Officine Galileo

Officine Galileo is the crown jewel of the Italian optical industry. Often described as the "Italian Zeiss," this Florentine company was a massive military and industrial contractor that dabbled in high-end consumer photography for a brief, brilliant period after WWII.

For the Leica M-mount and LTM collector, Officine Galileo is a "grail" brand. They produced a tiny number of interchangeable lenses in the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily to accompany domestic Italian Leica copies like the Gamma, Sonne, and Kristall. These lenses are practically nonexistent in the wild, mechanically exquisite, and offer a glimpse into a timeline where Italy challenged Germany for optical dominance.

History

Officine Galileo's story is one of high-precision engineering applied to the wrong market at the wrong time.

The Scientific Pedigree (1864–1945)

Founded in 1864 in Florence by astronomer Giovanni Battista Donati, the company spent its first 80 years making telescope optics, submarine periscopes, and aerial sights for the Italian military. When they finally made a 50mm camera lens in 1947, they weren't a startup copying Leica; they were a century-old defense contractor applying military-grade engineering to consumer goods.

The "Italian Leica" Boom (1947 to 1954)

After WWII, Italy's industrial base pivoted to civilian products. Several workshops (like Gamma in Rome) began producing high-quality copies of the Leica III.

• The "OG" Role: While Gamma built the bodies, Officine Galileo supplied the glass.
• The Nomenclature: Their lens names are logical codes based on element count: Tesog (Tessar/Four), Esaog (Hexa/Six), Eptamitar (Hepta/Seven).
• The End: By 1954, the Italian camera industry collapsed under pressure from Japanese pricing and German recovery. Officine Galileo returned to military and industrial optics, leaving these few thousand lenses as rare artifacts.

Product Lines (LTM Native)

Officine Galileo lenses are instantly recognizable by their heavy chrome-on-brass construction and distinct "sculpted" knurling.

The Esaog 5cm (50mm) f/2

The flagship standard lens.

• Name: Derived from Esas (Six) + OG.
• Optics: A 6-element Double-Gauss design.
• Rendering: It is famous for a "static" and highly resolved look. Unlike the swirling bokeh of a Summitar, the Esaog strives for a flatter field. The coatings are often a distinct pale blue, different from the deep purples of Zeiss or the golden hues of Leitz.
• Rarity: Extremely high. Usually found attached to a Gamma camera; finding one loose is a major event.

The Tesog 5cm f/3.5 & 3.5cm f/4.5

The entry-level and wide-angle options.

• Name: Tessar + OG.
• Design: These are collapsible 4-element Tessar clones. They are mechanically dense—heavy brass encased in satin chrome.
• The Wide: The Tesog 3.5cm f/4.5 is a tiny pancake lens. It is often cited as one of the sharpest wide-angle LTM lenses of the early 1950s, rivaling the Nikon 3.5cm.

The Eptamitar 5cm f/2

The "Unicorn."

• Name: Epta (Seven) + Mitar.
• Design: A complex 7-element design intended to outperform the Leica Summitar. It is vanishingly rare, with only a handful of known copies surfacing in auctions over the last decade.

The Ogmar 9cm (90mm) f/4

The telephoto.

• Name: OG + Elmar.
• Design: A direct copy of the Leitz Elmar 90mm f/4.
• Finish: These lenses often feature a beautiful "frosted" chrome finish that resists corrosion significantly better than French or Russian contemporaries.

Technical Specifications

Feature	Specification Details
Native Mount	LTM (Leica Thread Mount)
Focus Coupling	Coupled. (Standard rangefinder coupling).
Build Materials	Solid Brass with high-grade Italian Chrome plating.
Markings	"Officine Galileo" or "O.G.". Lens names end in -og or -mitar.
Coatings	Single Coated. distinctive light blue/cyan hue.
Filter Thread	Varies. The Esaog 5cm often uses 42mm slip-on (A42).
Compatibility	Fully compatible with Barnack Leicas and M-bodies (via adapter).

Why Photographers Choose Officine Galileo

• The "Italian Style": There is a sculptural quality to these lenses. The knurling is deeper and more stylized than the rigid utilitarianism of German lenses. They look stunning on chrome bodies like the Leica IIIf or M3.
• The "Gamma" Completist: A Gamma camera without a Galileo lens is considered "incomplete" by serious collectors. The value of the camera body doubles if it has the matching "OG" glass.
• Investment Stability: Because production numbers were in the hundreds (rather than thousands), these lenses are immune to market fluctuations. A clean Esaog 5cm is a "blue chip" collectible that rarely loses value.

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Sources

• [1] Museo Galileo (Company Archives): https://exhibits.museogalileo.it/officinegalileo/
• [2] CameraQuest (Italian Leica Copies): https://cameraquest.com/classics.htm
• [3] Novacon (Gamma & Sonne History): http://www.novacon.com.br/odditycameras/gamma.htm