Lens Review: Aires Coral 45mm f1.5 Leica M conversion
- William Temple
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
I found this lens in Vienna on an Aires 35-V camera, their flagship camera released in 1958 to compete in the interchangeable lens rangefinder market, it's a hefty well built camera. I bought the Aires & 45mm f1.5 along with the 35mm f3.2 and 100mm f3.5 lenses, this set was sold as the 'Correspondent kit' (see ad below) for $376.25USD in 1959, equivalent to $4,190.75 today. There isn't much information on the Aires 35-V available to research, here are a few few points that I gathered:
Apparently the 35-V was sold at a loss with a hope of up selling with extra lenses.
A cheaper, slower standard lens were offered after the first year production, a 45mm f1.8, then an even slower 45mm f1.9 and even a 45mm f2.8. Meaning the flagship 45mm f1.5 lens could have been made for only 1 year.
Marketing flops and the release of the Nikon F a year later in 1959 hit Aires (and the rangefinder market in general) hard until it ceased production in 1952.
Image copywrite of Camera-Wiki
I had this copy of the rare Coral converted to Leica M mount with rangefinder coupling by the Master in HK who used a quality, all brass Yifeng helicoid. You can view this conversion for sale here.
Specification | |
Year of Manufacture | 1958 |
Country of Origin | Japan |
Focal Length | 45mm |
Maximum Aperture | f1.5 |
Minimum Aperture | f16 |
Number of Aperture Blades | 5 |
Aperture Blade Shape | Curved |
Optical Construction | Double Gauss variation, 7 elements in 3 Groups  |
Special Elements (ED, Aspherical, etc.) | None |
Coatings | Yes, an amber coloured single coating |
Minimum Focus Distance | RF coupled to .7m uncoupled to .5m |
Focus Mechanism | Manual |
Filter Thread Size | 49mm |
Dimensions (Length × Widest Ø) | 41x62mm |
Weight | 265g |
Weather Sealing | No |
Hood | I think the original hood for the f1.5 was a circular screw in type. I found this image of an original hood for one of the later , slower 45mm lenses:  |
Original MSRP | See the original advert above |
Current Market Price (based on past sales & condition) | £1000-14000 modified |
Availability (Mythical/Rare/Uncommon/Common) | Rare - potentially less than 300 pieces. |
Sample Images
All of these images are low jpegs, taken on an M11 and uploaded straight from camera. Click to expand and see labels
Optical Performance
Sharpness
Wide Open – Centre | Not pin sharp, good but gently softened |
Wide Open – Edges / Corners | Sharpness falls off quickly moving out from centre |
Stopped Down Performance | Improves considerably at just f2 |
Sweet Spot Aperture | There is a red dot on the aperture scale between f5.6 - f8. I believe this is a sweet spot indicator. It could be f6.3 or f7.1? |
Close Focus Sharpness | A slightly soft falloff when isolating a subject. Not a sharp separation from background. |
Rendering
Contrast | Contrast is moderate to low, influenced by the soft, diffused lighting of the overcast day I took the samples. Blacks are slightly lifted, contributing to a soft, painterly look. |
Microcontrast | Subdued, particularly in midtones, which enhances smooth tonal transitions |
Colour Rendition | Slightly warm, very minor purple hues and particularly pleasing greens. |
Saturation | Slightly richer saturation than neutral |
Bokeh
Background Smoothness | Painterly with busy backgrounds, very smooth with plain backgrounds |
Foreground Bokeh | Same as above |
Bokeh Ball Shape | Slightly oval |
Cat’s Eye Effect | Only slightly, strong highlights towards frame edges |
Onion Rings / Outlining | None |
Focus Transition | Very gentle |
Aberrations & Corrections
Distortion | Very little pincushion |
Vignetting (Wide Open) | Mild |
Vignetting (Stopped Down) | Reduces quickly when stopped down |
Lateral CA | Some |
Longitudinal CA | Noticeable longitudinal chromatic aberration wide open, colour fringing around high-contrast areas |
Flare & Ghosting
Shooting Into Light | Significant, get a hood if you don't like flare! |
Contrast Loss | Fairly strong in backlit scenarios with a light glow. |
Ghosting Artifacts | Defined ghosts when shooting directly into the sun or strong light |
Hood Effectiveness | I didn't have one to test, it was also a particularly overcast day, but using my hand to shade the lens helped a lot when testing with a torch. |
Summary & Comparison to Similar Lenses
Centre sharpness is just sharp wide open, increasing quickly even at f2. Shooting wide open delivers painterly type bokeh that can be quite unexpected. Vignetting isn't too strong and offers pleasant framing. Strong CA and flare are to be expected and appreciated.
The Coral 45mm f1.5 often gets compared to the Voigtländer Nokton 50mm f1.5. They are both high-speed, vintage double-Gauss lenses with similar, dreamy bokeh characteristics. Both are 7 elements in 4 groups compared to the Nokton’s 7 elements in 4 groups. The Nokton generally offers slightly higher contrast, while both share similar sharpness, being strong in the centre but softer at the edges wide open. The Coral offers a slightly wider field of view, legendary bokeh, and a distinct, softer vintage look.
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