cdnguyen wrote:
Nothing sharp from the posted pictures. Worse than voigtlander lenses. Let's move on.
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cdnguyen wrote:
Chines made junks. I wouldn't waste my time and money on it.
You might not be familiar with what this lens really is. The LLL 50/1.5 Z21 is not designed to compete with modern glass. It is a recreation of the 1950s Angenieux Type S21, valued for its unique rendering and vintage character rather than sharpness or technical correction. It is all about the look, glow, bokeh, and mood, not clinical performance. From your comments, it is clear this style is not your preference, and that is completely fine.
A searching and, to my way of thinking, important review. The Z21 is one for the aficionados, fully capable of both surreal and wonderful imagery, often in the same image. And probably the worst Middle Kingdom lens to have build concerns over!
'Each lens is handcrafted and assembled in limited quantities, with utmost quality control and tolerance.'
'In-house manufactured, Lanthanide-infused elements specifically designed for the 50mm f/1.5 "Z21'"
I didn't see any links out, so here is a short list to corroborate further the sheer quality of this lens (all YouTube titles):
'$10K Looks $1K Price - Light Lens Lab 50mm 1.5 Z21'
'A Remade Rare Lens That’s Typically VERY Hard to Find!'
'Light Lens Lab 50mm f/1.5 Z21 :: First Impressions'
'NEW! EXOTIC Angenieux 50mm f1.5 S21 Remake for Leica M | Light Lens Lab Z21'
I just bought a lens from LLL direct for delivery next Monday and I did have a small fee, it was about 2% that I suspect is DHLs fee rather than the tariff that LLL must be covering. The 2% isn't significant especially since Alaska is one of the few states w/o sales tax :-)
That level of fee will not discourage me from other purchases. So bring on the 40 mm F2 "elcan" and maybe I'll buy it once I see what it is.
PolskaFly wrote:
Wasn't this back in May or so? The tariff truce has since dissolved in August from my understanding as well as De Minimis being removed.
Asking only because getting an understanding of the environment should be helpful to me and others. It's stupidly complicated now.
Fred Miranda wrote:
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You might not be familiar with what this lens really is. The LLL 50/1.5 Z21 is not designed to compete with modern glass. It is a recreation of the 1950s Angenieux Type S21, valued for its unique rendering and vintage character rather than sharpness or technical correction. It is all about the look, glow, bokeh, and mood, not clinical performance. From your comments, it is clear this style is not your preference, and that is completely fine.
The critical posters have the simple solution of not buying rather than moaning at the rest of us, I am quite fond of the "elcan", I have found good uses for my 1966 especially since I didn't want to spring for a Leica original or remake, and the Z21 is indeed an interesting lens, I have some misses using it, but I have also had some quite successful outings- it does seem to be a choose subject character lens. Ditto for the 28 mm F2.8, I like the lens, and the original one, is just a bit pricey for a a sometimes use lens, but when I do use it I like it a great deal. LLL is providing an examples of lenses I never thought I'd use as reproductions to use, so I have and likely will continue to buy some of their products. to use rather than collect and stare at on a shelf.
That’s great to hear. Not sure why LLL wouldn’t confirm with me that they do cover it. I didn't want to risk it since they couldn't confirm. ‘Tis the way it goes, hopefully the one I got off ebay ends up all good.
EMH2025 wrote:
I just bought a lens from LLL direct for delivery next Monday and I did have a small fee, it was about 2% that I suspect is DHLs fee rather than the tariff that LLL must be covering. The 2% isn't significant especially since Alaska is one of the few states w/o sales tax :-)
That level of fee will not discourage me from other purchases. So bring on the 40 mm F2 "elcan" and maybe I'll buy it once I see what it is.
EMH2025 wrote:
I just bought a lens from LLL direct for delivery next Monday and I did have a small fee, it was about 2% that I suspect is DHLs fee rather than the tariff that LLL must be covering. The 2% isn't significant especially since Alaska is one of the few states w/o sales tax :-)
That level of fee will not discourage me from other purchases. So bring on the 40 mm F2 "elcan" and maybe I'll buy it once I see what it is.
Yes, when I ordered directly from LLL there was a small DHL fee but no tariff since it did not ship from China. In my experience, this is the best way to purchase Light Lens Lab lenses.
I had 350$ VAT added on arrival, but that would differ from country to country. That is what holds me back on buying the 1966 replica for the moment. It's gonna be as expensive as the used Otus 85/1.4 I bought a few years back..
...meanwhile, life on the soft side.
Mystique by micke vmix, on Flickr
Z8 + 50Z21 at F1.5 VM-Z extender at 5mm
My only grip with the lens is the focus ring has a small bit of play.
It also isn't completely smooth, so small adjustments are much more difficult to make. As in, small adjustments aren't smooth and tend to require a back and forth motion on the focus ring as I accidentally skip over the focus point and try to adjust the other way.
Does this align with other folks quality of the lens?
EMH2025 wrote:
I just bought a lens from LLL direct for delivery next Monday and I did have a small fee, it was about 2% that I suspect is DHLs fee rather than the tariff that LLL must be covering. The 2% isn't significant especially since Alaska is one of the few states w/o sales tax :-)
That level of fee will not discourage me from other purchases. So bring on the 40 mm F2 "elcan" and maybe I'll buy it once I see what it is.
Didn't notice that the camera strap blocked the lens slightly at first but it made the bokeh balls into a matching shape... Mushroom bokeh... by micke vmix, on Flickr
Z8 + LLL 50/1.5 Z21 at F1.5
@micke.vmix,
You've created such a dramatic mood with your close-up shots. The Z21's rendering definitely adds to that abstract atmosphere, but your vision and post-processing did most of the work!
All shot with the Z8 and the Voigtländer VM-Z Close focus adapter at various extensions. I find myself using the adapter at 5mm most of the time but when subjects are bigger I tend to use it to zoom out to get things where I want them. When at 5mm some of the lens character gets lost a bit.
Aperture used on all is probably F1.5 where it usually stays. EXIF only shows manual lens data from the Z8.
Down & Out by micke vmix, on Flickr
LLL 50/1.5 Z21 + Voigtländer VM-Z Close focus adapter at 0-2mm
Interesting finding and result, I just tried the M11P (with EVF), Leica close focus adapter, and the Z21 and it also works well enough, looks like a project with the cactus in my backyard and see what I get when the light is better as muddy cloudy at the moment.
micke.vmix wrote:
Bump...
All shot with the Z8 and the Voigtländer VM-Z Close focus adapter at various extensions. I find myself using the adapter at 5mm most of the time but when subjects are bigger I tend to use it to zoom out to get things where I want them. When at 5mm some of the lens character gets lost a bit.
Aperture used on all is probably F1.5 where it usually stays. EXIF only shows manual lens data from the Z8.
All shot with the Z8 and the Voigtländer VM-Z Close focus adapter at various extensions. I find myself using the adapter at 5mm most of the time but when subjects are bigger I tend to use it to zoom out to get things where I want them. When at 5mm some of the lens character gets lost a bit.
Aperture used on all is probably F1.5 where it usually stays. EXIF only shows manual lens data from the Z8.
I think all are shot wide open or 1.8. It's tricky to remember, EXIF only shows 1.5. Would be nice if there were choises to set in the manual lens data and choose from with the aperture wheel. Wasn't that a feature in the firmware in some of the Nikons? Or is it just wishful thinking from me...
Resilience by micke vmix, on Flickr
Z8 + LLL 50/1.5 Z21 + Voigtländer VM-Z Close focus adapter at 0-2mm roughly
Cold Sunrise by micke vmix, on Flickr
Z8 + LLL 50/1.5 Z21 + Voigtländer VM-Z Close focus adapter at 5mm
