Walter Mandler

Walter Mandler (born May 10, 1922 ; † April 21, 2005 in Midland ) was a leading optics designer for the Leica brand and later head of the development department and Vice President of Ernst Leitz Canada ( ELCAN Optical Technologies ) in Midland, Ontario.

Mandler was born into a German farming family. While still studying at the University of Giessen , which he completed with a doctorate “summa cum laude”, he joined the Leitz company in Wetzlar as a lens designer in 1947 .

In 1952 he was part of a team of employees who were commissioned by Günther Leitz to set up Ernst Leitz Canada (ELCAN) in Midland, Ontario. After initially only planning a short stay on site, Mandler decided to stay in Canada. He later also became a Canadian citizen.

Mandler's main contribution to optical technology is considered to be his groundbreaking work in the application of computer-aided design of lenses, which ended with the previous method of designing optical lenses with slide rules and logarithms and ushered in a new era in lens design technology. He designed more than 45 high-performance Leica lenses , which combined excellent optical properties with manageable production costs. Including the models

• Noctilux 1: 1.0 / 50 mm
• Summilux 35mm f / 1.4
• Summilux 50 mm f / 1.4
• Summilux 75mm f / 1.4
• Summicron 50 mm f / 2.0
• Summicron 90 mm f / 2.0
• Elmarit -R 19 mm f / 2.8
• Elmarit 90 mm f / 2.8
• APO-Telyt-R 1: 3.4 / 180 mm

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  Ernst Leitz Canada Elmarit-R 19 mm f / 2.8

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  Leica Summicron-R 50 mm f / 2.0

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  Leica Summicron-R 90 mm f / 2.0

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  Leica Elmarit-R 60 mm f / 2.8

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  Apo-Telyt-R 180 mm f / 3.4

Web links

• Literature by and about Walter Mandler in the catalog of the German National Library
• US Patent office, Mandler, Walter: Four-member gauss objective (engl.)
• The Photographic Historic Society of Canada: Eulogy for Dr. Walter Mandler (PDF) (310 kB)

Footnotes

1. ^ "With Walter Kluck the optics designer Walter Mandler moved to Midland, who was only responsible for the construction of many famous Leitz lenses", Gunther Kadlebek: Leica Die Geschichte, Classic Camera Collection . Verlag Rudolf Hillebrand, p. 40.