[New test photos released] Leica Summicron 35/2 Eight Element copy made in China

[valdas]

ORWO DN21 in Xtol stock:

 

[valdas]

And some "bokeh and glow” testing... (Orwo DN21):

 

[teddy]

ORWO DN21 in Xtol stock:

Just WOW! Love Orwo film - classic rendering!

 

[D&A]

Very much agree with Teddy. That 1st pic is simply lovely valdas.

Dave (D&A)

 

[valdas]

Thanks guys. DN21 is a duplicating film, Lomography sells it as Babylon 13. I am still new to it, but I bought a bit more than 100 meters (in bulk) so I can allow myself to experiment a lot, the price was around 2€ if converted per roll.

 

[froyd]

I only had two frames left of a roll of Foma to test the 8Elements replica when it first arrived and I've been eager to test the lens more...I'm a slow photographer, but I finally got around to develop and scan my first two rolls fully shot with the LLL lens. This time I was using Double X, which I think enhances the tonality of this lower-contrast lens.

I'm very pleased with the way the lens performed. It was a joy to handle ergonomically, and the results pleased me. unfortunately I had a development SNAFU where I dropped the strips of wet film on the bathroom floor right as I was preparing to hang them to dry. In a moment of temporary insanity, instead of rewashing them, I just finger squeegeed them and walked away = mondo dried-on dust specs, dog hair, and scratches galore. ...so if you can look past THAT, here are some shots to share with you.

Do single-coated, hoodless lenses flare in the woods? yes, they do!

5222 Roll A 020-positive.jpg by kafe-pic

Not a surprise here, but wanted to confirm for myself what to expect when shooting into the sun. Normally I'd hide the orb of the sun behind my subject in a contre-jour, and I'm sure the lens would fare better in that scenario.

In terms of contrast and ability to show good tonal range I was fairly pleased. The first image is the flat scan inverted by NPL using the Linear + Gamma rendering. The second shows the same image after a few steps toward where I'd try to take it via LR.

5222 August roll B 0016-2.jpg by kafe-pic 5222 August roll B 0016.jpg by kafe-pic

F2 in the shade... could be sharper, but I'm blaming technique not the lens

Surprise, surprise, it's sharper at f8...never seen any lens do that 😛

5222 August roll B 0022.jpg by kafe-pic


Saw several frames with significant highlight glow, and others where it was fairly restrained.

5222 August roll B 0007.jpg by kafe-pic

A few in the fog

5222 August roll B 0002.jpg by kafe-pic

5222 August roll B 0003.jpg by kafe-pic

F2 outdoor
5222 Roll A 006-positive.jpg by kafe-pic

F8 outdoor
5222 Roll A 022-positive.jpg by kafe-pic

What's a test without a brick wall? Do I see some pincushion effect? Gotta try again with a better brick wall.

5222 August roll B 0024.jpg by kafe-pic

Sorry for the long post, just excited to share the results from this great lens!

 

[teddy]

froyd, all your photos are really pleasant to look at. My favourite is the Three Ladies. Really lovely work here.

 

[f.hayek]

XX is quite an interesting film! Very old-style rendering. Goes well with this lens. Does the original handle incident light the same way?

 

[JohnnyRocket]

Is it still possible to contact Kevin? I have sent an email, and tried DM(which will not be sent because his inbox is full...) but got no answer. It's been a few weeks now...

 

[D&A]

My favorites froyd are the image with the three ladies and what looks like a older school or farm house shrouded in fog. Nicely done!

Dave (D&A)

 

[jmanivelle]

Au Père Lachaise by JM__, on Flickr


Au Père Lachaise by JM__, on Flickr

8 elements replica on M3 with Acros 100

 

[kiemchacsu]

Well, I finally get my first roll shot with the replica developed.
I like how it renders, the muted color and sharpness.



2009_M2_LLL8E_fuji200_15 by Trung Nguyen, on Flickr

 

[rscheffler]

I got the call up this morning and paid for mine. Black paint, single-coated. Filled out the form on Dec. 10th, paid Sept. 18th.

FWIW, I too got the ping from Kevin on the 18th for the same - black paint single coated.

 

[jmanivelle]

Some more shots taken recently on Acros 100 with a BP version of the 8 element replica:


Au Père Lachaise by JM__, on Flickr


Au Père Lachaise by JM__, on Flickr


Au Père Lachaise by JM__, on Flickr


Au Père Lachaise by JM__, on Flickr


Best,
JM.

 

[froyd]

Keeping with the cemetery theme, here are a few more picture of the LLL 8 Elements and Kodak Double X combo. I really liked the rendering of this pairing.

Wide open.

 

[mteresko]

Here are some shots with the LLL 35/2 with an M5 on Silvermax 100 developed in Silvermax.

200927.2-05 by Michael Teresko, on Flickr


200927.2-32 by Michael Teresko, on Flickr


200927.2-34 by Michael Teresko, on Flickr

 

[rscheffler]

Stumbled across a write up about the replica on a Japanese blog. Here's the original.

 

[kiemchacsu]

Stumbled across a write up about the replica on a Japanese blog. Here's the original.

thanks for the link even though i have to get help from google translate.

while i am very impressed with the build quality of the "replica" and its optical performance, suddenly i come up with a question if the optical quality could be degraded after few years?
i am quite sure that this degradation has happened with some modern nikon and canon lenses. just wondering if we could know how durable the optics is.

 

[jonmanjiro]

suddenly i come up with a question if the optical quality could be degraded after few years?
i am quite sure that this degradation has happened with some modern nikon and canon lenses.

what kind of optical degradation do you mean? i don't personally know of any optical degradation issues with modern lenses that are directly caused by the materials used in the lens. do you know of something?

just wondering if we could know how durable the optics is.

only time will tell us the answer to that question, i think.

 

[Erik van Straten]

LeicaMP/LLL35mmf/2/TMY400/IlfordMGFB

Erik.