P.Angénieux Paris 50mm, Type S5

The P. Angénieux Paris 50mm f/1.5 Type S5 is an incredibly rare vintage French prime with a classic 50mm focal length and a bright f/1.5 maximum aperture.

At 50mm, it offers a natural standard perspective, while the fast f/1.5 aperture gives plenty of flexibility in available light and allows for more control over depth of field. It's the kind of vintage glass that makes sense both as a lens to shoot with and as an interesting piece for an Angénieux or vintage camera collection.

This example features a distinctive silver/chrome finish with fully manual focus and aperture control. Its engraved focusing scale is marked in both metres and feet, with a minimum marked focusing distance of approximately 0.75m / 2.5ft, while the aperture scale runs from f/1.5 through to f/22.

Best for

• Angénieux collectors
• Vintage lens collectors
• Manual-focus photography
• Portraiture
• Available-light photography
• Lower-light shooting
• Creative photography
• Vintage optical rendering
• Period camera collections
• Adaptation to compatible modern cameras, once the mount is confirmed

What to expect

The 50mm focal length gives a familiar, natural perspective, making it useful for everything from portraits and people to general photography.

Its f/1.5 maximum aperture is particularly fast for a vintage standard prime. Beyond the extra light-gathering ability, shooting towards the wider end of the aperture range gives greater control over subject separation and depth of field.