Bubbles...

'Bokeh' - is, according to Wikipedia: 'the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in out-of-focus parts of an image; caused by Circles of Confusion. Differences in lens aberrations and aperture shape cause very different bokeh effects.'

And once in a while we find a lens that certainly does offer something very different for the bokeh junky in all of us...

The 75mm Meyer Optic Primoplan is a rare and absolutely wonderful lens. We sourced this example after a great deal of hunting in the far east - a place where 'Bokeh' is highly prized. And this lens is all about the 'Bokeh'; Meyer's Primoplan produces the most wonderful elements in defocussed areas. We just love using it with an adaptor on our Leica M11.

This lens gives a magical, almost indefinable look - most call it 'bubble'. We think of the 'look' as pure cinema - because, somehow, every time we use this lens, we end up thinking about cinema - and 70s cinema in particular. Every shot taken with this camera looks like it was shot by the great 70s cinematographer, Vittorio Storaro - the man who shot 'The Conformist', 'Last Tango in Paris' and, of course, 'Apocalypse Now'. In this lens - just as in the best of Storaro's work - the warmth of the colour transmission, the rich 'sooty' blacks and glorious 'bubble' in the out of focus areas are just perfectly balanced.

'Bubbles' like no other - the Meyer Primoplan has bokeh to die for... Available now in our online store.

Blog copyright Matthew Whiteman 2023

Camera images copyright The Latent Image 2023

Historic images copyright various