Walter Mandler

Interviewed by Tom Abrahamsson in the early 80s about his favourite designs Mandler answered “Right now it is the 75 mm/1.4 Summilux because it’s balance between performance and size”. However, the current head of the optical department at Leica, Peter Karbe, stated that this is not his favorite lens, when interviewed during the photokina 2008 show, . Mandler designed the Summilux-M 75 mm f/1.4 lens (1980) based on his previous design for the Summilux-M 50 mm f/1.4 lens (1961), but using new glass first applied to the Noctilux-M 50 mm f/1.0 lens (1969). In the same way, Karbe designed the APO-Summicron-M 75 mm f/2.0 ASPH lens (2005) based on his Summilux-M 50 mm f/1.4 ASPH lens (2004).

A complete list of Leica M and R lenses designed by Mandler as selected by Mandler himself not in chronological order (Viewfinder, Volume 38, Number 2, 2005, page 12):

Erwin Puts concludes: “He was also a daring man: he created the Summilux 1.4/35 mm when everybody assumed that such a lens was not possible. Mandler was a pragmatist more than a visionary. His designs are very competent, but he had to work within the restrictions of the Leitz philosophy of lens manufacture. It seems that lenses for 35 mm photography were a bit boring for him, as they did not pose the challenge he wanted. This he found in the designs for the military and in the ELCAN lenses he could explore more exciting optical limits. […] There are only a few letters by Mandler in the Leica archives and the contents give the impression of a passionate man, who feels slightly frustrated by the slow progress made by Leitz and the fast improvements made by the Japanese. He clearly saw that without fundamental changes Leica could not compete in the long run. But Leitz was in those days already living on borrowed money. His ELCAN designs were by nature less cost oriented and the knowledge gained here could be transferred to the photographic department. […] Mandler’s study about the Double-Gauss designs is still the definitive analysis of the limits and potential of this class of lenses. The book was published in 1979 and represented the state of the art in optical design at that time. His achievement was the transfer of that theoretical framework to practical design. He did not develop really innovative designs, but his strong point was the exploration of existing limits and to find ways to implement the almost impossible.”

Mandler became vice president of ELCAN from 1974, being an optical advisor for Leica until his retirement in 1985.

In 1952 Ernst Leitz decided to establish Ernst Leitz Canada (ELCAN) at Midland, Ontario. Mandler was one of the team members “on loan” for a short period of time. However, Mandler stayed in Canada for more than half a century and became a Canadian citizen.

Mandler was born into a German farmer’s family. In 1947 he joined Ernst Leitz at Wetzlar as a lens designer, working with Max Berek [de]. At the same time he studied in Giessen University. Later he obtained a bachelor’s degree in Physics and then a Ph.D. (summa cum laude) in 1979.

Walter Mandler (10 May 1922 – 21 April 2005) was a lens designer of Ernst Leitz Canada (Leica Camera) in Midland, Ontario. Mandler is credited with the design of more than 45 Leica lenses for the Leica rangefinder cameras and Leica SLR cameras.