Steinheil's short-telephoto Culminar — the 85mm f/2.8 portrait lens in Leica Thread Mount.
The Steinheil Culminar 85mm f/2.8 in Leica Thread Mount is a vintage German short-telephoto from Steinheil Munchen, made in screw mount for L39 rangefinder bodies. It is a classic post-war portrait-length lens from a maker known for its Culminar and Quinon lines, used on screw-mount and adapted bodies.
It is a manual-focus rangefinder-coupled lens with an 85mm focal length and a maximum aperture of f/2.8. As a short telephoto it couples to the rangefinder for focusing on screw-mount and adapted bodies, and the moderate aperture keeps the barrel manageable for a lens of this focal length.
The 85mm focal length is a classic portrait length, giving a flattering perspective and background separation at f/2.8. The Culminar renders with a smooth, slightly gentle look wide open that sharpens as it is stopped down, making it well suited to head-and-shoulders portraits and detail work.
As a vintage German optic, used copies should be inspected for haze, fungus, cleaning marks, coating wear and separation, plus the focus feel and aperture blades for oil. Confirm accurate rangefinder coupling and infinity focus, which matter more at this focal length. It adapts to Leica M with an LTM-to-M ring and to mirrorless cameras via an adapter.