Rayt
Nonplayer Character
Leica Summilux lenses of the same focal length the same era are not Summicrons with an extra stop. Their renderings are different. I shoot 21/1,4 Summilux at f1.4 at 1/2000 with M10M for a particular look.
Light Lens Lab - 35mm f1.4 Aspherical now in production
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Slumgullion
Well-known
In my mind, the point of a good fast lens is that they are usable/sharp/sharp enough/characterful at full aperture and then also look great at f/8 or f/11 (where every lens looks good). Some of the fast lenses are large...and then they become a bit more burdensome to haul around, but a good Noctilux or f/1 Nokton look so good at f/1 that the burden becomes more manageable. Lenses like the 35 lux ASPH or this Light Lens Lab offering are only marginally larger than their Cron counterpart. In hand, for me, there is basically no real difference in handling. Whether or not you like the look of more blur is one thing. Also, accepting that the failure rate is going to be higher is another.
Freakscene
Obscure member
Gorgeous. I hope you had a great trip, and that the jet lag wasn’t too bad.Lindis Pass by Jim Fischer, on Flickr
Aoraki/Mt. Coook by Jim Fischer, on Flickr
Aoraki/Mt. Coook17-Edit by Jim Fischer, on Flickr
Slumgullion
Well-known
It was a wonderful trip. I didn't want to come home.
Freakscene
Obscure member
Archiver
Veteran
For me, fast lenses are as much about the look of the image as being able to freeze or near-freeze motion in dark situations. I love the look of 35mm at f1.4 or faster. Lenses faster than f2 often have a unique or distinctive look wide open that they lose at f2, or their f2 counterparts don't have. No level of high ISO is going to produce that look.
steveyork
Well-known
I've been impressed with LLL stuff. They seem to get a bad rap on the Leica forum. Maybe I've been lucky, and I don't shoot digital, but I've had good luck with their lenses. I've had a few of their 50's come and go, nice lenses, no longer have them though, but it's only because I've picked up a few old single coated 50mm lenses and that's not a focal length I stockpile. Use their 35/2 and 28/2.8; thinking about this one too. 35 is my favored/ normal focal length.
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Slumgullion
Well-known
The LLL 35/1.4 "Aspherical" is a good step in a good direction. I contend that there are perfect (or nearly perfect) 50mm f/1.4 lenses in the market (Like the Summilux ASPH), but there aren't really any perfect fast 35's (which is a bummer for me, as it's my favorite focal length). The Voigtlander 35/1.5 checks most of the boxes, but its rendering is almost so neutral that it can border on insipid. This LLL does many of the same things that the Leica 11874 (and presumably 11873) do, but it does them without meaningful focus shift. For film shooters, this is a pretty big deal.
Still, it's not quite perfect, but it's good enough that I don't see any real need to hold on to my 11874 (other than maintaining my personal lens swamp...which, of course, is my priority).
Coronet in the Woods by Jim Fischer, on Flickr
Coronet in the Woods by Jim Fischer, on Flickr
Coronet in the Woods by Jim Fischer, on Flickr
Leica M7, Light Lens Lab 35mm f/1.4 Aspherical '11873,' Eastman-5222, Adox XT-3 1:1
Still, it's not quite perfect, but it's good enough that I don't see any real need to hold on to my 11874 (other than maintaining my personal lens swamp...which, of course, is my priority).
Coronet in the Woods by Jim Fischer, on FlickrCoronet in the Woods by Jim Fischer, on FlickrCoronet in the Woods by Jim Fischer, on FlickrLeica M7, Light Lens Lab 35mm f/1.4 Aspherical '11873,' Eastman-5222, Adox XT-3 1:1
Slumgullion
Well-known
[名玉熱戰] Light Lens Lab 35mm f1.4 Dual Aspherical & Summilux-M 35mm F1.4 AA & Summilux-M 35mm F1.4 ASPH -Part1-
35mm F1.4 스펙의 렌즈 중에 단 하나만 남겨야 한다면 언제나 저는 고민없이 Summilux-M 35mm F1.4 ASPHERICAL을 꼽아왔습니다. 두매(AA)는 두개의 비구면 렌즈 간의 화질 문제로 불량 판정을 받아 일부 배치가 리콜되었는데 이 때 몇개의 개체가 돌아왔는지 알려져 있지 않기 때문에 현재 얼마나 존재하는지, 그 중에 또 얼마나 좋은 개체가 남아있는지 모호한 상황이라고 하죠. 좋은 개체를 기준으로 전구간에서 FLE구조가 없음에도 불구하고 고른 화질과 매끄러운 묘사를 보여주는 두매는 이런 비하인드...
gigantoptik.com
A nice write up that compares the LLL to the 11873 and 11874 with images to show similarities and differences in performance.
rfaspen
[insert pithy phrase here]
I'm fairly content with my CV 35/1.4 but I see the attraction to this lens. Especially if you don't already have a pre-asph summilux or CV 35/1.4 in your lens swamp 😎. Agree with the comments that there is a quality to faster lenses...and I like it. Of course I have slower lenses too that I like. The joys of having a lens swamp.
steveyork
Well-known
Most asphericals I've used are too sharp and contrasty, too clinical, too abrupt in transitions for my B&W tastes, but this one seems to be a notch tempered. Great photos by the way; good scans and nice light. Makes me want to go roll up that 100' of XX I have in the fridge and go tramping in the woods.The LLL 35/1.4 "Aspherical" is a good step in a good direction. I contend that there are perfect (or nearly perfect) 50mm f/1.4 lenses in the market (Like the Summilux ASPH), but there aren't really any perfect fast 35's (which is a bummer for me, as it's my favorite focal length). The Voigtlander 35/1.5 checks most of the boxes, but its rendering is almost so neutral that it can border on insipid. This LLL does many of the same things that the Leica 11874 (and presumably 11873) do, but it does them without meaningful focus shift. For film shooters, this is a pretty big deal.
Still, it's not quite perfect, but it's good enough that I don't see any real need to hold on to my 11874 (other than maintaining my personal lens swamp...which, of course, is my priority).
Leica M7, Light Lens Lab 35mm f/1.4 Aspherical '11873,' Eastman-5222, Adox XT-3 1:1
Slumgullion
Well-known
I know lots of people love their pre-aspherical lux, but the look at 1.4 is impressionistic (perhaps too impressionistic for my taste...especially at the price point). I've seen many competent photographic examples on this message board from Erik, but most images taken with that lens at full aperture look wonky to me. It's like f/1.4 was more of a break-in-case-of-emergency option than a genuinely usable stop. The Voigtlander 35/1.4. For the price (especially used), is a better choice (for me). I love my V1 SC. It's totally usable at full aperture. I'd love it if Cosina made a V3 with bigger finger tab (I am happy to see that all of their post-2020 lenses that have tabs all include their new style bigger tab) and with less geometric distortion. But yeah, that's kinda the deal....lots of good 35/1.4's, but none that are perfect. The Zeiss Distagon is close, but its just too big. The newest 35 Lux is expensive and the rendering is a bit rough for my taste. The first FLE still has focus shift. The 11874 has an incredible amount of focus shift. The Voigt 35/1.5 is almost perfect. The LLL 35/1.4 is pretty damn good. I'd say the biggest drawback is that its flare resistance is noticeably worse than my other fast 35's. Sneaky veiling flare finds its way into photos that other lenses would handle without issue...
Coronet in the Woods by Jim Fischer, on Flickr
Coronet in the Woods by Jim Fischer, on Flickr
Couple on Burnside by Jim Fischer, on FlickrLeica M7, Light Lens Lab 35mm f/1.4 '11873,' Eastman-5222, Adox XT-3 1:1
Freakscene
Obscure member
These and the previous lot are tremendous @Slumgullion. The Leica double aspherical also has some weird flare things that creep in; LLL did a very good job of copying it. I like the Zeiss 35/1.4 best, but my Summiluxes got me used to big lenses.I know lots of people love their pre-aspherical lux, but the look at 1.4 is impressionistic (perhaps too impressionistic for my taste...especially at the price point). I've seen many competent photographic examples on this message board from Erik, but most images taken with that lens at full aperture look wonky to me. It's like f/1.4 was more of a break-in-case-of-emergency option than a genuinely usable stop. The Voigtlander 35/1.4. For the price (especially used), is a better choice (for me). I love my V1 SC. It's totally usable at full aperture. I'd love it if Cosina made a V3 with bigger finger tab (I am happy to see that all of their post-2020 lenses that have tabs all include their new style bigger tab) and with less geometric distortion. But yeah, that's kinda the deal....lots of good 35/1.4's, but none that are perfect. The Zeiss Distagon is close, but its just too big. The newest 35 Lux is expensive and the rendering is a bit rough for my taste. The first FLE still has focus shift. The 11874 has an incredible amount of focus shift. The Voigt 35/1.5 is almost perfect. The LLL 35/1.4 is pretty damn good. I'd say the biggest drawback is that its flare resistance is noticeably worse than my other fast 35's. Sneaky veiling flare finds its way into photos that other lenses would handle without issue...
Leica M7, Light Lens Lab 35mm f/1.4 '11873,' Eastman-5222, Adox XT-3 1:1
Slumgullion
Well-known
Budding Romance by Jim Fischer, on Flickr
Selfie by Jim Fischer, on Flickr
Jenny by Jim Fischer, on FlickrZeiss Ikon ZM, Light Lens Lab 35mm f/1.4 '11873,' Eastman-5222, Rodinal 1:50
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