Always Stay In Focus with the New C.P. Goerz Citograph 35mm f/8 Lens

C.P. Goerz is a new German start-up that are running one hell of a Kickstarter campaign for a new lens they call – the Citograph 35mm f8, which in itself is a super-compact, always-in-focus Tessar-type lens. With around 9 days remaining until the end of the campaign, they have already raised over $62K+; more than twice what they where initially going for.

The lens is said to be available sometime in the Spring of next year in popular lens mounts such as Micro Four Thirds, Sony E and Canon EF among others, and right now you can grab yourself some of the early bird bargains on Kickstarter for $229 USD (which are still available at the posting of this article, but those are likely to be gone soon), which quite the steal considering that same lens will retail for $549 next Spring.

But, what the hell is a Citograph 35mm? Well, this is a super-compact, “pin hole”specialty lens that will certainly appeal to those inclined to do a lot of street photography – as the Citograph 35mm f8 has been designed specifically for capturing those fleeting, decisive moments that are gone in blink of an eye.

The lens keeps everything in focus beyond 3 meters (9 feet) has no moving parts and a specially-coated “disc aperture” equivalent to f/8. The 35mm focal length has been adored by street photographers for a very long time, so the fact that the Citograph is a 35mm FOV lens makes perfect sense here.

This lens is a passion project for Benedikt Hartmann, a 20-year veteran of the German camera industry, whose idea was to develop a high quality, high resolution lens that was also easy to use.

C.P. Goerz takes its name from one of the most renowned German lens makers of the early 20^th Century. The original C.P. Goerz company worked closely with Zeiss and in 1926 merged with Zeiss Ikon. The Goerz spirit of innovation carries on with the Citograph.

Check out some samples that have been shot with the Citograph lens:

C.P. Goerz Citograph 35mm f/8 Lens Technical Specs:

• Focal length 35 mm
• Magnification ratio 1:8
• Optical construction 4 elements in 3 groups
• Field of view +/- 31°
• Distortion ≤ 1% Light loss max. 27 %
• Focussing 3m bis ∞
•  Filter thread M 37 x 0,75
• Dimensions Ø 58 mm x 23 mm
•  Weight ±. 120g

The C.P. Goerz Citograph 35mm f/8 lens will be available in the following mounts:

• Nikon
• Canon EF
• Sony E
• Leica M
• Micro 4/3
• Fuji X
• Pentax K

While the Citograph 35mm may have been designed for off-the-cuff, street style photography, the lens also offers some really creative opportunities for video, which is why it popped up on my radar. I am not a street photographer or a huge fan of “instagram-y” photos, but despite this, I wouldn’t mind using this lens for such purpose if I end up buying one.

Needless to say, the Citograph 35mm f/8 certainly looks like a very interesting and unique lens to add to my lens arsenal and use it for video on my Panasonic GH5 for example. It’s just that you never know when this style lens may come in handy.

On a similar note, the new Citograph lens reminds me of a few scenes in Ben Wheatley’s “A Field in England” (a criminally underrated film, that not many people have seen, but really should), for which the film’s DP – Laurie Rose (of whose work I’m a huge fan of) made his own pinhole lenses out of Canon EF lens caps.

A Field in England was shot in monochrome on Canon C300‘s and RED EPIC using Zeiss Super Speeds as their main lenses, with the pinhole lenses being using for some selected shots, bringing out a very surreal perspective befitting the mood of the film quite well. See if you can spot the pinhole shots in the trailer below.

To read more about the Citograph 35mm f8, see more sample shots and get one if you fancy it head over to their Kickstarter campaign here.

[via PhotoRumors]