The Biotar 75mm f/1.5 lens is on sale once again! Pioneered by legendary German lens designer Willi Merté in the 1930s the short telephoto lens was at the time renowned for being one of the fastest portrait lenses available, with a characteristic swirly bokeh, that has led to it being called the Vortex King.
Meyer Optik Görlitz has now brought the lens back to life, using the same Double-Gauss construction with six lenses in four groups. With high image sharpness in the center, coupled with a strong swirly bokeh at open aperture, the legendary imaging characteristics of the Biotar 75 f1.5 II live once again.
Sample images
The Biotar 75mm was one of the lenses first promised by the iconic company when it was itself brought back to life in 2021. "We are very excited to be able to bring this wonderful lens to market, after some unforeseen circumstances that have caused several delays," said Marco Pfeiffer, Managing Director Meyer Optik / OPC Optics.
The lens follows the successful launch of the Biotar 58mm f1.5 II last year and again will be handmade in Hamburg.
The manual focus prime will be available in practically every current lens mount you could name: Canon EF, Canon RF, Nikon F, Nikon Z, Sony, Pentax K, Fujifilm X, Micro Four Thirds, Leica M, and L-Mount. It retails for $1,399, and customers are warned to expect at least a two-week wait for delivery.
Pre-order the Meyer Optik Gorlitz Biotar 75mm f1.5 II at BHPhoto
See also our guide to the best vintage lenses, and our pick of the best portrait lenses
