catacore wrote:
Not sure if this is the appropriate thread to post this, but it still is about LLL products. I am looking to buy an external viewfinder for my newly acquired M3, and I have just found the LLL 35mm viewfinder "WEISU" thing. Is anybody here who has used it and has any opinion about it? Are there any better alternatives around the same price point. I was tempted, initially, by the Voigtlander 28/35 mini finder, but it is very pricey. I do value small size, otherwise I could have opted for a SLR in the first place.
Reviews I saw were mixed. I had one, and I didn't have an issue with it, the finder was bright, but no parallax correction and some distortion at the edges. I want to say its a step up from the cheap plastic viewfinders, but I broke it though when it got stuck in a cold shoe on one of my film cameras (I am finding out between my film cameras some cold shoes are tighter or looser than others, and the glass cracked trying to force it out.
I ended up winning a Canon 35mm viewfinder on ebay for a bit less so I've been using that instead, but have considering buying another one.
A week, or so, ago LLL teased another image of a user with the 35/1.4 AA mounted on their camera. I am really excited to see interesting sample photos from this lens. They now have four 50's released (sure, two of four are cosmetic redesigns of the SPII) with the fifth coming soon and the 50/1.5 in the prototype stage. This is great and exciting...but please, no more 50's...for a bit.
With that said, I really like their 'Elcan' and the '1966.'
They say they'll be getting a limited supply this time, hence the preorder pages requiring full payment up front. You can also email them to get put on the list to be contacted when they're in stock in case you're in no hurry to get one.
They say they'll be getting a limited supply this time, hence the preorder pages requiring full payment up front. You can also email them to get put on the list to be contacted when they're in stock in case you're in no hurry to get one.
I picked up a LLL 35mm f/2 Summicron 8-Element Stainless Steel lens from the buy and sell board. I had forgotten how much I love this lens. Took it for a stroll last night and it was fantastic. Love the rendering wide open with all the coma, outlining, astigmatism, flare and field curvature.
Here are a few images:
LEICA M10-RSummicron-M 1:2/35 lens35mmf/1.01/60s200 ISO0.0 EV
LEICA M10-RSummicron-M 1:2/35 lens35mmf/1.71/30s1250 ISO0.0 EV
LEICA M10-RSummicron-M 1:2/35 lens35mmf/1.01/30s100 ISO0.0 EV
LEICA M10-RSummicron-M 1:2/35 lens35mmf/1.21/60s6400 ISO0.0 EV
LEICA M10-RSummicron-M 1:2/35 lens35mmf/1.01/1500s6400 ISO0.0 EV
LEICA M10-RSummicron-M 1:2/35 lens35mmf/1.01/45s1600 ISO0.0 EV
Fred Miranda wrote:
I picked up a LLL 35mm f/2 Summicron 8-Element Stainless Steel lens from the buy and sell board. I had forgotten how much I love this lens. Took it for a stroll last night and it was fantastic. Love the rendering wide open with all the coma, outlining, astigmatism, flare and field curvature.
Here are a few images:
These look great! The LLL 35 8E might be my favorite f/2 lens of all time – one of the few lenses I've been tempted to own in multiple versions. Currently I have the Safari one, but I want to repurchase the collapsable since it does 0.5m MFD and offers a completely different handling and focusing experience.
highdesertmesa wrote:
These look great! The LLL 35 8E might be my favorite f/2 lens of all time – one of the few lenses I've been tempted to own in multiple versions. Currently I have the Safari one, but I want to repurchase the collapsable since it does 0.5m MFD and offers a completely different handling and focusing experience.
Initially, I had some issues with adjustment tolerance for the 8 Element, where my copies were neither well-centered nor aligned with the RF. However, this one is absolutely perfect. I'm not sure if they pay more attention to special editions or if LLL tightened things up, but I'm thrilled with this copy.
Fred Miranda wrote:
Initially, I had some issues with adjustment tolerance for the 8 Element, where my copies were neither well-centered nor aligned with the RF. However, this one is absolutely perfect. I'm not sure if they pay more attention to special editions or if LLL tightened things up, but I'm thrilled with this copy.
I had the exact same experience – previous copies of the regular version that were either decentered or not focusing correctly with the rangefinder. However, the collapsable version I bought around the same time was centered and focused correctly.
Does yours align the rangefinder patch perfectly at the infinity hard stop? My current one stops just slightly short of alignment at the hard stop, but infinity focus is correct.
Fred Miranda wrote:
I picked up a LLL 35mm f/2 Summicron 8-Element Stainless Steel lens from the buy and sell board. I had forgotten how much I love this lens. Took it for a stroll last night and it was fantastic. Love the rendering wide open with all the coma, outlining, astigmatism, flare and field curvature.
Here are a few images:
Supposedly the stainless steel version of the 35 8E is the only one that is optimized for film. It was tweaked to be the closest in rendering to the original 8E. The rest of the editions are optimized for digital...so not surprising you are seeing a slight difference with this copy
highdesertmesa wrote:
I had the exact same experience – previous copies of the regular version that were either decentered or not focusing correctly with the rangefinder. However, the collapsable version I bought around the same time was centered and focused correctly.
Does yours align the rangefinder patch perfectly at the infinity hard stop? My current one stops just slightly short of alignment at the hard stop, but infinity focus is correct.
Yes, it's aligned across the entire range from 0.7 meters to infinity.
rsolti13 wrote:
Supposedly the stainless steel version of the 35 8E is the only one that is optimized for film. It was tweaked to be the closest in rendering to the original 8E. The rest of the editions are optimized for digital...so not surprising you are seeing a slight difference with this copy
Great info! I wasn't aware of this. I previously had a 'glossy' black paint special edition that I sent in for RF adjustment, but I eventually sold it. However, this new stainless steel copy seems to render a bit differently to my eyes.
