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

Proto 40mm is the first in the historical series of MS-Optics (Miyazaki Optical), and is a lens that pays homage to the Protor type with a focal length of 40mm. The “H-” in the lens name “H-PROT” represents the History series.

It has a simple lens configuration of 4 elements in 2 groups, has a lens length of 16.2 mm, weighs 47 g, and has an impressive conical lens barrel. Its sibling lens, the Dagonard 40 mm, was released around the same time.

The depiction of the lens is dark with an aperture of F6.3, but because of this, the depiction is stable from wide open. Lens distortion is small at +0.2%. Although it does not have a distance scale, it has excellent close-up shooting performance up to 0.3m, and can be used for object photography or as a macro lens. It’s a compact and easy-to-handle lens that can be used all-round, from landscapes to close-ups.

My favorite style is to attach it to Panasonic’s Lumix GM5, a Micro Four Thirds camera, and use it as a macro lens with a focal length of 80mm. Close-up photography using the center part of the lens is especially good for capturing subjects.

With the aperture of this lens of F6.3, in the era of film cameras, even if you were using ISO400 or IS0800 film, you would probably only use it outdoors during the day. Nowadays, when mirrorless digital cameras are in full swing, you can easily increase the camera’s ISO sensitivity, so you can use it without hesitation even in low-light scenes. A drawback of digital cameras is that when the aperture value is around F6.3, dirt on the sensor surface will appear in the photographic results.

When used with the HASSELBLAD X2D, it almost covers the digital medium format sensor, just like its sibling DAGONAR 40mm. The drop in the periphery is noticeable under blue skies, but I think it’s enough to get the flavor of the lens. Maybe it didn’t bother me because I didn’t use it that way with the LEICA M, but when it’s backlit, there’s a noticeable flare and a drop in contrast. The maximum aperture is 6.3, which is dark, but the resolution down to the corners is amazing.

Specification

Item	Value	note
focal length(mm)	40
Maximum aperture	6.3
Minimum aperture	16
Lens configuration	2groups 4elements
Minimum distance(m)	0.3	Works with the camera’s rangefinder from 0.85m to infinity.
Lens length(mm)	16.2
Lens max diameter(mm)	50
Filter diameter(mm)	22.5	The tip of the hood can be fitted with a 28mm filter
Weight(g)	47