Artralab has given its impossibly slim 28mm f/2.8 M-mount lens a rather handsome glow-up, with the full-frame Leica M-mount optic now available in two new finishes: glossy black paint and brass.
On paper, the Artralab 28mm f/2.8 Φ28 already sounded like the kind of lens that would make rangefinder users pay attention. It packs three optical groups and nine glass elements into a body measuring just 1.3cm thick, which is frankly absurd when you consider this is a full-frame 28mm lens designed for Leica M-mount cameras.
For anyone who loves the stripped-back joy of carrying a small camera with a tiny lens, this is exactly the kind of thing that makes the heart beat a little faster.
Of course, small lenses are nothing new in the M-mount world, but Artralab appears to be leaning hard into the idea that compact does not have to mean compromised.
The company is positioning this as an ultra-slim everyday lens for street photography, travel, café hopping, and urban exploration, with the kind of pocketable form factor that makes a Leica-style setup feel even more discreet and ready for anything.
Despite its wafer-thin design, the lens remains 28mm filter-compatible and offers a minimum focusing distance of 0.3m, which should make it more versatile than its tiny proportions suggest.
That closer focusing ability is particularly interesting, as it gives photographers the chance to push beyond simple daily snapshots and bring a little more separation, intimacy, and creative bokeh into close-up scenes.
The new glossy black paint and brass finishes only add to the appeal, especially for those who see their cameras as objects of beauty as much as tools for making pictures.
A slim 28mm lens already feels like a natural partner for an M-mount body, but dress it in black paint or brass, and suddenly it becomes something with a little more soul, a little more presence, and perhaps even a little more danger to the wallet.
