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Leitz Thalia: Portraiture for Cinema 65
Leitz & Cine Visuals Present: Leitz Thalia
Cinematic Heritage
The history of Leica begins long before cinema lenses were ever imagined. In the late 19th century, the German city of Wetzlar became home to one of the most influential optical workshops in history. Ernst Leitz was a precision instrument maker whose microscopes were renowned for their clarity and craftsmanship. The company thrived through the meticulous grinding of glass and a culture devoted to precision optics. In the early 20th century one of Leitz’s engineers, Oskar Barnack, began experimenting with using 35mm film for a compact horizontally exposed camera system. The result was the Leica camera, a photographic system that forever changed the way images were captured. Leica cameras quickly became inseparable from the history of photography. They traveled with war correspondents, explorers, artists, and journalists who valued the combination of portability and optical excellence. The company’s lenses became synonymous with a particular visual elegance that balanced clarity with character. Over time the Leica brand continued to focus primarily on still photography.
Meanwhile the motion picture world grew increasingly interested in adapting that legendary glass to cinema. That interest eventually led to the formation of Leitz Cine, a branch of Leica devoted to motion picture. Named in honor of Ernst Leitz himself, this division would focus entirely on lenses for motion pictures. While Leica continued developing cameras and lenses for photographers, Leitz Cine translated the heritage of Leica optics into cinema housings and mechanical standards designed for the demanding workflows of professional film sets.
Parallel to this story is the evolution of capture formats. Early cinema standardized around 35mm film, a size that balanced image quality with practicality. Yet filmmakers have always pursued larger canvases for greater clarity and depth. In the mid 20th century engineers developed 65mm film as a premium format capable of capturing enormous detail and sweeping images on a much larger negative. That search for scale continues today with digital sensors that recreate the dimensions and visual power of those large film frames.
The Leitz THALIA 65 lenses arrive directly within this lineage. Their design draws inspiration from one of the most distinctive portrait lenses ever created. In 1935 Leica introduced the Thambar, a lens deliberately engineered to create a dreamy softness through controlled spherical aberration. The Thambar softened highlights and wrapped faces in a luminous glow that photographers found deeply expressive. It was less about technical perfection and more about emotional character. Leitz revisited that philosophy decades later when developing the Thalia lenses for cinema. The goal was not simply to create another ultra sharp large format prime set but to translate the poetic rendering of classic Leica portrait optics into a modern medium format motion picture lens. The Thalia lenses therefore combine contemporary engineering with an optical spirit rooted in the Thambar tradition. The result is a set of lenses that have quietly appeared across a wide range of productions. Filmmakers have turned to them for projects that benefit from their organic rendering and large format dimensionality. Productions ranging from “Cruella” and “Gunpowder Milkshake” to “Athena” and “Beast” have embraced the Thalia look. More recently the lenses have found their way into Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” photographed by Dan Laustsen. In each case cinematographers have used the lenses to bring a sense of intimacy and painterly softness to images captured on some of the largest digital sensors in cinema.
Image Fidelity & Focus
Looking through a Thalia lens reveals an image that feels both modern and nostalgic. At first glance the frame appears clean and detailed. Resolution in the center is crisp and confident without feeling clinical or harsh. Digital sensors can be unforgiving instruments capable of revealing every imperfection in skin and texture. The Thalia lenses temper that sharpness with a subtle grace that feels closer to classic portrait film photography than contemporary digital exactness. The center of the image holds the viewer’s attention. Subjects remain sharp and well defined while the surrounding frame gently transitions into softer contrast and detail. This gradual falloff is a deliberate part of the optical design. Field curvature and mild spherical aberration encourage the eye to settle on the subject rather than wandering across an overly uniform frame. The result is a natural dimensionality that feels almost sculptural.
Skin tones benefit greatly from this approach. Highlights bloom ever so slightly and midtones carry a warmth that many cinematographers associate with traditional film photography. Faces appear luminous rather than clinically exposed. Even when working wide open the lenses rarely feel milky or washed out. Instead they maintain a balance between clarity and softness that feels refined. Focus transitions are equally expressive. When a subject moves through the plane of focus the shift from sharpness to blur feels smooth and organic. There is no abrupt wall between focus and defocus. Instead the background melts gradually into a wash of color and light. This subtle transition creates a sense of atmosphere that cinematographers often describe as painterly. The character of the lenses becomes even more pronounced on large format sensors. With the expansive field-of-view offered by cameras like the ARRI Alexa 65 or 65mm film, the Thalia lenses reveal layers of depth that smaller formats cannot fully express. Backgrounds drift away with a creamy softness while foreground subjects remain grounded in delicate detail. The image never feels overly stylized yet it avoids the sterile perfection of many modern optics. Instead it carries a quiet emotional tone that supports narrative storytelling. The Thalia lenses do not demand attention but they shape the image in ways that viewers instinctively feel.
Handling & Adaptability
While the Thalia lenses are inspired by vintage portrait optics, their mechanical design is entirely modern. Leitz engineered the housings with the needs of professional camera crews in mind. Every lens in the series shares a consistent external architecture that allows assistants and operators to work quickly and confidently during demanding shooting schedules. The lenses feature a standardized front diameter of 95mm which simplifies matte box adjustments and filter changes. Gear positions remain consistent throughout the set so focus motors and follow focus units rarely need to be repositioned when swapping focal lengths. Focus rotation spans a generous 270º. This extended throw provides focus pullers with the precision needed to pull focus smoothly across the large format depth-of-field. Medium format sensors lend themselves to very shallow depth-of-field due to the extensively large capture area. As a result, the long focus rotation of the Thalia lenses allows subtle and accurate adjustments without sudden jumps.The iris mechanism is equally refined.
Physically the lenses remain relatively compact for a system capable of covering medium format cinema sensors. Lengths range between 5-7 inches depending on the focal length and weights range between 2.30-3.40 lbs. Considering the large glass elements required for 65mm image coverage this balance between size and portability is incredibly impressive without image compromise. Close focus distances allow subjects to come fairly close to the sensor with many lenses having a close focus of between 7 inches to 2 ft. This proximity enhances the emotional connection between the camera and the performer while preserving the wide field-of-view offered by medium format capture. All lenses support LPL or PL mounts and incorporate metadata compatibility through the Cooke /i protocol. This embedded data can be recorded by the camera and later used in visual effects or color grading workflows. The feature reflects how thoroughly Leitz has integrated modern production needs into the design.
Image Circle
Understanding the significance of the Thalia lenses requires a look at the evolution of capture formats. The story begins with the early days of still photography when 35mm film was commonly exposed horizontally. Each frame measured 36mm x 24mm and used 8-perfs across the length of the film strip. When motion pictures standardized around 35mm film the orientation of the film was rotated vertically so the camera could advance frames more efficiently. 4-perfs tall created the familiar Academy 35mm frame with an image area of 21.95mm x 16mm and a diagonal of about 27mm. This configuration dominated cinema for decades. Later engineers realized that the unused space once reserved for optical sound could be reclaimed for picture information. By expanding the exposed area filmmakers developed Super 35mm which measures 24.89 mm x 18.66 mm. The diagonal of this frame sits at 31.1mm and it became the primary format for modern motion picture cameras throughout the late 20th century.
Meanwhile photographers continued to expose 35mm film horizontally in their still cameras. Paramount Pictures borrowed this idea during the 1950s to create VistaVision. By running the film sideways through the camera the exposed frame doubled in width to about 36mm x 24mm (more technically the exposure area of VistaVision is 37.9mm x 25.17mm as each frame is exposed closer to the last one and to the perforations) with a diagonal of 43.27mm but often simplified to 43.3mm colloquially. The format delivered exceptional clarity and eventually inspired the digital Full Frame sensors used in many modern cinema cameras.
The search for even larger images led to the development of 65mm motion picture film. Exposed vertically with 5-perfs per frame this format measures 52.63mm x 23.01mm with a necessary image circle diagonal of at least 57.44mm. When projected on 70mm prints (the extra 5mm is for the optical sound) it produced some of the most spectacular images ever seen in theaters. Digital cinema eventually followed this lineage. ARRI developed the Alexa 65 by stitching together three ARRI Alexa XT sensor modules to recreate the dimensions of 65mm film. The resulting sensor measures 54.12 mm × 25.58 mm with a diagonal of 59.9mm. Newer cameras such as the Fujifilm Eterna 55 continue to explore this medium format territory with similarly expansive sensor sizes. The Fujifilm Eterna 55 is available for rent at Cine Visuals and pairs excellently with the Leitz Thalia lenses.
In response to this evolving landscape the Leitz Thalia lenses were engineered with a remarkably large image circle of 60mm. This generous coverage allows the lenses to comfortably illuminate the entire frame of the Fujifilm Eterna 55, the ARRI Alexa 65, 65mm film stock, while also easily supporting VistaVision and Full Frame systems. On smaller formats like Super 35 the lenses still perform beautifully though the edges of their character fall outside the frame, creating a slightly sharper look overall. Cinematographers can move between formats without sacrificing coverage or worrying about vignetting. The Thalia lenses therefore sit comfortably within the growing ecosystem of large format cinematography and the continued tradition of Super 35.
Flare & Bokeh
Light interacts with the Thalia lenses in a way that reveals both their modern coatings and their classical inspiration. When bright sources enter the frame the lenses produce flares that feel controlled yet expressive. Internal reflections move through the optical elements as soft translucent shapes rather than harsh streaks. The color of these flares often carries a gentle warmth that complements the natural color rendition of the lenses. Highlights bloom subtly rather than exploding across the image. This behavior stems from the carefully balanced coatings applied to the glass elements. The coatings suppress excessive reflections while allowing just enough internal interaction to create visual character. When lights strike the lens at oblique angles the flare can form layered halos that ripple softly through the frame. The effect feels organic and painterly rather than mechanical.
Equally important is the quality of the bokeh. With 15 blades, the iris forms nearly perfect circles that allows the bokeh to remain round and smooth even when the lens is stopped down. Toward the edges of the frame these orbs stretch slightly into elliptical shapes due to the geometry of the optical design. This subtle aberration adds a sense of movement around the perimeter of the image while the center remains calm and balanced. The result is a depth-of-field that feels alive yet controlled. The combined effect of flare and bokeh contributes greatly to the emotional tone of the Thalia lenses. Highlights glow softly without losing structure. Backgrounds dissolve into creamy textures that frame the subject rather than distracting from it. In motion the lenses render light with a poetic grace that echoes the portrait traditions of Leica photography.
These lenses are available for rent at Cine Visuals. For inquiries or testing appointments email info@cinevisuals.com or call (323) 244-2552.