouble-free communication between the electronic components of the lens and the camera – including the possibility of installing future firmware updates for lenses to react to technological advances and exploit the full performance potentials of the lens.

Originally introduced by Leica Camera AG in 2014, the L-Mount is now available on 10 cameras and over 50 lenses across the existing alliance partners. All lenses made for the various different systems can be used on all cameras without adapters and without any functional limitations – which illustrates just one of the many advantages the shared bayonet entails.