blinkfrog wrote:
Can anyone comment on how this lens performs to the LLL 8 element?
I am in the market for a 35mm for black and white and am curious how this lens renders compare to the 8 element.
They are fairly different.
At f/2, the 8-Element is a somewhat glowy, somewhat low contrast lens with good to very good sharpness over the whole frame with crazy field curvature and structured bokeh (it's gets snappy from f/2.8 onward...and the bokeh calms down.) It is a small dual character lens.
At f/1.4, the Aspherical/11873 is not particularly glowy with much better sharpness in the middle of the frame (and worse in the corners) with much smoother bokeh and much higher contrast. It is slightly bigger with better ergonomics.
At full aperture the 8-element draws like a pencil sketch (which can be very beautiful) and the aspherical is more like black ink.
So, I guess it depends on the look you want. I think a lot of people would say the V1 Summicron (the basis for the 8-Element) would be their ultimate black and white lens.
At f/2, the 8-Element is a somewhat glowy, somewhat low contrast lens with good to very good sharpness over the whole frame with crazy field curvature and structured bokeh (it's gets snappy from f/2.8 onward...and the bokeh calms down.) It is a small dual character lens.
At f/1.4, the Aspherical/11873 is not particularly glowy with much better sharpness in the middle of the frame (and worse in the corners) with much smoother bokeh and much higher contrast. It is slightly bigger with better ergonomics.
At full aperture the 8-element draws like a pencil sketch (which can be very beautiful) and the aspherical is more like black ink.
So, I guess it depends on the look you want. I think a lot of people would say the V1 Summicron (the basis for the 8-Element) would be their ultimate black and white lens....Show more →
Awesome, Jim. I really like the analogy.
Put another way, the 35/2 8-Element wide open performs similarly to the 35/1.4 Summilux pre-asph stopped down to f/2. There are differences, of course, but the overall look is quite similar. The LLL 35/1.4 Aspherical uses more elements, which means more correction, yet it still follows a classic design approach compared to modern lenses today. It was Leica's attempt at achieving the best correction possible at the time. (for the OG version)
Just to add one more datapoint to the discussion - I've received mine (in black) about a week ago, and it's front-focusing as well. Rangefinder coupling is spot-on at infinity focus/stop, but at MFD the plane of focus is about 5cm closer than what I actually focused on.
Other than that I'm pretty happy with it. Focus was a bit stiff early on and kept binding when focusing using the tab, but it smoothed out within a day or two, so no complaints on that front.
I've contacted LLL regarding warranty repair, so fingers crossed.
Can people that have received later versions of the lens confirm that theirs also have fuzzy weird bits in the out of focus specular highlights (like mine and Fred's review copy).
Didn't know they started shipping the black aluminum versions.
Are you able to share some photos of the finishing? Thanks!
Halkotron wrote:
Just to add one more datapoint to the discussion - I've received mine (in black) about a week ago, and it's front-focusing as well. Rangefinder coupling is spot-on at infinity focus/stop, but at MFD the plane of focus is about 5cm closer than what I actually focused on.
Other than that I'm pretty happy with it. Focus was a bit stiff early on and kept binding when focusing using the tab, but it smoothed out within a day or two, so no complaints on that front.
I've contacted LLL regarding warranty repair, so fingers crossed.
@sarkleshark - infinity focus is affected as well. I haven't made many shots at far distances, but none of those were in focus, either. Having the rangefinder patch line up at infinity stop is telling me that the optical block of the lens is likely out of position (too far forward), disallowing infinity focus. I don't know how the lens is constructed, and I'm not comfortable taking it apart and making adjustments (if they are indeed possible) while it's covered by warranty.
(I'm just goint to put in a disclaimer here that the body is calibrated just fine and none of my other lenses (including an LLL 35/2 8-element) give me any grief, focus accuracy-wise).
@dumplinknet: my apologies, I don't have anything - the couple of smartphone shots I took didn't really show the finish well, and I've no other digital equipment at the moment. If anything, the product photos that LLL has on their website are pretty close. In a word, it's glossy - comparable to the current 28/2 Ultron - I imagine it'll pair well with a black paint M. My black chrome M6TTL is quite a bit more matte, but it's not exactly a jarring combination.
that makes more sense. The optical block is out of position relative to the rangefinder cam. Either the cam guide on the lens base needs to be adjusted(turned ) or shims added/subtracted depending on the lens construction . yes sounds best to contact light lens lab.
I'm waiting for the delivery of my 35mm (chrome, ordered 3 weeks ago) and got the notification that due to the holiday manufacture and delivery will be postponed into March but I could cancel my order if the delay felt unacceptable. Reading about the calibration issues makes me wonder if I should make use of that offer. Of course the internet tends to amplify negative experiences. Does the front-focusing affect just the black versions or the recently manufactured lenses in general? Having to send the lens back to China for calibration would be a major pain (after waiting so long)...
Edit: I just realized that I've been reading here for so long but did not manage to post anything in the past 15 years... So well... Hello everybody :-)
