Thypoch × Daniel Anguiano —— Seeing the World Wider: A Conversation on the Simera 21mm Introduction

Daniel Anguiano, AMC, is a Mexico City–based cinematographer whose work spans commercials, music videos, and narrative films. Having grown up between Mexico and Europe, Daniel brings a cross-cultural visual sensibility to his images, balancing precision with spontaneity. While his professional work often involves highly controlled environments, his personal practice remains deeply rooted in observation and street photography.

In this conversation, Daniel reflects on his creative mindset, his relationship with wide-angle lenses, and his experience working with the Thypoch Simera 21mm across both motion and still photography.

Background and Practice

Daniel Anguiano was born in Mexico City and grew up between Paris, France, Mexico City, and northern Mexico. He later completed both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Paris before returning to Mexico City in 2012. Since 2016, he has been working full-time as a cinematographer on commercials, music videos, short films, and feature films. In June 2025, he became an active member of the Mexican Society of Cinematographers (AMC).

When working on set, Daniel describes his mindset as one of total control. Every element within the frame must be carefully designed, from lighting and camera movement to performance and timing. Creating a single image often requires a large crew and extensive technical coordination. In contrast, when shooting for himself outside of professional sets, he experiences a sense of freedom. With no crew and no constraints, he becomes the sole author of the image. In these moments, street photography becomes his preferred form of expression, allowing him to observe life as it unfolds while still searching for cinematic composition and light.

Discovering Thypoch

Daniel first encountered Thypoch while searching for new lenses to experiment with. What immediately caught his attention was the Simera 21mm, particularly because it was initially offered only in Leica M mount, a system he exclusively uses for still photography. This detail signaled to him that the lens was worth serious consideration. The fact that Thypoch also develops cinema versions of the same optical designs further reinforced his interest, as it aligned seamlessly with his work across both photography and filmmaking.

The 21mm Perspective

For Daniel, the 21mm focal length occupies a unique position in filmmaking. Sitting between 18mm and 24mm, it provides a wide field of view without becoming overly extreme. It is especially effective for establishing shots and for working in confined spaces, allowing the camera to move close to a subject while preserving spatial context.

In still photography, the 21mm enables the capture of expansive environments while also allowing for experimentation with very close portraits. While wide-angle lenses can sometimes feel unconventional or even uncomfortable in portraiture, Daniel sees this as a characteristic to be understood and used intentionally rather than avoided.

Visual Character and Composition

Compared to his frequently used 28mm, the Simera 21mm offers a noticeably wider perspective. This allows Daniel to include more information within a single frame, resulting in images that feel more complete and narratively rich. He notes that the 21mm focal length remains relatively underused, despite its versatility.

Shooting with Leica M cameras presents its own compositional challenges. With an optical viewfinder limited to 28mm framelines, using a 21mm lens often requires estimation, external viewfinders, or composing via the rear screen on digital bodies. For Daniel, this process becomes part of the creative experience. The uncertainty of framing, combined with the knowledge that additional space exists beyond the visible frame, introduces a sense of anticipation and play.

While the Simera 21mm offers a 0.23m close-focus capability, Daniel notes that his Leica MP is limited to a 0.7m minimum focus distance. As a result, he sees close-focus wide-angle lenses as particularly well suited to cameras with electronic viewfinders, where precise framing at close distances is more practical.

Optical Performance on Film

Over the past year, Daniel has been shooting exclusively on film with his Leica MP. He particularly enjoys pairing aspherical lenses with film stocks, as the added optical precision contrasts beautifully with the organic grain structure of film. The Simera 21mm rendered exceptionally sharp and clear images, with distortion well controlled even at close distances. In his photographs, the film grain became the primary texture in the image, reinforcing a sense of clarity without sterility.

A Creative Tool

As a creative tool, Daniel describes the Simera 21mm as both familiar and enabling. The lens’s build quality and handling feel intuitive, while practical details such as depth-of-field markings are especially useful for hyperfocal shooting at apertures like F11. The de-clicked iris tab also makes the lens adaptable for video use.

Considering its price point, Daniel views the Simera 21mm as an outstanding option. In terms of rendering, it aligns closely with his Leica lenses, to the point where differences are difficult to discern. More importantly, it encourages him to move closer to his subjects and engage more directly with the spaces he photographs, opening up new creative possibilities.