Duofold RF
Well-known
Voigtländer, TTArtisan, and Thypoch deliver great quality for the money. LLL, on the other hand, charges a big premium mainly for that ‘Leica replica’ aesthetic.
My two cents — like it or leave it.
The Mandler 35mm f2
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Voigtländer, TTArtisan, and Thypoch deliver great quality for the money. LLL, on the other hand, charges a big premium mainly for that ‘Leica replica’ aesthetic.
My two cents — like it or leave it.
Duofold RF
Well-known
Made in China Lenses are not all junk, The Artisans and Thypoch lenses are excellent quality.
Duofold RF
Well-known
Whether the LLL collapsible Summicron 35mm is truly innovative or not depends on how you look at it. It basically follows the collapsible Elmer lens design. For a compact 35mm lens, do you really need a collapsible mount? The aperture ring/index is placed on the lens hood - the lens plus hood is not that small compared to rigid form, and the sloping focus cam used on different LTM bodies is notoriously unforgiving — even a tiny positioning error can cause misfocus at the film plane. I suspect that’s exactly why LLL only made one production run and then quietly dropped it.
I’d encourage you to pull out your real first-version Leica Summicron 35mm f/2 and actually shoot with it, otherwise you’re just the temporary caretaker, and it’ll end up being donated to Goodwill by your kids. After all, these lenses were not that expensive. I bought all four versions of the Summicron 35mm f/2 (V1–V4) back in the day for only $500–$700 each.
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Duofold RF
Well-known
Photographer Finds $2,000 Leica Camera for $10 at Thrift Store
A thrift store deal of a lifetime.
petapixel.com
Duofold RF
Well-known
The Rise and Fall of Replica Leica Lenses
—A story pieced together from scattered internet threads
The Chinese replica lens scene works very differently from the Western Kickstarter model. It all begins in closed WeChat groups—China’s version of private Facebook groups. You either know someone on the inside or get invited by scanning a QR code. No public campaign page, no Indiegogo link—just trust and connections.
The man who started it all is from Sichuan province, home to fiery Sichuan cuisine and, more importantly, one of China’s oldest optical factories (the same plant that once made the Pearl River SLR). Today these state-owned or half-private factories will happily take almost any order as long as you meet their minimum run—usually a few hundred pieces. (Another replica group, for example, used the Jiangxi Optical Factory for their lenses.)
After the WeChat group grew large enough, people started throwing in money. One participant suggested naming the first project, a 35mm f/2 clone of the legendary 7-element Summicron, “Solaron”—“Sol” for sun/light + the end of “Summicron.” The name stuck, and Solaron was born.
After several prototypes and delays, the final lenses were delivered. From a distance they were indistinguishable from the real “King of Bokeh.” You could even buy genuine-looking Leica-style aperture rings separately. Mount one of those, and you could fool just about anyone—especially the kind of collector who only looks at gear instead of using it.
Success bred ambition. The group immediately started a second project: a replica of the famous Leica 50mm f/1.4 with the E43 filter thread. Everyone was hyped—another dream lens that most of them could never afford. Money was collected fast.
Then… nothing. Months of silence. Eventually the organizer refunded everyone and announced the project was dead. Rumors exploded: some said he had gambled the funds on the stock market, others were just relieved to get their money back—unlike the countless P2P lending scams where the boss disappears to somewhere with the cash.
The blueprints didn’t die, though. They were handed over to a new player who named the lens after the famous Leica designer Walter Mandler. The reborn replica came in a box that shamelessly copied Leica’s packaging, with the name “SUMMI-CRON M” (the classic knock-off trick: change one or two letters to dodge trademark lawsuits—think “POMA” sweater instead of Puma).
Today you can buy a “Mandler” 35mm f/2 from Southeast Asian sellers for as little as US$365, and some claim the domestic Chinese price is closer to $200. That rock-bottom pricing tells you everything about how cheap these lenses are to manufacture.
Meanwhile, the market has split in two directions:
Some brands (like 7Artisans or TTArtisan/Thypoch) went to legit, selling original designs at prices that compete with Japanese makers.
The pure replica makers took the opposite path: get a shout-out from a famous Leica influencer, slap on words like “limited,” “collectible,” or “heritage,” and mark the same lens up to $1,000–$1,700—still a fraction of a real vintage Summicron, but with fat margins.
From WeChat group buys at cost to “endorsed” shelf queens sold for X times the production price—that, in a nutshell, is the short and dramatic saga of the Chinese Leica replica lens scene.
—A story pieced together from scattered internet threads
The Chinese replica lens scene works very differently from the Western Kickstarter model. It all begins in closed WeChat groups—China’s version of private Facebook groups. You either know someone on the inside or get invited by scanning a QR code. No public campaign page, no Indiegogo link—just trust and connections.
The man who started it all is from Sichuan province, home to fiery Sichuan cuisine and, more importantly, one of China’s oldest optical factories (the same plant that once made the Pearl River SLR). Today these state-owned or half-private factories will happily take almost any order as long as you meet their minimum run—usually a few hundred pieces. (Another replica group, for example, used the Jiangxi Optical Factory for their lenses.)
After the WeChat group grew large enough, people started throwing in money. One participant suggested naming the first project, a 35mm f/2 clone of the legendary 7-element Summicron, “Solaron”—“Sol” for sun/light + the end of “Summicron.” The name stuck, and Solaron was born.
After several prototypes and delays, the final lenses were delivered. From a distance they were indistinguishable from the real “King of Bokeh.” You could even buy genuine-looking Leica-style aperture rings separately. Mount one of those, and you could fool just about anyone—especially the kind of collector who only looks at gear instead of using it.
Success bred ambition. The group immediately started a second project: a replica of the famous Leica 50mm f/1.4 with the E43 filter thread. Everyone was hyped—another dream lens that most of them could never afford. Money was collected fast.
Then… nothing. Months of silence. Eventually the organizer refunded everyone and announced the project was dead. Rumors exploded: some said he had gambled the funds on the stock market, others were just relieved to get their money back—unlike the countless P2P lending scams where the boss disappears to somewhere with the cash.
The blueprints didn’t die, though. They were handed over to a new player who named the lens after the famous Leica designer Walter Mandler. The reborn replica came in a box that shamelessly copied Leica’s packaging, with the name “SUMMI-CRON M” (the classic knock-off trick: change one or two letters to dodge trademark lawsuits—think “POMA” sweater instead of Puma).
Today you can buy a “Mandler” 35mm f/2 from Southeast Asian sellers for as little as US$365, and some claim the domestic Chinese price is closer to $200. That rock-bottom pricing tells you everything about how cheap these lenses are to manufacture.
Meanwhile, the market has split in two directions:
Some brands (like 7Artisans or TTArtisan/Thypoch) went to legit, selling original designs at prices that compete with Japanese makers.
The pure replica makers took the opposite path: get a shout-out from a famous Leica influencer, slap on words like “limited,” “collectible,” or “heritage,” and mark the same lens up to $1,000–$1,700—still a fraction of a real vintage Summicron, but with fat margins.
From WeChat group buys at cost to “endorsed” shelf queens sold for X times the production price—that, in a nutshell, is the short and dramatic saga of the Chinese Leica replica lens scene.
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yossi
Well-known
Thanks to the insider (a very bitter one seemingly), otherwise we wouldn't know about such 'interesting' story of Leica clones from PRC.😉
Whatever the PRC clone lens makers are doing is no worse than this don't you think?
Whatever the PRC clone lens makers are doing is no worse than this don't you think?
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Duofold RF
Well-known
WoodallP
Pragmatist Barnack lover
Duofold RF
Well-known
👍 you do have Singapore/ Hong Kong elite white collar humor 😄. PRC has outperformed comrade Ruski in term of manufacture / replica quality.
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Duofold RF
Well-known
This guy is a well-known Hong Kong blogger famous for testing tons of lenses, with that sharp, elitist, white-collar Hong Kong sense of humor. Here’s a screenshot from his review of a 50mm f/1.5 lens: it sells domestically for under $600 USD but goes for around $1,100 overseas—the official website lists the same price worldwide. Not sure if this is because of stricter QA for export units or, as the blogger bluntly (and rather un-PC) put it, “overseas buyers are rich, even do not care (about higher price).”
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Slumgullion
Well-known
It's not that overseas buyers don't care about the higher price, it's that most of us don't speak/write Mandarin and are probably more than a little shy about buying a lens using Google translate from a vender where (worst case scenario) the return/refund process is potentially challenging. This leaves us with buying from available/trusted sources using the lingua franca...paying a higher price.
Count yourself lucky - you seem to speak Chinese! Celebrate that you bought Leica lenses when they were less expensive! Show us some of your photos - we'd love to see what you can do with that prestigious glass.
Duofold RF
Well-known
Good point! I’m here to share a few thoughts and bits of info.
Photography is purely a hobby for me, not my profession. I work in a highly regulated field where privacy is taken very seriously, and having seen the chaos and bullying that can erupt online, I’ve become quite cautious—I simply don’t post photos publicly on the open internet.
As for my skill level? The only thing I’ve ever won was a local photo contest, which netted me a grand total of $300… which I promptly donated to a local charity. 😄
yossi
Well-known
No, you appear to me to be trolling here, and have an axe to grind with LLL.
Duofold RF
Well-known
My two cents — like it or leave it.
yossi
Well-known
Self reminder:
“Trolls do what they do to get attention. Deny them attention and they have no reason to exist.
Don’t feed the trolls. “ 😁
“Trolls do what they do to get attention. Deny them attention and they have no reason to exist.
Don’t feed the trolls. “ 😁
Duofold RF
Well-known
I’ve never been a fan of replica lenses—doesn’t matter if they’re labeled Solaron, LLL, or anything else. I only buy lenses I actually enjoy using. I don’t collect for prestige or investment—stocks have always given me far better returns than parking money in Leica glass ever could.
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Duofold RF
Well-known
In my many years of doing business with partners across East and Southeast Asia, I’ve noticed that buyers from a few specific regions sometimes create accounts, remain completely inactive, and then suddenly leave negative feedback (often without ever having purchased or communicated). Unfortunately, user “mgscheue” appears to fit that exact pattern.
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aw614
Well-known
So you should feel the same about Nikon 5cm F2 and F1.5 lenses too as sonnar "knockoffs? And the various Japanese barnacks? or do you just have something against mainland China only?
Archiver
Veteran
@Duofold RF Thank you for that breakdown and explanation of the Chinese homage lens scene, very interesting. It reminds me a little of the Veydra/Meike connection. Back in the 2010s, micro four thirds cameras like the GH4 were very popular with low budget owner operators for video, and Veydra created a series of native m43 cinema primes. Reportedly, they were excellent quality in build and optics, and manufactured in China.
Aggravatingly, there was a break in at their warehouse and their entire inventory was stolen, tens of thousands of dollars worth of lenses. They folded shortly after.
But what happened later was unexpected. The company Meike came on to the scene with lenses very similar to Veydra lenses with apparently better optical quality, and at lower prices. It appears that the Chinese fabricator used the optical designs and improved quality control.
thecinelens.com
www.provideocoalition.com
Aggravatingly, there was a break in at their warehouse and their entire inventory was stolen, tens of thousands of dollars worth of lenses. They folded shortly after.
But what happened later was unexpected. The company Meike came on to the scene with lenses very similar to Veydra lenses with apparently better optical quality, and at lower prices. It appears that the Chinese fabricator used the optical designs and improved quality control.
RIP Veydra: 2014-2019
Veydra was a startup lens company with a solid idea that met its demise far too soon. As is the case with any ambitious idea with a lot of potential, there were curves and pitfalls that couldn’t be…
thecinelens.com
It's true: Meikes are Veydras by Adam Wilt - ProVideo Coalition
[Updated 2020.07.20 — Ryan Avery’s updates about current Meike quality and new focal lengths.] There have long been rumors that Hong Kong based Meike’s manual focus cine lenses are Veydras reborn — and with Veydra sadly defunct, the Meikes are especially interesting. Meike advertised the same...
www.provideocoalition.com
Duofold RF
Well-known
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