Leitz Cine HUGO II Series – 66mm, 75mm, 90mm / T2.1 Lenses Added to Lineup

Lens News

by Jose PradaOctober 3^rd, 2024

Leitz Cine recently expanded their HUGO series by adding three new lenses with a maximum aperture of T2.1 and offering different focal lengths to the ones already available in the kit. HUGO II is the name for these new 65mm, 75mm, and 90mm lenses. The name is due to the fact that they are slower than the previously released lenses (T1.5 T1.0 for the 50mm.)

Leitz manufactures premium cine lenses for television and motion picture productions. It is a sister company to Leica and was established in 2007 in Wetzlar, Germany. The brand produces eight lines of prime and zoom lenses, and the HUGO full-frame prime lens series is among them, built on the popularity of the Leitz M 0.8 series. Don’t hesitate to check this previous article to learn more about them. The lenses are known for their sharpness wide open while preserving a smooth character due to their low contrast and natural falloff. Now, the company adds three new lenses to the series: 66mm T2.1, 75mm T2.1, and 90mm T2.1.

Leitz HUGO II lenses: 66mm, 75mm and 90mm T2.1

HUGO lenses take their name from Hugo Wehrenfennig, an engineer who worked for Leica Camera. With these three new releases, the HUGO series expands its lineup to thirteen lenses, ranging from 18mm to 135mm. The HUGO II series adds three options at the long end for a different look and a smaller size and weight. The lenses are available in interchangeable LPL or L mounts. 

The Leitz HUGO 66mm T2.1 lens fills the gap between the 50mm and 75mm lenses and takes as its basis the famous “spy lens” created by Leica lens designer Walter Mandler for the US Navy during the Cold War. Back then, the purpose was to create a lens to achieve high-resolution images. Now, the company has modified it to add the lens to the HUGO series, matching its image quality and character.

The other two additions are the Leitz HUGO 75mm T2.1 and 90mm T2.1. These lenses come from the original Leica Summicron-M. A slower aperture than their siblings gives them a shorter and lighter size and weight, matching the rest of the T1.5 set wider than 50mm.

Price and availability

Given the unique characteristics and pricing of these lenses, please follow this link for more information about Leitz’s official dealers and the HUGO series. B&H will also ship them as special orders, see the buy links below.

Ernst Leitz Wetzlar GmbH renamed Leitz Cine GmbH

In other news, the company behind the brand name Leitz now also formerly renamed to Leitz Cine GmbH from Ernst Leitz Wetzlar GmbH, to reflect the brand name better.

What do you think of these new additions to the HUGO series? Have you been lucky enough to test or use them? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!