Angenieux 50mm f1.8 Type S1. A highly coveted original Leica L-mount version for Angenieux fans. This example features the early all-aluminum barrel with a soft blue coating — the most popular variant. It employs a 4-group, 6-element double Gauss optical formula and uses meter scale markings.
The 50mm f1.8 Type S1 is one of Angenieux’s oldest masterpieces, produced since the early 1940s for mounts such as Alpa. This particular lens was made in 1945. The fact that such a beautiful lens was built just a year after the liberation of Paris is truly remarkable.
The Angenieux S1 is a quintessential non-Leitz lens — a compact, lightweight, large-aperture f1.8 lens with unmistakable French flair and elegant design. The all-aluminum construction weighs only 110g.
At full aperture, it offers a touch of softness, but stopping down slightly brings out sharpness and dimensional rendering, with a beautiful swirling bokeh that changes character depending on subject distance. A lens that delights both in use and in appearance. It pairs especially well with black paint Leica M bodies.
A rare piece.
This is one of our previously sold items, carefully used by successive owners and now returned to our shop. It is always a pleasure to welcome back a rare lens in such fine condition. Welcome home! This marks its fourth sale through our store.
While many S1 lenses show wear on their aluminum barrels, this example retains its glossy black paint and shows very little evidence of use—an exceptional condition. The focusing knob, which is often missing, is original.
A full overhaul was carried out in 2020, and to ensure perfect performance, it was completely serviced again in September 2025. The feel of the aperture and focusing rings is exceptionally smooth—remarkably refined for an Angenieux, if we may say so.
Early Angenieux lenses feature all-aluminum barrels, and if used with dried grease, the helicoid can quickly develop play, leading to rangefinder misalignment or even optical decentering. There is no such concern here—the rangefinder coupling is spot on.
The glass shows a minor trace of balsam separation at the edge of an inner element, but for this lens model, the optics are unusually clean. There is no haze or noticeable cleaning marks, and the clarity is excellent—an outstanding condition indeed.
Test results were excellent as well. Sample images can be seen in our test gallery.
