boojum
Ignoble Miscreant
The LLL remake/retro of the S21, now their "Z21" has a sale date announced. For retro lens fans this should be good news.
lightlenslab.com
ADMIN
it will be available from Popflash.com in the US
Tony should have it up soon on his cart.
Light Lens Lab 50mm f/1.5 "Z21" Now Available
We are excited to announce that the Light Lens Lab 50mm f/1.5 "Z21" is now available for order!
lightlenslab.com
ADMIN
it will be available from Popflash.com in the US
Tony should have it up soon on his cart.
Miles.
Beamsplitter
Looks like it covers the X2D sensor, Boojum....
WoodallP
Pragmatist Barnack lover
I’ll probably kick myself but what is an S21 lens? 50mm f1.5 says various things but S21 doesn’t. In this case Google is not my friend as apparently an S21 is a Samsung phone. I hang my head in shame!
Miles.
Beamsplitter
Angénieux made the S21 50mm f1.5 in the 1950s. Made for Exakta, Rectaflex, M42 and LTM. An original in Exakta mount is $7,000+ and LTM is $20,000+ in good condition.
boojum
Ignoble Miscreant
LLL makes some very nice retro reproductions. And they go after the plums, like the Elcan. I got one and it is a very nice lens. Chinese lens work is world class. They know what they are doing. If they can make camera glass they can make military glass of equal quality.
boojum
Ignoble Miscreant
Yes, I caught that.
Duofold RF
Well-known
LLL is a one-man operation Chinese Co that produces imitations or replicas or knock off of rare, expensive items to serve a niche market. Similar to the high-quality knock-off Rolex watches or Louis Vuitton bags available in New York City, these products offer impressive craftsmanship and can give the wearer a sense of satisfaction—despite not being genuine.
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boojum
Ignoble Miscreant
The question is what difference is there is use between the S21 and the Z21? The Elcan has been tested to be quite nice, equal, to the original. I believe that the rights to these lenses have lapsed, the design. Here is a link to one Osborne test of the Elcan.
Others have tested the Elcan and liked it a lot. And case in point, the original is no longer being made and has not been in a long time. So there seems no harm, no foul as with counterfeit handbags and watches and it does offer classic really interesting lenses to a broader group of people. A Z21 for 1/20th the price of the S21 seems a no-brainer to me. As always, YMMV.
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dexdog
Veteran
I had to do internet search to figure out what the S21 was, would never have thought of P. Angenieux. Looked at the photos on LLL site, found it difficult to make it past the pics of the model! Looks to have a pleasing, if somewhat soft, rendering wide open, reminds me a bit of the LLL SPII. Wow, these LLL lenses are really going up in price.
The lens to compare with this one is a 50/1.5 Summarit.
dexdog
Veteran
Swirlies and everything? Or am I thinking of the Summitar?
WoodallP
Pragmatist Barnack lover
Thanks but I don’t quite remember asking what LLL was; I know them to be a high class purveyor of retro lens reproductions that are on a par with the originals and sometimes even better. Made in quite small quantities for discerning customers. If I would criticise them for one thing it is that they seem to have dropped LTM.
My question related to the S21!
WoodallP
Pragmatist Barnack lover
Thanks Miles, you gave me EXACTLY the information I required.
Coldkennels
Barnack-toting Brit.
Looks a little too soft and glowy for me... and this is from the guy who is obsessed with the Summar.
Definitely full of charm, but not for me. I do like the design of the barrel, though. Very traditional.
I hope they're still going to be making LTM versions of lenses moving forward... I was talking with one of their reps on Reddit a while back and I seem to recall an LTM version of one of the Speed Panchros being talked about, but it never seems to have surfaced. The regular 35mm f/2 has been out of stock in LTM for ages, too. I was on the fence about one of those about this time last year and it went out of stock before I finally pushed the button on it.
Definitely full of charm, but not for me. I do like the design of the barrel, though. Very traditional.
I hope they're still going to be making LTM versions of lenses moving forward... I was talking with one of their reps on Reddit a while back and I seem to recall an LTM version of one of the Speed Panchros being talked about, but it never seems to have surfaced. The regular 35mm f/2 has been out of stock in LTM for ages, too. I was on the fence about one of those about this time last year and it went out of stock before I finally pushed the button on it.
