LEITZ Hektor L 28mm F6.3

Review and Photo example of the HEKTOR 28mm F6.3.

Gallery

Sample photo taken with the LEICA M6(Mishima-taisha Shrine, Shizuoka, Japan) and LEICA M9.

Review

The Hektor 28mm is a wide-angle lens manufactured from 1935 to 1950. 11,255 units were made in 15 years.

The lens is composed of 5 elements in 3 groups, and is a derivative of a triplet lens, with the front and rear lenses of the 3 groups being glued together.

Because it is a small lens, it is not easy to operate, and the aperture ring is on the front of the lens, so it is difficult to turn it when a hood or filter is attached. However, since it is dark at F6.3, there will be few situations where you will need to narrow it down from the maximum aperture.

The focus lever has a large rotation angle of about 180 degrees. In the film era, if you narrowed it down to F8 and shot with pan focus, there would be few opportunities to operate the focus lever, but in the digital era, you will need to set the focus position precisely in order to get the focus where you want it, so you will have to touch the focus ring more often. Considering that a large rotation angle makes it easier to make fine adjustments, I feel that 180 degrees is an advantage.

The lens has a chrome and nickel exterior, and since the chrome version was produced in greater numbers than the nickel version, it is expensive on the used market. Since it is an old lens, many of the lenses are cloudy due to balsam cracking on the bonding surface between the front and rear lenses.

As shown in the example, it will look more attractive if you cut down the exposure with a film camera and reduce the exposure where necessary.

The lens is 25mm thick, so it is compact, but the maximum F-number is low, so I only feel like using it outdoors during the day with a film camera.

With digital cameras in the 2020s, high ISO can be used regularly, so it is a lens that can be used anywhere.

There is almost no vignetting, but the shortcomings of an old lens, such as soft depiction in the peripheral areas, are also visible.

Due to the F-number, dust on the sensor is noticeable, so care should be taken in this regard.

From the 1990s to the early 2000s, this lens had a dark maximum aperture and was unpopular, so it could be purchased quite cheaply, but in the 2020s, the price of this lens has risen due to the aforementioned high ISO compatibility of digital cameras and the soaring prices of old lenses. Whether the high price is worth it in terms of image quality and other factors is up to the owner, but its compactness is an appeal that modern lenses do not have.

Specification

Item	Value	note
focal length(mm)	28
Maximum aperture	6.3
Minimum aperture	25
Lens configuration	3groups 5elements
Leaf blade	6
Minimum distance(m)	1.0
Lens length(mm)	25	Distance form mount frange
Lens max diameter(mm)	50	Excluding focus lever
Filter diameter(mm)	34	A36 cover type can also be used.
Weight(g)	110
Production number	11,255
Release date	Year 1935-1950