Macro-Switar 50mm f1.8, made by Kern of Switzerland. Introduced in 1958, it served as a standard lens for Alpa cameras until 1969. It is one of the few photographic lenses produced by Kern, a company primarily known for cine lenses. An apochromatic design with 7 elements in 5 groups. Distance scale in feet.
Its excellent rendering makes it remarkably versatile, from macro photography to everyday snapshots. Truly deserving of its reputation as a high-performance classic, it remains popular today for its smooth, slightly soft and captivating rendering. The later f1.9 is also an excellent lens, but this f1.8 shows a touch of softness near wide open, producing a particularly pleasing image.
In the 1990s, Aoyama Retina House introduced an adapter that allowed the Macro-Switar to be used with rangefinder coupling on Leica cameras, creating something of a boom in Japan. In recent years, thanks to its superb rendering, the lens has continued to find new life not only on Alpa and Leica cameras, but also on mirrorless cameras.
It is one of those exceptional lenses that never fails to impress us whenever we put it through a shooting test.
This is an item previously sold by our shop and has now returned to us. It was carefully used by the previous owner and remains in the same excellent cosmetic condition as when we last sold it. Apart from some very minor marks around the mount from attaching and removing the lens, both the black and silver paint remain very well preserved. A fine example also suitable for a collection.
A full overhaul was carried out by a specialist in August 2026. All controls operate very smoothly. The distinctive long-extension helicoid of the Macro-Switar also feels exceptionally smooth and pleasant to operate.
The glass shows only a very slight amount of balsam separation at the edge of an internal element. It is extremely minor and should have virtually no effect on actual photographs. There is no haze, and the glass is clear and bright. Our test shots also produced excellent results. You can enjoy its soft rendering, rich color reproduction, and beautifully melting bokeh.
Clean original front and rear caps are included.
