A couple of years ago, Leica decided they want to make a set of PL mount lenses that could compare to, if not surpass, the Zeiss Master Primes. In late 2011 they debuted the new lens set, the Leixa Summilux-C. A set of 8 costs $178,000, which may seem like a lot, but the performance of these lenses really does go head to head with the Ultra & Master primes (similarly priced).

These lenses have fast become a favorite of DP’s and shooters such as Harris Savides and Tom Lowe. It’s no wonder why, they have pretty much everything you would want in cinema lenses. They are built with high quality materials and feature a fast T-Stop of 1.4 across the set. They also have great contrast throughout the frame and because they are all the same length and have the same 95mm threaded lens front it is extremely easy to swap between lenses on set.

Now it has been announced the Leica is creating a new set of “budget” cinema lenses, the Summicron-C lens set. It is rumored that the Summicron-C’s will cost about $17,000 a piece which means it would cut the cost of a rental about in half from the Summilux-C’s.

Hopefully they’ll be showing these off this year at NAB and we’ll have more information about them for you.

We also currently rent the Leica Summilux-C‘s, if you’re interested.