Ms-Optics H-PROT 40mm F6.3

This is a record of using the H-PROT 40mm f/6.3 (MS-Optics / Miyazaki Optical) with a Leica M digital.

Gallery

Sample photos taken with the LEICA M-P typ240

Sample photos taken with the HASSELBLAD X2D

Sample photos taken with the LUMIX GM5

Review

Overview
Usage
Differences

1．Overview

The Proto 40mm is the first in the MS-Optics (Miyazaki Optical) History Series, and is a lens that pays homage to the 40mm focal length Protar. The “H-” in the lens name “H-PROT” stands for “History”.

Protar is a lens with four elements in two groups invented by Paul Rudolph II of Carl Zeiss, a German camera manufacturer.

Like Protar, the H-Proto has a simple lens configuration of four elements in two groups, a lens length of 16.2 mm, weight of 47 g, and a conical lens barrel. The Dagonar 40mm, released at the same time, is a sister lens.

The minimum shooting distance is 0.3 m, and the helicoid rotates about 120 degrees. It is linked to the M-type Leica rangefinder up to 0.85 m. The aperture is F6.3 to F16 with no clip stops.

2．Usage

The lens’s maximum aperture is F6.3, which is dark, but it provides stable imaging even when the aperture is open. Lens distortion is small at +0.2%. Although there is no distance scale, it has excellent close-up shooting performance up to 0.3m, and can be used for product photography or as a macro lens. It is a compact and easy-to-handle lens that can handle everything from landscapes to close-ups.

My favorite style is to use it as a macro lens with a focal length of 80mm when attached to a Panasonic Lumix GM5, a Micro Four Thirds camera. Close-up shots using the center of the lens are particularly suitable for cutting out the subject.

In the days of film cameras, with the maximum aperture of F6.3, you would only want to use this lens outdoors during the day, even if you were using ISO400 or IS0800 film. In these days of mirrorless digital cameras, it is easy to increase the ISO sensitivity of the camera, so I feel that we are in a good era where we can use it without hesitation even in low-light scenes. One drawback of digital cameras is that when the aperture is set to around F6.3, dirt on the sensor surface will show up in the photo.

When used with a HASSELBLAD X2D, it covers almost all of the digital medium format sensor, just like its sister lens, the DAGONAR 40mm. The falloff at the edges is noticeable against blue skies, but this can be tolerated as part of the lens’ character.

This may not have been a problem with the LEICA M, since I didn’t use it that way, but in backlit situations, there is a noticeable ghost or suspicious light caused by flare, as well as a drop in contrast. The maximum aperture is a dark F6.3, but the resolution to the corners is excellent.

3．Differences

The PROT 40mm is a sibling lens to the DAGONAR 40mm, the second in the History series. Compared to the two, the Proto uses two fewer lenses, is about 6mm shorter in overall length, and weighs about 3g less.

Both the Proto and the DAGONAR were unpopular at the time of release due to their subtle focal length of 40mm and dark maximum aperture, and they remained unsold. However, due to the small number of units produced, the number of units available on the second-hand market has decreased, and they have returned to a reasonable price.

When comparing the two, there was almost no difference when shooting the exact same subject at the same distance, but the PROT 40mm seemed to have a slightly lower resolution. Also, when the camera was fixed to a tripod and only the lens was replaced, the shooting range of the PROT 40mm was slightly wider. The difference was slight, so it may be due to manufacturing tolerances of the lens.

If you were to make a condition when taking both, if you want a compact shooting system, you would choose the PROT 40mm, and if you want slightly higher performance, you would choose the DAGONAR 40mm.

Specification

Item	PROT	DAGONAR
focal length(mm)	40	←
Maximum aperture	6.3	←
Minimum aperture	16	←
Lens configuration	2groups 4elements	2groups 6elements
Minimum distance(m)	0.3 Rangefinder link is 0.85m to infinity.	←
Lens length(mm)	16.2	22.2
Lens max diameter(mm)	50	←
Filter diameter(mm)	22.5 Lens tip is 28mm	←
Weight(g)	47	50