Wahei Optical’s New Peace 35mm f/1.4 Lens

credits: Wahei Optical

Wahei Optical has announced the Peace 35mm f/1.4, a new M-mount lens that takes clear inspiration from classic Leica designs. Vintage-style lenses have become increasingly common in recent years, but the Peace 35mm f/1.4 specifically draws from the famous Leica 35mm f/1.4 Steel Rim, which first appeared in 1961. According to Wahei Optical, the goal was not to create a lens that gives you maximum sharpness or perfectly uniform image quality, but rather one that delivers the kind of character and rendering many photographers associate with older optics.

The company says the lens delivers a softer, more atmospheric look when used wide open at f/1.4, before becoming noticeably sharper as it is stopped down. Optically, it uses a 7-element, 5-group design based on a double Gauss formula, along with a 10-blade aperture. Wahei Optical also describes the lens as offering different rendering characteristics depending on aperture and shooting conditions, essentially allowing you to choose between a more ‘vintage look’ or a cleaner, more polished photo.

Physically, the lens has a brass barrel, a rangefinder-coupled manual-focus design, and a compact body with a 41mm filter thread. Weight comes in at 210g and like other M-mount lenses, it can be easily adapted to a wide range of modern mirrorless cameras. The Wahei Optical Peace 35mm f/1.4 E41 Classical Silver Chrome is priced at $1,329.99.