Thypoch Ksana 35mm f/2

The Thypoch Ksana 35mm f/2 is a manual-focus prime for Leica M mount, covering full frame. It arrived in 2026 and remains in production, so buyers get a new design rather than an older model. A 35mm focal length suits street, travel and documentary work, where one framing handles most situations.

Its appeal is size. The lens is 1.06 in (27 mm) long and weighs 7 oz (199 g), so it suits anyone who carries a camera all day. The trade-off is effort: focusing is manual, and the lens offers no stabilisation or sealing. That combination fits deliberate shooting rather than fast action.

At 7 oz (199 g), the Ksana weighs little. The body is 1.65 in (42 mm) across and 1.06 in (27 mm) long, so it sits close to the camera. A screw-in filter attaches directly and must match the 39mm thread.

The size also keeps the camera discreet for candid work.

A 35mm focal length frames two people across a table, a shop front from the pavement, or a street corner. It sits between wide and normal, keeping faces natural while holding their surroundings. Unlike a zoom, the fixed length makes your feet do the framing work.

The f/2 maximum aperture passes more light than a slower design, which helps in shaded streets and lit interiors at night. Subject separation at 35mm is gentle. Backgrounds blur a little behind a portrait, but the surrounding context stays part of the picture. At smaller apertures, more of the scene falls in focus, useful for layered street scenes.

Ten aperture blades help the opening stay round as the aperture closes. Round openings tend to render out-of-focus highlights smoothly, which matters for evening lights and sun through leaves.

Closest focus is 1.6 ft (50 cm). That distance suits people and table settings, framing a scene from a natural working range. You can step in on a market stall or a doorway without crowding the subject.

This lens focuses manually. There is no autofocus motor, so the focusing ring sets every distance by hand. That suits slow, deliberate picture-taking, and it demands more of the photographer when subjects move quickly.

There is no image stabilization. In dim light, shutter speed and holding technique decide whether frames stay sharp. The light 7 oz (199 g) body is easy to hold steady for a 35mm lens.

Weather protection is absent. The lens has no sealing against dust and moisture, and no fluorine coating to repel water or oil on the front glass. Keep it out of rain and spray, and wipe smudges by hand.

Inside are 8 elements in 5 groups. One aspherical element is shaped to help correct distortion and spherical aberration, faults that bend straight lines in architecture and street scenes. One low-dispersion element helps reduce chromatic aberration, the coloured fringes that can appear along high-contrast edges such as window frames against a bright sky.