Magicflex PL 75/3.5
A new MULTI COATED Planar-type medium format lens, purpose-built for
Rolleiflex & Rolleicord
Magicflex PL 75/3.5
True 5-element Double-Gauss (Planar-type) design, based on the original 1954 Planar 75/3.5 patent
New glass and modern multi-coating, no haze, no separation, no fungus, no cleaning marks, no problems
Classic vintage rendering with soft, watercolor-like bokeh and amazing resolution
Designed specifically for the Rolleicord Vb and Rolleiflex 3.5B/E/F and installed only as part of our in-house full camera rebuild
Keeping the classic look, updating the optics
Most Planar and Xenotar lenses from the 1950s–1980s are simply worn out:
peeling coating, internal haze, micro-scratches,
beginning separation in cemented groups,
reduced contrast and sharpness, even if they look “clean” on photos.
You can get lucky on eBay, but in many cases the lens just can’t deliver what a Rolleiflex should.
Magicflex PL 75/3.5 was made to give you the classic early-Planar rendering but with brand-new glass, modern coatings and tight tolerances, so the camera finally performs like people imagine a “legendary Rolleiflex” should and even better
What is Magicflex PL 75/3.5 exactly?
MAGICFLEX PL 75/3.5
is a multi coated Planar-type lens based on the original five element Double-Gauss design from U.S. Patent 2,744,447 the same optical layout as the Planar 75mm f/3.5 used in the Rolleiflex 3.5E and early 3.5F.
The “PL” in the name simply marks it as a Planar-type lens with the modern lanthanum-class glass
My idea was simple: to bring back the original Planar 75/3.5 design from the patent with its classic strengths and subtle imperfections but without the typical 1950s lens issues like scratches, separation and worn-off coatings. An authentic classic look, rebuilt 1:1 with new glass.
Magicflex PL 75/3.5 lens dissembled
The original design used a great glass selection: Schott SK16, SF14, SF15, LaK11 and SF4. In my version, the slightly radioactive LaK11 element is replaced by a modern, non-radioactive lanthanum glass with excellent performance.
I now make these lenses in small numbers for the Rolleicord Vb and Rolleiflex 3.5B/E/F: each piece is individually made and assembled by hand in Germany this is not mass production, but true artisanal work.
Summary
Magicflex PL 75/3.5 a true 1:1 Double-Gauss (Planar) reconstruction with improved coatings, glass made with high-precision tolerances, re-engineered to outclass Xenar, Tessar, and early Planar lenses. It delivers soft, watercolor like bokeh and rich, contrasty images with outstanding resolution, it is never ‘clinical’ and still preserving the authentic 5-element early-Planar DNA.
Unlike surviving vintage Planar 75/3.5 lenses, the Magicflex PL 75/3.5 is entirely free from the usual issues — no haze, fungus, coating decay, or scratches.
Staying true to the Rolleiflex tradition, it offers an exceptional level of aberration correction, with spherical, chromatic, and coma aberrations all very well controlled.
In my opinion it is nothing less than a breakthrough for medium-format photography.
Mounting the Magicflex PL 75/3.5 on a Rolleicord Vb or Rolleiflex 3.5B opens new creative possibilities — effectively giving birth to “old” cameras built on legendary foundations for a price that makes owning a NEW medium format camera of the highest standard truly possible.
Rebuilds with the Magicflex PL 75/3.5 lens are available exclusively in my shop
SAMPLE IMAGES
FAQ
Is this a Xenar or Tessar clone?
No. Magicflex PL 75/3.5 is a 5-element Double-Gauss (Planar-type) design.
Xenar and Tessar are 4-element lenses of a completely different construction.
Is it “sharper” than the original Planar?
Real world sharpness and contrast are higher because the glass is new, coatings are modern and tolerances of the glass elements are tighter. At the same time, the lens keeps the classic early-Planar rendering – it never looks “clinical” or like a modern APO lens.
Can I buy only the lens?
No. Each Magicflex PL 75/3.5 lens is installed as part of a complete rebuild of a specific Rolleicord Vb or Rolleiflex 3.5B/E/F. During this process, focus, viewing lens and aperture are all precisely adjusted to match this lens and extract the maximum performance from it.
Why do you use this lens on the Rolleicord Vb?
Because the Rolleicord Vb is like a sister to the Rolleiflex 3.5F and is the final, most refined Rolleicord model, it features interchangeable finders and screens, a straight film path for precise film positioning in the film channel, and mechanics on the same level as a Rolleiflex – but in a lighter, simpler body. Even the Compur shutter is essentially the same as in the 3.5F.
In practice it’s the ideal platform for a high-performance lens like mine.
- Spherical aberration: almost fully corrected.
- Chromatic aberration: axial ~147 microns — excellent performance
- Coma: weak at the edges, overall well managed.
- Vignetting: minimal.
- Field curvature, astigmatism, distortion: curvature is noticeable but returns at the edges; astigmatism is well controlled; distortion <1%.
- f/3.5 — high quality in the center, smooth falloff toward the edges.
- f/5.6 — center improves further, field curvature becomes more pronounced but well managed.
- f/8 — nearly uniform across the frame, on the same level as the best medium format lenses
- f/11 — very fine and even performance.
- f/16 — diffraction reduces sharpness.